April 3, 2023 • 24 mins
This week’s hometowns include kids learning about the aviator Bessie Coleman and a weed dealer who needs a favor.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hell, hello, and welcome to my Favorite Murder the minisode.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's right, This is the one where we read you
the emails. That's what we say instead of our name.
We got it wrong last time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know, this podcast is hard because imagine how difficult
reading your stories to you.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
We have to stretch all day before we have record.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Oh my god, so much warm up, a lot of
vocal and physical warm ups.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Queen Jack, just two thousand jumpy jacket and go first.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Okay, this is called mean babysitter or kids torturing each other. Hi,
MFM fam, and then it says MF MF my MFM
fam and other friends. I just heard the story on
minisod three nineteen of the sibling who stuffed each other
into boxes to see how quickly they could escape, and
(01:08):
it reminded me of my favorite game me and my
cousins would play, called mean Babysitter in the late nineties,
early to early two thousands. And the reason I picked this,
this fucked up thing. It jogged a memory that we
fucking did this too.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, are you ready for this?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
We would regularly spend a weekend every other month or
so together at my grandparents cottage slash camp. The basement
was unfinished and just filled with beds, and when we
weren't outside, that was our playground.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
So mean babysitter.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
My sister was the mom, My older cousin was the babysitter,
and me and my younger cousin were the kids.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
It's always the younger cousins who always yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
My sister who would leave us with the babysitter aka
go upstairs and do her makeup or watch TV.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Oh, that's the best role, yep.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And the babysitter would open the pull out couch to
its bed form, make us lay down across it with
wise not up and down, and then close the couch
and leave us in there for five to ten minutes
while she sat on it or went upstairs with my sister.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That was it. That was the game.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That isn't mean baby, sweet fucking did this did you really? Yes?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I told you.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It just jogged this memory of like both my mom
and my dad's house had a pullout couch and it
was like.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Leah asher wait, so they did it to you.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
We would all take turns yeah, and then you'd sit
on it and then you'd like.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Dad, where's Georgia? I don't know where she is.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I'd be giggling from as I suffocate slowly.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Terrible. How do we survive?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I mean I do have a very early memory of
my cousin Stevie zipping me into a sleeping bag and
then like pulling a thing tight at the top, and
I think I've told you this before, and I just
remember going like, yeah, I have a choice right now.
I could panic and go crazy, but he's gonna let
me out eventually. Yeah, so just stay calm until he
(03:11):
lets me out. Wow, it's like as a child having
to do that. It's fucking not right.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Well, yeah, you had to like learn your fucking skills
as a young child very very early on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And then it.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Says and we did this next one too. Another favorite
game was guess what you're drinking. Ours was called Guess
what You're eating? I swear to god, we had a
game called guess Oh no, it was called Guess what
I just put in your mouth?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Guess what I just put in your mouth? I totally
I have to text my siblings.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Is that or like they're opening a vitamin or something
and you're like.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It's really bitter just.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Chewing on a vitam oh, where we would blindfold someone
and make a disgusting cocktail think catch up milk on
your worm's soda, and then the blindfolded.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Kid would have to guess what was in it?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Dude, that was our favorite fucking game.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Guess what I'm putting into your mouth.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
We didn't get internet up there until twenty thirteen, twenty
fifteen ish, and even then we weren't allowed to use
it unless it was an emergency. I have lots of
other delinquent children left alone games, slash stories. If you're interested,
stay sexy and keep torturing your siblings, slash cousins, best Emma.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Older sisters, gamifying being mean to you.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah, like getting you to volunteer for these use because
it's a quote unquote game is hilarious.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And but yes, guess what I'm pudding?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
That almost makes me grateful that my sister all she
ever did was a get out of my room. Get
out of my room, like like just get away from me. Yeah,
those two like let me torture. That could have been
a lot, Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Oh, what was the grossest thing you had put in
your mouth?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Well, there was definitely raw egg and ketchup was a
popular a popular thing.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Who the hell like vanilla?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh yeah, you know, mixed with ketchup and melkin.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
It was just disgusting latch key children.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Oh yeah, Jesus, Okay, here's my first one. The subject
line is badass women Karen Georgia and Bessie Coleman, and
then in parentheses it says, in no particular order, h
and it just starts. I'm not sure if this counts
as a hometown fucking horay or just general nonsense, but
I was so elated by this encounter I had to share.
(05:47):
In episode three twelve, Karen shared the story of the
life of Bessie Coleman, the incredible badass Pilot. I, like
so many white kids growing up in rural Texas, have
never heard of Bessie Coleman before, and was awestruck by
herce and Karen's storytelling abilities.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Oh. Fast forward to.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
A year later, and I'm working as a school librarian
in an extremely affluent, mostly white elementary school. Second grade
began a research unit on inspiring people, so they came
to the library to get books. All the girls rushed
to this section on Amelia Earhart, and we quickly ran
out of her biographies. Luckily inspired by your episode, I
had recently purchased several books on Bessie Coleman, and I
(06:27):
redirected some of the students to her section. By the end,
Bessie Coleman was the new it girl in second grade.
