April 24, 2025 • 11 mins
This week we meet Noah. Noah’s known loneliness. Been well acquainted. Knew it as a kid when his older sibs left the nest. Knew it in college freshman year without a bud in sight.
But he definitely didn’t expect to experience the emotion now. Not now as a middle-aged guy with a wife and three daughters. A crazy, chaotic life. Busy busy all the time.
But here she blows, that old foe loneliness, roiling through his head at three o'clock in the morning.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We hear at the ten
minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Noah. Noah has known loneliness, been
(00:46):
well acquainted with it. Knew it as a kid when
his older sibs left the nest, knew it in college
freshman year without a bud in sight. But he definitely
didn't expect to experience the emotion now, not now, as
a middle aged guy with a wife and three daughters,
(01:07):
a crazy, chaotic life, busy, busy all the time. But
here she blows that old foe, loneliness roiling through his
head at three o'clock in the morning, the loneliest place
on earth. Hell. He'd been lonely in his life. Here
(01:30):
and there he had an acquaintance, if not a friendship,
with the emotion. But now, well, these days, these days,
it seems like loneliness is his closest confidant. Probably Noah
first felt loneliness as a kid, after all his older
(01:51):
siblings grew up and moved out. One day, the big
old house alive with chaos and bruising, physical exertions, wrestling
matches on the living room floor, arguments with his bossy sisters,
and the next day all quiet on the western front,
dead quiet, just his lame parents and the old hound.
(02:14):
And then that first year at state, thirty thousand students
and he didn't know a single one of them, thought
it would be cool to go most of the way
across the country to drink and smoke weed and chase
girls and okay, maybe do a little studying here and there.
And it had been cool, very cool eventually, but not
(02:36):
at first, not that first year. That first year had
been the desolation blues. And then all those long, far
flung odysses to remote corners of the world, going just
to go, just to go, to look and smell and
listen to see what might happen. Places were not a
(02:58):
soul spoke a word of English, and the native tongues
sounded like two rocks rubbing together. Places where people looked
at him like they might at any moment either offer
him a meal or kick him in the balls. Tough
to say. Those had been some eye popping, mind altering,
god forsaken times, and so damn lonely on those two
(03:23):
soft beds in the middle of the night that he
just sometimes wanted to weep. But that was child's play
compared to this. This blows all that petty gloom and
doom from the past away, kicks it in the ass
and out the back door, down the wooden steps, and
out onto the weedy lawn. Noah married in his early
(03:48):
thirties a woman of the same age, a woman on
the edge of desperate for domesticity and especially children. There
was chemistry between them, mystery and hope and yearning, but
probably not the tenderness and affection for a long and
happy life together. But still away, like so many, they
(04:11):
ventured romance. Passion promises a big, gaudy regal wedding fit
for a princess, and in no time, because she did
not think there was any time to spare a daughter,
and then another daughter, and then a third daughter in
short order, a family. No time for him to catch
(04:33):
his breath, let alone experience even a smidgeon of loneliness.
Now always a touchy feely guy, a physical force in
need of a physical connection. Noah wallowed in the simple
joy of lying in bed with his girls, cuddling and
mauling them, smothering them from head to toe with hugs
(04:56):
and kisses. He stroked them and tickled them, rubbed their
little heads, and stroked their chubby little bellies. Infants and
toddlers crave physical attention the way smokers crave nicotine, the
way junkies crave smack. Noah satisfied these cravings by holding
and rocking his girls and sleeping with them all curled
(05:19):
up in his arms. So intense was his attachment to
these three little ladies that he failed to notice the
slipping away of the physical connection between himself and his bride.
Some of this loss was natural, as they both gave
so much to the young uns that little remained for
(05:42):
each other. Still, they should have paid attention, They should
have taken care. Noah had, from their first days together,
embraced his wife from behind each morning when he found
her in the bathroom or the kitchen, bent over the
sink or the coffee maker, a sweet, quick embrace, arms
(06:05):
wrapped around her chest, a few light kisses to the
back of her neck, a gentle push against her buttocks.
But then one morning, three hungry mouths to feed. She
gave a signal, discreet but manifest that this small offering
of affection was unwanted, undesired, assuming something had gone awry,
(06:32):
undoubtedly something of his own doing. Noah tried again the
next morning, and again she sent the signal, So we
tried again the next morning. He tried off and on
over the next few weeks, and then, uncertain and insecure
his feelings hurt, he stopped trying. He had his little girls,
(06:54):
after all. They smiled and giggled and looked absolutely delighted
every time he came close, every time he put his
big face on their bellies and blew loud, wet kisses.
And now he lies in bed in the dark and
remembers all those loud, wet kisses when the girls, still
young and unbound, accepted his love without reservation. He also
(07:20):
remembers that night they had the spat over something over nothing,
who can possibly remember. After the raised voices, they went silent.
