September 15, 2025 • 22 mins
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In this silly story, one boy is known around town as the Ideas Guy. He’s never short on brilliant, wacky, and sometimes downright impossible ideas. But when the mayor cancels the town’s beloved fall fair and asks him to come up with something even better, things don’t go quite as planned. For the first time ever, the Ideas Guy can’t think of a single idea! With a little help from his best friend (and maybe a questionable psychic), he discovers that even the best ideas sometimes need to be shared.
Warning: this goofy story for kids may result in smiles, snorts, and possibly some LOLs. Listen at your own discretion.
To see if the shout-out list is open, visit: lolstorytime.com/shoutouts
Visit lolstorytime.com for merch and other... stuff.
In this silly story, one boy is known around town as the Ideas Guy. He’s never short on brilliant, wacky, and sometimes downright impossible ideas. But when the mayor cancels the town’s beloved fall fair and asks him to come up with something even better, things don’t go quite as planned. For the first time ever, the Ideas Guy can’t think of a single idea! With a little help from his best friend (and maybe a questionable psychic), he discovers that even the best ideas sometimes need to be shared.
Warning: this goofy story for kids may result in smiles, snorts, and possibly some LOLs. Listen at your own discretion.
To see if the shout-out list is open, visit: lolstorytime.com/shoutouts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hellol story Times really not a glory time. Rabbis stand
and you'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol story
Time Might you love released one time? Well Time, Welcome
back to the show. This is Lool story Time, and
today I'll be telling you a story called The Ideas Guy.
This one features characters named after Travis from bell Brook,
(00:23):
Ohio and Ember from Boise, Idaho. I'd also like to
give some special shoutouts too, Dawson from Denton, Texas, Cy
from Windyards, Saskatchewan, Lyndon from Washington, Sawyer from Charlotte, North Carolina,
Claire and Quinn listening with their parents Jessica and Chris
and Fremont, Michigan, Emerson Charlie Engaged from Toronto, Ontario with
(00:45):
their cats Pica and Evie, Abram and Lincoln Hartley from Fountain, Colorado,
and Thomas and Patrick from Toronto, Ontario. More shoutouts next time,
but for now let's get into the story. This is
(01:05):
the story of a boy named Travis. Whereas most people
called him the ideas Guy, Travis had been the ideas
Guy for as long as he could remember. Brilliant ideas
popped into his head as easily as making popcorn take
his self repairing chocolate bar. For example, Travis dreamed of
inventing a chocolate bar where every time he took a bite,
(01:26):
the missing chunk grew right back. He wasn't quite sure
how to make that one work yet, but that was
a problem for grown up Travis. For now. What mattered
was that he had a super awesome idea just ready
to go. At school, Travis's wonderful ideas were always in
high demand. His classmates constantly came to him for advice,
especially his good friend Ember. Travis, look at my journal man,
(01:49):
it's empty. I can't think of anything to write about,
and now the teacher is looking at me weird. Help
me think of something to write about. Travis needed no
time at all. He came up with the perfect for
his friend. Why don't you write about the time you
went to a fancy gala and didn't notice that you
had a trail of toilet paper stuck to your bottom.
Remember how you played it off like it was supposed
(02:10):
to be there and that it was the trendy new style.
And then by the end of the night everyone had
added toilet paper tails to their fancy gowns too. Ember
began frantically putting words to paper while thanking her friend, Travis.
This is perfect unless the teacher makes us share our
journals with the class today, because that would just be embarrassing.
It wasn't just kids who called upon the ideas guy,
(02:32):
plenty of grown ups did too. Travis, I need your help.
The kids in this class never stopped talking. It's constantly
just blah blah blah. Yep, but yep, yep all day long.
I asked them to be quiet, but they just won't listen.
Do you have any ideas? Travis told his teacher, mister
milk Puddle, that he did have an idea. The very
(02:54):
next day, Travis had handed his teacher a bottle of glue.
The label on the bottle said lip glue. Travis, are
you suggesting I glue my student's mouths shut? Travis demonstrated
that the bottle was empty. Mister milk Puddle, you don't
actually have to do anything. I'll just leave this bottle
somewhere in the classroom where everyone can see it. Just
(03:15):
knowing that such a glue exists will make kids think
twice about talking when they're not supposed to, Mister milk Puddle,
felt relieved. Thanks ideas guy. Your ideas are the best.