I wanted to thank you all for introducing me to
this amazing woman who I should have learned about when
I was a kid. But thanks to you, I will
be able to introduce kids to this incredible woman and
broaden their idea of what inspiring people look like. Please
(06:48):
keep telling stories, especially stories about women of color and
other people whose histories are often ignored. Your influence is
far reaching and will hopefully help these kids see the
world a little friendly.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Rachel, Oh my god, that's so special. Rachel. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
That's a lovely compliment. And you're doing God's work. And
swear to God. This thing that book banning is actually
happening in America in twenty twenty three is the scariest,
most indicative thing of a fascist takeover.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It cannot happen. We have to fight for this country.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
You have to fight these lunatic people who are trying
to take books away and say that children can't learn
about people that aren't white, or that people that they
have decided in their own tiny worlds aren't good. Like,
it can't be happening. It's so fucked up. Every time
I see a book banning story and I think things
(07:46):
like this are happening lately, where it's so extreme that
you just get like freaked.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Out and don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, for sure, we actually did this for a library
that they tried to close, and then everyone started donating
to one library. Yes, you just look in your town
or your area, or your county or your state and
you see if anything like this is happening, and you
even figure out how you can act locally to fight
book banning, even if it's showing up at like PTA
(08:14):
meetings or something, just to be a voice of I
don't want this to be happening because it's so extreme
and it feels like they're doing it like all these
fucking shitty laws that they've been passing at midnight or
behind people's backs are like when no one's paying attention.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It's just awful. Yeah, thank you for saying that, because here's.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
What could be happening. Yeah, like people are being educated.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Now we're going to talk about landfill trash dad stories.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I will absolutely have a landfill rant at the end
of this now, I hope.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So okay. Hi all on Many said three sixteen.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
You ask for stories about what people have found in landfills,
and I finally feel like I have a reason to
write in. When I was little, my dad would bring
home some weird things from the landfill, and it was
always super exciting for me and all the other neighborhood kids.
Sometimes he would bring back jars of bugs, like cicadas
or even black widows.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Oh, here's a jar of black widows. Here, look at this,
but don't open it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Don't open it. One time he hauled a tub that
I'm putting in your mouth.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Oh no, no, no, no, no, so sorry, so sorry.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
One time he hauled a tub of bullfrogs out of
his truck and into the front yard for us.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Wow, that's a great dad.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
This ultimately pissed off some of our neighbors because the
frogs eventually hopped away down the street and ended up
living in the pond. Another treasure was a slightly used
disco ball that I hung in my.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Room for years.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Ooh, but my favorite treasure was an electric corvette, think
like one of those battery powered barbie jeeps that kids
can ride inside of. He had found it at the
land and brought it home, painted it from bright pink
to dark green, just like his dad's old corvette, and
swapped the six volt battery out for twelve volt batteries
so it would go even faster.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah. Yeah. As soon as he revealed.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It to me on my birthday, the first thing I
apparently said was I wish it was a pink corvette.
Daddy oh cue sigh. I was definitely popular in my
small cul de sac. Oh and the other thing he
also brought back was an enormous black plastic pipe, the
kind used for culverts, and we would take turns getting
inside of it and rolling down the street.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I was obviously the coolest kid on the block.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
My dad is one of the coolest guys I've ever known,
and we share a love for cheap joys, which I'll
always be grateful for. We love going to garage sales
or estate sales to find interesting, weird stuff. It's always
a toss up when he gives you a gift, because
it could be from a job site, the dump, or
even just something he found on the sidewalk, example, a
real diamond ring. I'll never get tired of hearing my
(10:58):
dad's crazy stories or learning about the dumb things he's done,
accidentally setting a tennis cord on fire, for example, and
asking him about stories from working at the landfill. He
just mentioned that one time he cut into a bag
of garbage and found bones. After hurrying off to tell
someone to call police, it turned out there was a
skeleton manufacturer on the island.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Oh and these were throwaways. Sounds like a joke.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Anyways, Stay sexy and ask your dad about his weird stories,
because they are always hiding something juicy.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Courtney, so true.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Oh, that's the idea that like he enjoyed his work
enough to like have the presence of mind to be thinking.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Of his kids.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, looking for stuff like being in it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Totally cool. That's really cute. It's very good.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Okay, So the subject line of this is dinosaur island
and donuts, and then it just starts this story has
it all, and then it says in parentheses kind of.
My dad worked a lot when I was a kid,
so needless to say, I cherished any time I got
with him. Being the youngest of four, I was his baby,
and we had our one special date we would go
(12:08):
on whenever my family went up to our cabin in
the summer. My dad and I would go to a
small gas station, get those dry, white powdered donuts that
mom would never let me have, and we'd take the
canoe out to a little island in the lake that
we called Dinosaur Bone Island. For years, this was our ritual.