A few minutes into this silence, she got up off
the couch. He assumed she was just going to the
(07:41):
bathroom or maybe into the kitchen to make tea. But
now she stayed in the kitchen for a minute or two,
then announced she was tired, exhausted, she needed to go
to bed. He did not stop her, He didn't say
a word. It was the first night since they'd got
married that they did not go to bed together, the
(08:04):
very first night. He tries to remember how many years ago.
That was, all of a sudden seven years at least,
maybe eight, even nine. A long time, A long, long time,
the beginning of the end, even if there is no end,
just desolation till death. Okay, he knows he's being a
(08:28):
bit dramatic, gloomy, the middle of a dark winter night,
after all, sound to sleep, dreaming sweet dreams one second,
wide awake and struggling with his demons, the next, mulling
over the damaged past, anticipating a fractured future. She went
to bed earlier and earlier. At first, She asked if
(08:50):
it was okay? Did he want her to stay up?
Did he mind? What was he supposed to say? What
was he supposed to say to that? Yeah, stay up,
this is our time together. The kids are finally asleep.
Is that what he was supposed to say, But no,
he didn't say that. He didn't say a word, He
just stewed. And so it became routine, their routine. She
(09:15):
went to bed alone, he went to bed alone. A
couple of hours later, she woke up alone. He woke
up alone an hour or so later. Before too long,
their older daughter went to bed later than her mother.
What he would sit on the couch and wonder night
after night did she think about up there all alone?
(09:37):
The years zipped by without answers or resolutions. Busy, busy
all the time, in search of in search of what. Happiness, stability,
intimacy faded into the great unknown, no longer even a
shadow on the wall. Okay, they still had sex, but
(09:57):
always in the middle of the day, when the kids
were at school, never at night. There was no connection
at night, no touching, no spooning, no caressing, no hand
holding in the dark. Nothing. It went on and on
and on this way, and continues to go on and
on and on this way until this day, until this night,
(10:20):
this long, lonely dark winter night. No touching, no spooning,
no caressing, no hand holding in the dark, no nothing.
It would have been so easy to fix, so easy
for either of them to reach across the abyss. But no,
(10:41):
too stubborn, too proud, too human humans, for God's sake,
the most pitiful of all the species, and their bed,
their marital bed, The Loneliest Place on Earth. Thanks for
(11:04):
listening to this original audio presentation of The Loneliest Place
on Earth, narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story,
please take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe
to this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson
(11:25):
dot com for additional information about the author and to
view his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced
by Andrew Plaglici and Josh Colotney and as part of
the Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with Iheartproductions. Until
(11:47):
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller,
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We hear at the ten
minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Noah. Noah has known loneliness, been
(00:46):
well acquainted with it. Knew it as a kid when
his older sibs left the nest, knew it in college
freshman year without a bud in sight. But he definitely
didn't expect to experience the emotion now, not now, as
a middle aged guy with a wife and three daughters,
(01:07):
a crazy, chaotic life, busy, busy all the time. But
here she blows that old foe, loneliness roiling through his
head at three o'clock in the morning, the loneliest place
on earth. Hell. He'd been lonely in his life. Here
(01:30):
and there he had an acquaintance, if not a friendship,
with the emotion. But now, well, these days, these days,
it seems like loneliness is his closest confidant. Probably Noah
first felt loneliness as a kid, after all his older
(01:51):
siblings grew up and moved out. One day, the big
old house alive with chaos and bruising, physical exertions, wrestling
matches on the living room floor, arguments with his bossy sisters,
and the next day all quiet on the western front,
dead quiet, just his lame parents and the old hound.
(02:14):
And then that first year at state, thirty thousand students
and he didn't know a single one of them, thought
it would be cool to go most of the way
across the country to drink and smoke weed and chase
girls and okay, maybe do a little studying here and there.
And it had been cool, very cool eventually, but not
(02:36):
at first, not that first year. That first year had
been the desolation blues. And then all those long, far
flung odysses to remote corners of the world, going just
to go, just to go, to look and smell and
listen to see what might happen. Places were not a
(02:58):
soul spoke a word of English, and the native tongues
sounded like two rocks rubbing together. Places where people looked
at him like they might at any moment either offer
him a meal or kick him in the balls. Tough
to say. Those had been some eye popping, mind altering,
god forsaken times, and so damn lonely on those two
(03:23):
soft beds in the middle of the night that he
just sometimes wanted to weep. But that was child's play
compared to this. This blows all that petty gloom and
doom from the past away, kicks it in the ass
and out the back door, down the wooden steps, and
out onto the weedy lawn. Noah married in his early
(03:48):
thirties a woman of the same age, a woman on
the edge of desperate for domesticity and especially children. There
was chemistry between them, mystery and hope and yearning, but
probably not the tenderness and affection for a long and
happy life together. But still away, like so many, they
(04:11):
ventured romance. Passion promises a big, gaudy regal wedding fit
for a princess, and in no time, because she did
not think there was any time to spare a daughter,
and then another daughter, and then a third daughter in
short order, a family. No time for him to catch
(04:33):
his breath, let alone experience even a smidgeon of loneliness.