And it was actually that very same day that the
principal had asked for Travis's help too. Travis, I need
a new idea for a spirit day. Everyone is getting
(03:37):
tired of the usual ideas, wacky sock day, dressed like
your favorite book character day, pajama day. I need a fresh,
new idea that will really get the students fired up.
The principle was amazed by how quickly Travis had come
up with an idea, but she had also been disappointed
that his idea was nothing out of the ordinary. Travis,
(03:59):
We've done each day before, the swim shorts, the beach at,
the flip flops, the towel. I'm looking for something new,
Travis smirked. I wasn't talking about that kind of beach day.
I meant like actually bringing the school to a real beach.
If it needs to have an educational component, just have
the teachers talk about the history of sand Er, some
(04:20):
boring thing. Well, Travis, you've done it again. Where do
you come up with all of these wonderful ideas? Even
Travis didn't have an answer for that question. Like I
said before, these ideas just came to him, he barely
had to try. The easiest ones were whenever his parents
asked for help coming up with a dinner idea. Travis, Dear,
(04:42):
I can't think of anything to cook tonight. What should
we do? I have just the idea. Mom. It's called
kids make their own dinner night and the parents just
go take the night after. Relax. Oh, Travis, that sounds marvelous.
I just love your idea. Loved his idea too. It
was the perfect way to guarantee himself a candy sandwich
(05:04):
for dinner. Some days, Travis couldn't help but feel like
a bit of a hero. His ideas had helped so
many people and had changed so many lives. And what
wasn't alike about being an ideas guy, especially when it
had always come so easily. But maybe that was only
because Travis had yet to face any significant challenges. Travis,
(05:27):
we have a situation, A bad situation, a really bad situation.
Have you already heard about the situation I'm talking about?
Amber had stormed up to Travis in a full blown
panic one day. Uh, if you're talking about the kid
who had his shoes tied together and then tripped and
fell head first into a bowl full of jello. Then now,
I haven't heard about that yet. Please tell me more.
(05:49):
Amber needed a moment to shake that image from her head. Huh,
bull of jello? What are you talking about? The situation
I'm talking about is the announcement the mayor just made.
She's canceling the Fall Fare and replacing it with a
new event. The Fall Fare was Travis and Ember's favorite
time of year. The games, the rides, the contests, the
(06:10):
cotton candy. These kids loved everything about it. It was
the Fall Fare. Why would the mayor cancel the Fall Fare?
Asked Travis. I mean, sure not as many people have
been visiting the fair these past few years. And yes
there was that one time we had to wake up
one of the workers who had fallen asleep because no
one was taking his ride. But like, we were still there,
(06:31):
we still had fun. Amber told him that no one
knew for sure what would replace it, though rumors were
buzzing about something called Grandparent Fest. Travis, I love my
grandparents and I want them to have fun too, But
I'm a little worried grandparent Fest might not really be
our thing. Travis agreed, but he wasn't worried. You don't
(06:51):
worry when you're the ideas guy, because there's always a
good idea that can fix anything. Don't worry. Ember. After school,
you and I will go speak with the mayor. I
have an idea. At this point, Travis only had one idea,
and that was just to try talking to the mayor,
but he felt confident that he'd have another brilliant idea
once the time came. Later that day, the mayor kindly
(07:15):
ushered the two friends into her office. Come in, come in,
Please have a seat. How nice to see some kids
in my office for once. I never get kid visitors.
Plenty of cranky grown up visitors, but never any kids.
So what brings you in? Amber looked like she was
ready to make some big business deal. Well, you see, Mayor,
(07:37):
my associate and I are deeply concerned over your decision
to cancel the Fall Fare. To put it bluntly, not cool.
Mayor not cool. The mayor sat back and made herself comfortable,
like she was used to this sort of thing. Well,
I take it you too, were among the very few
kids who still go to the fair. The truth is,
families just don't go out like they used to. Par
(08:00):
movie theaters, festivals. They're all sitting there half empty most
of the time. More often families are choosing to stay home.