I would spend hours rummaging around and proudly presenting the
(12:30):
bones to my dad, who would be sipping a beer,
before grabbing another donut and getting back to my important
archaeological work. Fast forward a couple years and I'm talking
to my siblings about this, probably trying to make them
jealous in true youngest child fashion. When they dropped the bombshell,
to my surprise, they were not dinosaur bones. And I
had spent hours digging my hands through lake otter shit
(12:54):
and presenting the digestive remains of small animals to my dad,
Oh god, and then in says and all, and then
going back to eat the donuts.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Oh god, ew, it's so gross, so gross, so gross,
And like the older siblings like, yeah, here's what actually
was exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Let me ruin this precious memory for you.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And then it says, my dad is now a cancer survivor,
and I cherish memories like this, and I'm so grateful
I get to continue to make new ones with him,
like the time I dared him to do a keg
stand at his sixtieth birthday. Ellie, Yeah, sweet love, all
you do, Cass, She her, thank you, Cass.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That was a beautiful, disgusting memory. Oh it's really sweet. Okay,
here's my last one. This is called an awkward favor
for my Swiss weed dealer that says, hello all, no
one named, no one forgotten. I'm a big fan of
MFM since my friend turned me on to you about
five years ago, and I've been a religious listener to
(13:58):
this podcast will kill You.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Georgia shouted it out. Ooh, this makes it nice.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
And awkward when a coworker hops in the elevator with
me and asks what podcast I'm listening to. I've written
in a couple times, but alas, no die. I hope
at least your hometown picker gets a giggle. Added this
unrelated to anything mentioned on the podcast anecdote. Our story
takes place in twenty twelve, when I was a freshman
out of college and working as an oak pair in Basil, Switzerland. Basil, Basil, Basil.
(14:27):
I'm gonna say battle, Is there any in there?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Uh huh? I think it is Basil.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Back then, I was an avid redditor and a pretty
big pothead.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It seems like a connection there. They definitely go together. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I was active on a few subreddits, including slash trees
and then it says aka the weed one oh oh
trees is sluthy, real sleuthy, and went on the slash
vassal subreddit to see if anyone had recommendations of what
to do while I was there. I received a message
from a re editor who said he was a student
(15:00):
in Basil, saw my post on trees and offered to
sell me weed if I needed some while living there,
this crossover of her subreddits. I was two months into
a forced tolerance break and in desperate need to meet
people my age, so I agreed to meet this guy
in a very public beer garden. Probably dumb, but so
was I. Thank god, I rocked up to a small,
(15:22):
very nerdy, and very kind guy who was getting his
master's degree in physics or some shit.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
We'll call him Alex. We had a couple beers.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
He gave me an eighth for free as a welcome
to Basil gift, and he shared a ton of local
knowledge about the city with me. Alex became my friend
in addition to my weed dealer, and I would meet
up with him about once a month to re up,
and it says he did start making me pay. He
invited me to college parties and introduced me to his
friend group.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It was great.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
After my year in Switzerlan came to an end, I
moved back to the US for a real job quote
so I could actually afford my student loan bills. A
few months after I moved back, I get it to
text from Alex telling me he has a new girlfriend
and wanted to get her a gift, but it only
shipped to the US in Canada. He asked if he
could ship it to me and if I would poward
it on absolutely anything for you, my dude. The box comes,
(16:13):
I bring it to the post office and they hand
me a custom slip. I realized then that I have
no cooking clue what I'm actually mailing.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I text Alex and ask him what's in.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
The box, because it felt like an invasion of privacy
to open it without him knowing. He gets super awkward
on text and is like, no, no, no, no, don't
open it. It's just a gifts for my girlfriend. Don't
open it, really, Alex, now you get sketchy after all this,
no chance. I immediately opened the box in the middle of
the post office, mind you.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
It turns out I was about to nail my.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Nerdy Swiss weed dealer a Hitachi magic wand I'm standing
in the post office holding up the most hardcore vibrator
in one hand and a bunch of medieval looking accessories
in another. I pack everything back into the box, scribble
personal massager on the custom slip, and.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Get the fuck out.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Whenever I tell this story to my friends, they ask
if I still kept in contact with Alex after paying
me back for shipping.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I literally never heard from him again.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Oh thank you for the consistent laughter you've brought me
over the years, and for all you do for your
listeners and community. Stay sexy, and if you don't know
what's in the box, open it in private.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Steedy, She her so true.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
I absolutely was sure it was going to be like, yes,
a kilo of weed or measure weed. Yes, exactly, something insane,
and he's like, he's even more ashamed.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yes, we're also shame based truly.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Okay, this one's also kind of long, but I think
we'reth it and there's photos, so it says dear Karen
and Georgia, I love the work you do and I'm
going to cut straight to the chase. Hearing you talk
about hidden treasure made me want to share this story
with you. It's not really my story more. My late
grandparents writing today Boxing Day, on the day that they
got married so many years ago. To put this in context,
(18:12):
my grandma Irene met my granddad Peter back in nineteen
forty three at a dance when my granddad was back
home on leave from war. She was sixteen, he was nineteen.