Now always a touchy feely guy, a physical force in
need of a physical connection. Noah wallowed in the simple
joy of lying in bed with his girls, cuddling and
mauling them, smothering them from head to toe with hugs
(04:56):
and kisses. He stroked them and tickled them, rubbed their
little heads, and stroked their chubby little bellies. Infants and
toddlers crave physical attention the way smokers crave nicotine, the
way junkies crave smack. Noah satisfied these cravings by holding
and rocking his girls and sleeping with them all curled
(05:19):
up in his arms. So intense was his attachment to
these three little ladies that he failed to notice the
slipping away of the physical connection between himself and his bride.
Some of this loss was natural, as they both gave
so much to the young uns that little remained for
(05:42):
each other. Still, they should have paid attention, They should
have taken care. Noah had, from their first days together,
embraced his wife from behind each morning when he found
her in the bathroom or the kitchen, bent over the
sink or the coffee maker, a sweet, quick embrace, arms
(06:05):
wrapped around her chest, a few light kisses to the
back of her neck, a gentle push against her buttocks.
But then one morning, three hungry mouths to feed. She
gave a signal, discreet but manifest that this small offering
of affection was unwanted, undesired, assuming something had gone awry,
(06:32):
undoubtedly something of his own doing. Noah tried again the
next morning, and again she sent the signal, So we
tried again the next morning. He tried off and on
over the next few weeks, and then, uncertain and insecure
his feelings hurt, he stopped trying. He had his little girls,
(06:54):
after all. They smiled and giggled and looked absolutely delighted
every time he came close, every time he put his
big face on their bellies and blew loud, wet kisses.
And now he lies in bed in the dark and
remembers all those loud, wet kisses when the girls, still
young and unbound, accepted his love without reservation. He also
(07:20):
remembers that night they had the spat over something over nothing,
who can possibly remember. After the raised voices, they went silent.
A few minutes into this silence, she got up off
the couch. He assumed she was just going to the
(07:41):
bathroom or maybe into the kitchen to make tea. But
now she stayed in the kitchen for a minute or two,
then announced she was tired, exhausted, she needed to go
to bed. He did not stop her, He didn't say
a word. It was the first night since they'd got
married that they did not go to bed together, the
(08:04):
very first night. He tries to remember how many years ago.
That was, all of a sudden seven years at least,
maybe eight, even nine. A long time, A long, long time,
the beginning of the end, even if there is no end,
just desolation till death. Okay, he knows he's being a
(08:28):
bit dramatic, gloomy, the middle of a dark winter night,
after all, sound to sleep, dreaming sweet dreams one second,
wide awake and struggling with his demons, the next, mulling
over the damaged past, anticipating a fractured future. She went
to bed earlier and earlier. At first, She asked if
(08:50):
it was okay? Did he want her to stay up?
Did he mind? What was he supposed to say? What
was he supposed to say to that? Yeah, stay up,
this is our time together. The kids are finally asleep.
Is that what he was supposed to say, But no,
he didn't say that. He didn't say a word, He
just stewed. And so it became routine, their routine. She
(09:15):
went to bed alone, he went to bed alone. A
couple of hours later, she woke up alone. He woke
up alone an hour or so later. Before too long,
their older daughter went to bed later than her mother.
What he would sit on the couch and wonder night
after night did she think about up there all alone?
(09:37):
The years zipped by without answers or resolutions. Busy, busy
all the time, in search of in search of what. Happiness, stability,
intimacy faded into the great unknown, no longer even a
shadow on the wall. Okay, they still had sex, but
(09:57):
always in the middle of the day, when the kids
were at school, never at night. There was no connection
at night, no touching, no spooning, no caressing, no hand
holding in the dark. Nothing. It went on and on
and on this way, and continues to go on and
on and on this way until this day, until this night,
(10:20):
this long, lonely dark winter night. No touching, no spooning,
no caressing, no hand holding in the dark, no nothing.
It would have been so easy to fix, so easy
for either of them to reach across the abyss. But no,
(10:41):
too stubborn, too proud, too human humans, for God's sake,
the most pitiful of all the species, and their bed,
their marital bed, The Loneliest Place on Earth. Thanks for
(11:04):
listening to this original audio presentation of The Loneliest Place
on Earth, narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story,
please take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe
to this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson
(11:25):
dot com for additional information about the author and to
view his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced
by Andrew Plaglici and Josh Colotney and as part of
the Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with Iheartproductions. Until
(11:47):
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller,
Host
Bill Simpson
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