Don't ask me why, but do you know who isn't
staying at home? The old people. They're out there partying
like it's nineteen ninety nine. Travis and Ember had seen
this first hand. They knew many families had stopped going
(08:22):
to the fair. Ember folded her hands together and gently
set them down on the Mayor's desk. Mayor Dimpleton, you
may not want to be so hasty and starting up
grandparent fest. My associate here has a really incredible idea
to share with you. He's the ideas guy. The mayor
was already familiar with some of Travis's ideas. The year
(08:42):
before she had become mayor was the year Travis had
encouraged the city to install a trampoline sidewalk along Main Street.
Sure it was difficult to enter a store without bumping
your head on the way in, but people still loved it.
Oh well, if the ideas guy has an idea, I
will most definitely be going with that idea. I love
his ideas. Remember the year he suggested we install those
(09:04):
cloud squirting machines and all of the parks for those
really hot, bright sunny days, and don't get me going
on his ice cream vending machine. Idea genius. So ideas, guy,
please tell me what wonderful idea do you have for
us this time? Travis was about to tell her when
he realized something. He didn't have one Normally, the ideas
(09:25):
just came to him instantaneously. Travis sat there for a moment,
waiting for the idea to appear in his head. When
it didn't, he sat there a little longer. The mayor
seemed puzzled by Travis's extended silence. Ideas, Guy, are you
still with us? Looks like you kind of spaced out
or something. Travis wasn't sure what to tell her. This
(09:46):
had never happened before. Amber could tell something was wrong
and jumped into help. Mayor Dimpleton, I believe my associate
here is wanting to surprise you with what is bound
to become the greatest event in this town's history. The
mayor looked hesitant at first, but then she lit up.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh ideas, guy, you've done it again, and I love
that you wanted to be a surprise for me. I
also love that you're handling everything, so I won't have
to do any of the work. Can I get a
yues please?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Amber had saved her friend this time, but now Travis
was more worried than ever. Why wasn't he coming up
with any ideas? At home? He couldn't sit still. He
paced back and forth, racking his brain for an idea,
any idea, but his mind just felt blank. Travis, dear,
sorry to interrupt whatever it was you were thinking about,
but the only idea I have for dinner tonight is beans.
(10:40):
Do you have a better idea? Travis would never suggest
a bowlful of beans for dinner, but for some reason,
he couldn't think of anything better. Mom, I can't think
of anything, he whimpered. Well that's okay, answered his mother,
A nice bull of beans.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
It is.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Wondered if perhaps a good night's rest would get his
mind back on track, but even after sleeping twelve hours,
he still couldn't come up with any ideas. On his
way to school that morning, he decided to pay a
visit to a psychic mind reader. The place looked like
it had been decorated by the same dude who designs
houses for wizards and witches. The room was hazy with
an eerie purplish glow. There were glittery scarves hanging from
(11:23):
the walls, and in the middle of the room sat
an old woman at a table peering into a crystal ball.
Welcome Travis, the mind reader said, whoa thought, Travis? How
did she know my name? Travis took a seat across
from the mind reader, who promptly began moving her hands
in a circular motion around the crystal ball. I can
(11:46):
see your future now, the woman remained fixated on the ball.
You will grow up and have seven kids, a pet
hippopot of this, and you'll have a job selling beans.
Travis wondered if his breath still smelled of beans from
the dinner last night. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great future
(12:07):
and all. But like, I really just need your help
looking inside of my mind. I've got this really great
idea in there somewhere, but I just can't see it.
I don't know if it's just clogged or something like
when a toilet won't flush. But would you mind taking
a quick look. The psychic mind reader began rubbing the
crystal ball once again. Oh, yes, there it is. I
(12:30):
can see the idea clearly now. Your brilliant idea is
to hurry off to school and tell all of your
friends to come see Mismade it Up, where I will
tell them their future for twenty dollars off the regular price,
using a referral code I will share with you on
your way out the door, Travis jumped up and ran
out of the room. He looked to be on the
(12:51):
verge of tears. This was worse than he had thought.
His brilliant idea turned out to be an absolutely terrible
one and had nothing to do with planning a special event.
At lunchtime that day, Travis tried to avoid speaking with anyone.
He needed to focus so we could come up with
a new idea. Already that morning, he'd been asked fifty
times to spill the tea. Everyone was wanting to know
(13:13):
what could possibly have do the fall fare and grandparent fest.
The pressure of trying to come up with his best
idea yet made it even harder to think, especially when
he was so used to ideas coming to him effortlessly,
And like, what was he supposed to do if he
couldn't think of anything? Just tell everyone that the ideas
guy had run out of ideas? What kind of ideas.