They had three kids, my mom, my auntie, and my uncle,
and were very happily married until sadly, my grandma died
from a long battle with leukemia back in twenty eleven.
(18:33):
I was fifteen and devastated. Then in twenty nineteen, just
before COVID hit, my granddad sadly passed away from dementia.
It was a very sad time for all of us,
as my grandparents were like the glue holding everything together.
When it came to sorting out the house to get
ready to sell it, we had to go through my
granddad's wardrobe. Now, this wardrobe was always a mystery to
(18:56):
me and my younger brother, as my granddad always kept
it law and the key was always inside his suit
pocket which he always wore. We never managed to get
a peek inside, even though we had many attempts to
try and pick the lock to get in anyway. C
my auntie, Mum and uncle clearing the house all these
years later, Finally, with the key, they managed to get in.
(19:19):
There wasn't anything gold or silver hiding in there, but
right in the back, hidden away for over seventy years,
was an old suitcase engraved with my granddad's name and
his Royal Navy employment number. Inside we found something far
better than gold or silver. We found hundreds of handwritten
letters from my grandma that she'd written my granddad from
(19:39):
when they first met while he was away at war.
So the treasure that he had locked away and treasured
for all those years was far more special than we
could have imagined. We all spent the next few months
reading all the letters and going on this magical journey
of their relationship, including one from when they first met.
We secretly hoped we would find another suitcase while cleaning
(20:00):
out the rest of the house with the replies my
granddad had sent my grandma, but no such luck. That
lies with the imagination. I spent months scanning all the
letters and putting it on a USB stick so all
my family members had a copy. I wanted to share
the first letter my grandma sent, so I've attached a
copy and I've also transcribed it below. I'm sorry that
(20:22):
this is a long story, but I hope you enjoyed it.
Keep up the amazing work, and stay sexy and always
open the old suitcases. Love, Sophie Nottingham UK cute. Are
you ready for this letter?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Definitely? I'm gonna cry. I haven't read it and I'm
gonna cry.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Okay from September sixth, nineteen forty three, my dear Peter.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Shit, what if I can't read this letter? Okay?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
It's so private. Yeah, this is literally a slice of history.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
They wrote this not thinking it would eventually get read
on a fucking huge podcast.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
On a podcast, so please forgive us. Irene and Peter.
It's done with respect, So it says my dear Peter. Well,
here I am writing you a few lines, as I
had promised, trusting you arrived back okay, at your destination.
I've thought about you all day, and especially about four
point thirty when you were going back. What a pity
we didn't meet sooner. Still, I expect it can't be
(21:22):
helped by the way, Peter. I must thank you for
the lovely weekend I spent with you. I enjoyed every
minute of it, hoping the same applied to you. Oh,
let's hope it won't be long before you are here again.
She's writing this to a man at war. Oh my god,
he's at war. He is in fucking World War two.
(21:43):
Totally Okay, let's hope it won't be long before you're
here again. I'm not much of a letter writer, so
I'm hoping this letter doesn't bore you too much.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
She's got a big crush, Yeah she does. She shall
be cool.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah tonight I have washed my hair, And then in
parentheses it says, what did you say about time?
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Haha? So Peter must have had a good sense of humor.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah, yeah, tomorrow night I might go to the Futurist
with mother to see spring time in the rockies. So
I'll be a good girl. Work's gone down okay, but
it could be much better. Sometimes I wish I was
in the forces. Peter, what do you think about girls
joining up? Would you volunteer if you were in my place?
(22:30):
Or stay at home? Please let me know. Well, dear,
I can't think of anything to write about, so will close,
hoping to hear from you soon. Write as often as
you possibly can.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
Cheerio and best of luck. Oh no, God bless you
and keep you safe. Love Irene. And there's four xes.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
My god, it's so sweet and so sweet.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
She was sixteen, doo, don't forget sixteen, he's nineteen.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
They just meet.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Now, he goes to basically probably get killed. Yeah he
comes back. Yeah, they get married.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
They spend the rest of their fucking lives together.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
They spend the rest of their lives together. Oh and
he keeps her letters for his entire life.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Oh my god, come on, amazing, what do you want?
What more do you want in this world?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
We'll put the photo of the letter up on our
Instagram for this episode page.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, yay, yes, sorry, that was just like it's so
sweet and it's also such a it's like a slice
of real life, so beautiful. Thank you Sophie for sharing
that with us.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Thank you all right, thanks for writing in and listening
and hanging out with us.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And stay sexy and don't get murdered. A goodbye, Elvis.
Do you want a cookie? This has been an exactly
what production. Our producer is Alejandra Keck and.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
This episode was engineered and mixed by Stephen Ray Morris VI.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Then email your hometowns and fucking horays to My Favorite
Murder at gmail dot com.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at my Favorite
Murder and Twitter at my favor Murder Gydbye
Hell, hello, and welcome to my Favorite Murder the minisode.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's right, This is the one where we read you
the emails. That's what we say instead of our name.
We got it wrong last time.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know, this podcast is hard because imagine how difficult
reading your stories to you.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
We have to stretch all day before we have record.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Oh my god, so much warm up, a lot of
vocal and physical warm ups.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Queen Jack, just two thousand jumpy jacket and go first.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Okay, this is called mean babysitter or kids torturing each other. Hi,
MFM fam, and then it says MF MF my MFM
fam and other friends. I just heard the story on
minisod three nineteen of the sibling who stuffed each other
into boxes to see how quickly they could escape, and
(01:08):
it reminded me of my favorite game me and my
cousins would play, called mean Babysitter in the late nineties,
early to early two thousands. And the reason I picked this,
this fucked up thing. It jogged a memory that we
fucking did this too.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, are you ready for this?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
We would regularly spend a weekend every other month or
so together at my grandparents cottage slash camp. The basement
was unfinished and just filled with beds, and when we
weren't outside, that was our playground.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
So mean babysitter.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
My sister was the mom, My older cousin was the babysitter,
and me and my younger cousin were the kids.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
It's always the younger cousins who always yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
My sister who would leave us with the babysitter aka
go upstairs and do her makeup or watch TV.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Oh, that's the best role, yep.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And the babysitter would open the pull out couch to
its bed form, make us lay down across it with
wise not up and down, and then close the couch
and leave us in there for five to ten minutes
while she sat on it or went upstairs with my sister.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That was it. That was the game.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That isn't mean baby, sweet fucking did this did you really? Yes?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I told you.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It just jogged this memory of like both my mom
and my dad's house had a pullout couch and it
was like.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Leah asher wait, so they did it to you.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
We would all take turns yeah, and then you'd sit
on it and then you'd like.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Dad, where's Georgia? I don't know where she is.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I'd be giggling from as I suffocate slowly.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Terrible. How do we survive?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I mean I do have a very early memory of
my cousin Stevie zipping me into a sleeping bag and
then like pulling a thing tight at the top, and
I think I've told you this before, and I just
remember going like, yeah, I have a choice right now.
I could panic and go crazy, but he's gonna let
me out eventually. Yeah, so just stay calm until he
(03:11):
lets me out. Wow, it's like as a child having
to do that. It's fucking not right.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Well, yeah, you had to like learn your fucking skills
as a young child very very early on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And then it.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Says and we did this next one too. Another favorite
game was guess what you're drinking. Ours was called Guess
what You're eating? I swear to god, we had a
game called guess Oh no, it was called Guess what
I just put in your mouth?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Guess what I just put in your mouth? I totally
I have to text my siblings.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Is that or like they're opening a vitamin or something
and you're like.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It's really bitter just.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Chewing on a vitam oh, where we would blindfold someone
and make a disgusting cocktail think catch up milk on
your worm's soda, and then the blindfolded.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Kid would have to guess what was in it?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Dude, that was our favorite fucking game.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Guess what I'm putting into your mouth.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
We didn't get internet up there until twenty thirteen, twenty
fifteen ish, and even then we weren't allowed to use
it unless it was an emergency. I have lots of
other delinquent children left alone games, slash stories. If you're interested,
stay sexy and keep torturing your siblings, slash cousins, best Emma.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Older sisters, gamifying being mean to you.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah, like getting you to volunteer for these use because
it's a quote unquote game is hilarious.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And but yes, guess what I'm pudding?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
That almost makes me grateful that my sister all she
ever did was a get out of my room. Get
out of my room, like like just get away from me. Yeah,
those two like let me torture. That could have been
a lot, Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Oh, what was the grossest thing you had put in
your mouth?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Well, there was definitely raw egg and ketchup was a
popular a popular thing.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Who the hell like vanilla?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh yeah, you know, mixed with ketchup and melkin.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
It was just disgusting latch key children.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Oh yeah, Jesus, Okay, here's my first one. The subject
line is badass women Karen Georgia and Bessie Coleman, and
then in parentheses it says, in no particular order, h
and it just starts. I'm not sure if this counts
as a hometown fucking horay or just general nonsense, but
I was so elated by this encounter I had to share.
(05:47):
In episode three twelve, Karen shared the story of the
life of Bessie Coleman, the incredible badass Pilot. I, like
so many white kids growing up in rural Texas, have
never heard of Bessie Coleman before, and was awestruck by
herce and Karen's storytelling abilities.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Oh. Fast forward to.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
A year later, and I'm working as a school librarian
in an extremely affluent, mostly white elementary school. Second grade
began a research unit on inspiring people, so they came
to the library to get books. All the girls rushed
to this section on Amelia Earhart, and we quickly ran
out of her biographies. Luckily inspired by your episode, I
had recently purchased several books on Bessie Coleman, and I
(06:27):
redirected some of the students to her section. By the end,
Bessie Coleman was the new it girl in second grade.