(13:34):
Guy runs out of ideas. He sat there impatiently tapping
his fingers on the lunch table while munching on some
carrot sticks. What could possibly be better than the fall fare,
he wondered. The fall fare was already awesome. It wasn't
helping that he could hear all of his friends at
the table trying to guess his idea. I bet you
(13:54):
he's going to make a car show for people who
really love cars, you know, like some people could bring
their cars and then other people could come look at
the cars. No, no, no, said another friend. Not everyone
likes cars. I think he's going to make a food festival,
but hopefully one that's not just all about the beans.
(14:14):
Has anyone else smelled Travis's breath today? You can totally
tell what he had for supper last night. Ambers shook
her head. A food festival would be okay, But this
is Travis we're talking about. Do you not understand how
his brain works. Whatever he's come up with is gonna
be huge, some kind of something our brains could never
come up with, Like, I don't know, a festival for everyone.
(14:39):
Travis was trying not to let on that he had
been listening but there it was the brilliant idea, a
festival for everyone. Only this wasn't his brilliant idea, it
was Ember's. He tried, giving his brain one last chance
to come up with something more perfectly perfect than Ember's
already perfect idea, but still nothing was coming. All he
(15:00):
could picture in his mind was a group of monkeys
pointing and laughing at him for running out of ideas.
Things only got worse that evening when he received a
phone call from the mayor. Hey, oh, mister great ideas guy. Now,
I know your idea is supposed to be a surprise,
so I won't ask you to share all of the details,
(15:20):
but I will need to know the name of the
event because I need to make my big announcement. It's
just a few weeks away, and I need to start
spreading the word. Travis started to panic. He gripped the
phone tightly while hopping from side to side like a
little kid doing the peepee dance. Well, Mayor Dimpleton, it's
funny you should ask, as you know, I've got a
(15:42):
really really, just really great idea. My event is not
just for the families or the non families, or the
grandparents or the car people or the people who like beans.
My brilliant idea is called Travis closed his eyes and
bit his lip. Everyone fest On the other end of
the line, The mayor was speechless for a moment. Everyone fast, Travis,
(16:07):
that might be your most brilliant idea yet, absolutely genius.
I cannot wait to see what this festival is gonna
look like. I'll let the whole town know first thing tomorrow.
Travis knew the mayor had already hung up, but he
continued speaking anyway, tomorrow, Hey seems a little soon, don't
you think In the morning, Travis tried convincing his parents
(16:29):
he was sick. He couldn't bear the thought of facing Ember.
After the mayor's announcement had gone out, Oh you are fine, Travis.
Look I can do a fake cough too. Oh see,
Now hurry up and get to school. On his way,
Travis stopped once again to visit the psychic mind reader.
He'd forgotten to pay her for the pleasure of finding
out he would someday be owning a pet hippo. Say, uh,
(16:52):
miss made it up? Do you also happen to offer
life advice like let's say a kid steals his best
friend's idea and then tries to pass it off as
his own idea, and then he feels really bad about it,
But he isn't sure how he's supposed to tell the
whole world. He's no longer the ideas guy, and in fact,
he isn't even sure who he is anymore. The psychic
mind reader said she would tell him anything he wanted
(17:12):
to hear, as long as he was paying for it.
My crystal ball is suggesting you move to another city
and never talk to that friend ever again. When she
noticed Travis didn't like that idea, she began rubbing the
crystal ball once more. Or you could just talk to
your friend. Sometimes good things happen when we work together.
(17:36):
Are you saying, Ember and I should put our heads
together to plan the most spectacular event this town has
ever seen? I will answer that question for another fifty dollars.
For the first time in days, Travis came up with
a good idea, the idea to answer that question for himself.
Later that morning, Travis told Ember everything he told her
(17:58):
about his mind going on vacation to bore A and
how we couldn't think of any ideas. He told her
about the mayor and how she needed to know his idea,
But instead of telling the mayor he didn't have one,
he told her Ember's idea and acted like it was
his own. By the end, Ember's mouth was hanging open
hold the front door, said, Ember, are you telling me
(18:19):
that the ideas guy likes my idea? What does this
make me? The idea's girl? Travis asked Thember if she'd
be willing to work together to co plan the most
spectacular event of all time everyone fest. Ember told Travis
that there was nothing she'd like more. The two friends
quickly got to work planning an event that blended both
(18:41):
of their ideas. Not every suggestion it was a winner.