I wanted to thank you all for introducing me to
this amazing woman who I should have learned about when
I was a kid. But thanks to you, I will
be able to introduce kids to this incredible woman and
broaden their idea of what inspiring people look like. Please
(06:48):
keep telling stories, especially stories about women of color and
other people whose histories are often ignored. Your influence is
far reaching and will hopefully help these kids see the
world a little friendly.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Rachel, Oh my god, that's so special. Rachel. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
That's a lovely compliment. And you're doing God's work. And
swear to God. This thing that book banning is actually
happening in America in twenty twenty three is the scariest,
most indicative thing of a fascist takeover.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It cannot happen. We have to fight for this country.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
You have to fight these lunatic people who are trying
to take books away and say that children can't learn
about people that aren't white, or that people that they
have decided in their own tiny worlds aren't good. Like,
it can't be happening. It's so fucked up. Every time
I see a book banning story and I think things
(07:46):
like this are happening lately, where it's so extreme that
you just get like freaked.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Out and don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, for sure, we actually did this for a library
that they tried to close, and then everyone started donating
to one library. Yes, you just look in your town
or your area, or your county or your state and
you see if anything like this is happening, and you
even figure out how you can act locally to fight
book banning, even if it's showing up at like PTA
(08:14):
meetings or something, just to be a voice of I
don't want this to be happening because it's so extreme
and it feels like they're doing it like all these
fucking shitty laws that they've been passing at midnight or
behind people's backs are like when no one's paying attention.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
It's just awful. Yeah, thank you for saying that, because here's.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
What could be happening. Yeah, like people are being educated.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Now we're going to talk about landfill trash dad stories.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I will absolutely have a landfill rant at the end
of this now, I hope.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So okay. Hi all on Many said three sixteen.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
You ask for stories about what people have found in landfills,
and I finally feel like I have a reason to
write in. When I was little, my dad would bring
home some weird things from the landfill, and it was
always super exciting for me and all the other neighborhood kids.
Sometimes he would bring back jars of bugs, like cicadas
or even black widows.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Oh, here's a jar of black widows. Here, look at this,
but don't open it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Don't open it. One time he hauled a tub that
I'm putting in your mouth.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Oh no, no, no, no, no, so sorry, so sorry.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
One time he hauled a tub of bullfrogs out of
his truck and into the front yard for us.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Wow, that's a great dad.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
This ultimately pissed off some of our neighbors because the
frogs eventually hopped away down the street and ended up
living in the pond. Another treasure was a slightly used
disco ball that I hung in my.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Room for years.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Ooh, but my favorite treasure was an electric corvette, think
like one of those battery powered barbie jeeps that kids
can ride inside of. He had found it at the
land and brought it home, painted it from bright pink
to dark green, just like his dad's old corvette, and
swapped the six volt battery out for twelve volt batteries
so it would go even faster.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah. Yeah. As soon as he revealed.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It to me on my birthday, the first thing I
apparently said was I wish it was a pink corvette.
Daddy oh cue sigh. I was definitely popular in my
small cul de sac. Oh and the other thing he
also brought back was an enormous black plastic pipe, the
kind used for culverts, and we would take turns getting
inside of it and rolling down the street.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I was obviously the coolest kid on the block.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
My dad is one of the coolest guys I've ever known,
and we share a love for cheap joys, which I'll
always be grateful for. We love going to garage sales
or estate sales to find interesting, weird stuff. It's always
a toss up when he gives you a gift, because
it could be from a job site, the dump, or
even just something he found on the sidewalk, example, a
real diamond ring. I'll never get tired of hearing my
(10:58):
dad's crazy stories or learning about the dumb things he's done,
accidentally setting a tennis cord on fire, for example, and
asking him about stories from working at the landfill. He
just mentioned that one time he cut into a bag
of garbage and found bones. After hurrying off to tell
someone to call police, it turned out there was a
skeleton manufacturer on the island.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Oh and these were throwaways. Sounds like a joke.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Anyways, Stay sexy and ask your dad about his weird stories,
because they are always hiding something juicy.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Courtney, so true.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Oh, that's the idea that like he enjoyed his work
enough to like have the presence of mind to be thinking.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Of his kids.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, looking for stuff like being in it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Totally cool. That's really cute. It's very good.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Okay, So the subject line of this is dinosaur island
and donuts, and then it just starts this story has
it all, and then it says in parentheses kind of.
My dad worked a lot when I was a kid,
so needless to say, I cherished any time I got
with him. Being the youngest of four, I was his baby,
and we had our one special date we would go
(12:08):
on whenever my family went up to our cabin in
the summer. My dad and I would go to a
small gas station, get those dry, white powdered donuts that
mom would never let me have, and we'd take the
canoe out to a little island in the lake that
we called Dinosaur Bone Island. For years, this was our ritual.
I would spend hours rummaging around and proudly presenting the
(12:30):
bones to my dad, who would be sipping a beer,
before grabbing another donut and getting back to my important
archaeological work. Fast forward a couple years and I'm talking
to my siblings about this, probably trying to make them
jealous in true youngest child fashion. When they dropped the bombshell,
to my surprise, they were not dinosaur bones. And I
had spent hours digging my hands through lake otter shit
(12:54):
and presenting the digestive remains of small animals to my dad,
Oh god, and then in says and all, and then
going back to eat the donuts.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Oh god, ew, it's so gross, so gross, so gross,
And like the older siblings like, yeah, here's what actually
was exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Let me ruin this precious memory for you.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And then it says, my dad is now a cancer survivor,
and I cherish memories like this, and I'm so grateful
I get to continue to make new ones with him,
like the time I dared him to do a keg
stand at his sixtieth birthday. Ellie, Yeah, sweet love, all
you do, Cass, She her, thank you, Cass.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That was a beautiful, disgusting memory. Oh it's really sweet. Okay,
here's my last one. This is called an awkward favor
for my Swiss weed dealer that says, hello all, no
one named, no one forgotten. I'm a big fan of
MFM since my friend turned me on to you about
five years ago, and I've been a religious listener to
(13:58):
this podcast will kill You.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Georgia shouted it out. Ooh, this makes it nice.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
And awkward when a coworker hops in the elevator with
me and asks what podcast I'm listening to. I've written
in a couple times, but alas, no die. I hope
at least your hometown picker gets a giggle. Added this
unrelated to anything mentioned on the podcast anecdote. Our story
takes place in twenty twelve, when I was a freshman
out of college and working as an oak pair in Basil, Switzerland. Basil, Basil, Basil.
(14:27):
I'm gonna say battle, Is there any in there?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Uh huh? I think it is Basil.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Back then, I was an avid redditor and a pretty
big pothead.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It seems like a connection there. They definitely go together. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I was active on a few subreddits, including slash trees
and then it says aka the weed one oh oh
trees is sluthy, real sleuthy, and went on the slash
vassal subreddit to see if anyone had recommendations of what
to do while I was there. I received a message
from a re editor who said he was a student
(15:00):
in Basil, saw my post on trees and offered to
sell me weed if I needed some while living there,
this crossover of her subreddits. I was two months into
a forced tolerance break and in desperate need to meet
people my age, so I agreed to meet this guy
in a very public beer garden. Probably dumb, but so
was I. Thank god, I rocked up to a small,
(15:22):
very nerdy, and very kind guy who was getting his
master's degree in physics or some shit.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
We'll call him Alex. We had a couple beers.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
He gave me an eighth for free as a welcome
to Basil gift, and he shared a ton of local
knowledge about the city with me. Alex became my friend
in addition to my weed dealer, and I would meet
up with him about once a month to re up,
and it says he did start making me pay. He
invited me to college parties and introduced me to his
friend group.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It was great.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
After my year in Switzerlan came to an end, I
moved back to the US for a real job quote
so I could actually afford my student loan bills. A
few months after I moved back, I get it to
text from Alex telling me he has a new girlfriend
and wanted to get her a gift, but it only
shipped to the US in Canada. He asked if he
could ship it to me and if I would poward
it on absolutely anything for you, my dude. The box comes,
(16:13):
I bring it to the post office and they hand
me a custom slip. I realized then that I have
no cooking clue what I'm actually mailing.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I text Alex and ask him what's in.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
The box, because it felt like an invasion of privacy
to open it without him knowing. He gets super awkward
on text and is like, no, no, no, no, don't
open it. It's just a gifts for my girlfriend. Don't
open it, really, Alex, now you get sketchy after all this,
no chance. I immediately opened the box in the middle of
the post office, mind you.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
It turns out I was about to nail my.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Nerdy Swiss weed dealer a Hitachi magic wand I'm standing
in the post office holding up the most hardcore vibrator
in one hand and a bunch of medieval looking accessories
in another. I pack everything back into the box, scribble
personal massager on the custom slip, and.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Get the fuck out.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Whenever I tell this story to my friends, they ask
if I still kept in contact with Alex after paying
me back for shipping.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I literally never heard from him again.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Oh thank you for the consistent laughter you've brought me
over the years, and for all you do for your
listeners and community. Stay sexy, and if you don't know
what's in the box, open it in private.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Steedy, She her so true.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
I absolutely was sure it was going to be like, yes,
a kilo of weed or measure weed. Yes, exactly, something insane,
and he's like, he's even more ashamed.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yes, we're also shame based truly.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Okay, this one's also kind of long, but I think
we'reth it and there's photos, so it says dear Karen
and Georgia, I love the work you do and I'm
going to cut straight to the chase. Hearing you talk
about hidden treasure made me want to share this story
with you. It's not really my story more. My late
grandparents writing today Boxing Day, on the day that they
got married so many years ago. To put this in context,
(18:12):
my grandma Irene met my granddad Peter back in nineteen
forty three at a dance when my granddad was back
home on leave from war. She was sixteen, he was nineteen.
They had three kids, my mom, my auntie, and my uncle,
and were very happily married until sadly, my grandma died
from a long battle with leukemia back in twenty eleven.
(18:33):
I was fifteen and devastated. Then in twenty nineteen, just
before COVID hit, my granddad sadly passed away from dementia.
It was a very sad time for all of us,
as my grandparents were like the glue holding everything together.
When it came to sorting out the house to get
ready to sell it, we had to go through my
granddad's wardrobe. Now, this wardrobe was always a mystery to
(18:56):
me and my younger brother, as my granddad always kept
it law and the key was always inside his suit
pocket which he always wore. We never managed to get
a peek inside, even though we had many attempts to
try and pick the lock to get in anyway. C
my auntie, Mum and uncle clearing the house all these
years later, Finally, with the key, they managed to get in.
(19:19):
There wasn't anything gold or silver hiding in there, but
right in the back, hidden away for over seventy years,
was an old suitcase engraved with my granddad's name and
his Royal Navy employment number. Inside we found something far
better than gold or silver. We found hundreds of handwritten
letters from my grandma that she'd written my granddad from
(19:39):
when they first met while he was away at war.
So the treasure that he had locked away and treasured
for all those years was far more special than we
could have imagined. We all spent the next few months
reading all the letters and going on this magical journey
of their relationship, including one from when they first met.
We secretly hoped we would find another suitcase while cleaning
(20:00):
out the rest of the house with the replies my
granddad had sent my grandma, but no such luck. That
lies with the imagination. I spent months scanning all the
letters and putting it on a USB stick so all
my family members had a copy. I wanted to share
the first letter my grandma sent, so I've attached a
copy and I've also transcribed it below. I'm sorry that
(20:22):
this is a long story, but I hope you enjoyed it.
Keep up the amazing work, and stay sexy and always
open the old suitcases. Love, Sophie Nottingham UK cute. Are
you ready for this letter?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Definitely? I'm gonna cry. I haven't read it and I'm
gonna cry.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Okay from September sixth, nineteen forty three, my dear Peter.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Shit, what if I can't read this letter? Okay?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
It's so private. Yeah, this is literally a slice of history.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
They wrote this not thinking it would eventually get read
on a fucking huge podcast.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
On a podcast, so please forgive us. Irene and Peter.
It's done with respect, So it says my dear Peter. Well,
here I am writing you a few lines, as I
had promised, trusting you arrived back okay, at your destination.
I've thought about you all day, and especially about four
point thirty when you were going back. What a pity
we didn't meet sooner. Still, I expect it can't be
(21:22):
helped by the way, Peter. I must thank you for
the lovely weekend I spent with you. I enjoyed every
minute of it, hoping the same applied to you. Oh,
let's hope it won't be long before you are here again.
She's writing this to a man at war. Oh my god,
he's at war. He is in fucking World War two.
(21:43):
Totally Okay, let's hope it won't be long before you're
here again. I'm not much of a letter writer, so
I'm hoping this letter doesn't bore you too much.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
She's got a big crush, Yeah she does. She shall
be cool.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah tonight I have washed my hair, And then in
parentheses it says, what did you say about time?
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Haha? So Peter must have had a good sense of humor.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah, yeah, tomorrow night I might go to the Futurist
with mother to see spring time in the rockies. So
I'll be a good girl. Work's gone down okay, but
it could be much better. Sometimes I wish I was
in the forces. Peter, what do you think about girls
joining up? Would you volunteer if you were in my place?
(22:30):
Or stay at home? Please let me know. Well, dear,
I can't think of anything to write about, so will close,
hoping to hear from you soon. Write as often as
you possibly can.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
Cheerio and best of luck. Oh no, God bless you
and keep you safe. Love Irene. And there's four xes.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
My god, it's so sweet and so sweet.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
She was sixteen, doo, don't forget sixteen, he's nineteen.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
They just meet.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Now, he goes to basically probably get killed. Yeah he
comes back. Yeah, they get married.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
They spend the rest of their fucking lives together.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
They spend the rest of their lives together. Oh and
he keeps her letters for his entire life.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Oh my god, come on, amazing, what do you want?
What more do you want in this world?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
We'll put the photo of the letter up on our
Instagram for this episode page.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, yay, yes, sorry, that was just like it's so
sweet and it's also such a it's like a slice
of real life, so beautiful. Thank you Sophie for sharing
that with us.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Thank you all right, thanks for writing in and listening
and hanging out with us.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And stay sexy and don't get murdered. A goodbye, Elvis.
Do you want a cookie? This has been an exactly
what production. Our producer is Alejandra Keck and.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
This episode was engineered and mixed by Stephen Ray Morris VI.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Then email your hometowns and fucking horays to My Favorite
Murder at gmail dot com.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at my Favorite
Murder and Twitter at my favor Murder Gydbye
Hosts And Creators
Georgia Hardstark
Karen Kilgariff
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!