Travis's pitch for a bean station, for example, was politely
and loudly denied, But they were honest with each other
when an idea stunk, and for the most part, it
felt like Travis was truly the ideas guy again. He
was back to firing off all sorts of clever ideas,
made even better with the help of the idea's girl,
(19:02):
who brought plenty of brilliant ideas of her own. The
weeks leading up to the big day were busy and exhausting.
There were phone calls to make, supplies to order and
details to finalize. But when everything was finally ready, they
could hardly wait to show the town what they had created.
Well until the mayor called them the night before. Kids,
(19:23):
what happened? This is all wrong? Travis and Ember had
no idea what the mayor was talking about. I wasn't
trying to ruin the surprise, but some of my people
have informed me that tomorrow's event is looking an awful
lot like the Fall Fare, just with a different name.
If that's the case, we're ruined. No one will want
to be there. After the kids got off the phone,
(19:46):
they couldn't help but ask themselves. Had they really just
recreated the Fall Fare? Had all of their wonderful ideas
really just been the same old ideas that had been
used before. This was supposed to be a festival for everyone,
and now it was looking like they were about to
let everyone down. What do we do now, asked Ember.
We don't have time to fix this. Travis no longer
(20:08):
had the worried look of someone whose mind was on
vacation in Bora Bora. He just said, don't worry, I
have an idea. The next morning, the lineup at the
ticket gate was longer than any lineup Travis or Ember
had ever seen before. Everyone had come out to see
what Everyone Fest was all about, only it wasn't going
to be what any of them were expecting. At the
(20:30):
front of the line, Travis climbed up onto an empty
wooden crate and began speaking loudly through a bullhorn so
everyone could hear. Hello, everyone, Welcome to Everyone Fest. Before
any of you go in, I have something I'd like
to say. My friend and I helped put this event together,
but if I'm being honest, it really doesn't look a
whole lot different than the usual fall fare. However, before
(20:53):
you turn around and leave, I'd like you all to
give it a chance. The fall fare has always been
for everyone. We've got activities for the families and the
non families, some old people stuff for the old people,
cars for the car people. Unfortunately, no beans for the
bean people. Sorry bean people. But the point is, somewhere
along the way, we've all forgotten how to get out
(21:15):
and enjoy doing stuff together as a town. So that's
what I'm asking you all to try doing today. Instead
of turning around to return home, the people just stayed
in line, They looked happy to be out of their
homes doing something fun with their fellow townspeople. Travis hopped
off of the crate and began helping Ember open the gate,
but then he remembered something else. Holding the bullhorn up
(21:38):
to his mouth again, he said, Oh, and actually there
is one special change this year. We have a booth
where you can speak with a mind reading psychic. She'll
look into a crystal ball and tell you your future. Just
make sure you use promo code ideas Guy for twenty
dollars off. Once again, that code is ideas Guy. Don't
miss out and have yourselves a wonderful day. The end.
(22:05):
That's the story, And here's your question of the week.
If you were planning an event called Everyone Fast in
your community, what sorts of things do you think that
people would want to see there? Well, that's a wrap
on episode one twenty. I'll have a new bonus story
coming out on Thursday and a story for everyone on Monday.
I'll catch you on the next one.
Hellol story Times really not a glory time. Rabbis stand
and you'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol story
Time Might you love released one time? Well Time, Welcome
back to the show. This is Lool story Time, and
today I'll be telling you a story called The Ideas Guy.
This one features characters named after Travis from bell Brook,
(00:23):
Ohio and Ember from Boise, Idaho. I'd also like to
give some special shoutouts too, Dawson from Denton, Texas, Cy
from Windyards, Saskatchewan, Lyndon from Washington, Sawyer from Charlotte, North Carolina,
Claire and Quinn listening with their parents Jessica and Chris
and Fremont, Michigan, Emerson Charlie Engaged from Toronto, Ontario with
(00:45):
their cats Pica and Evie, Abram and Lincoln Hartley from Fountain, Colorado,
and Thomas and Patrick from Toronto, Ontario. More shoutouts next time,
but for now let's get into the story. This is
(01:05):
the story of a boy named Travis. Whereas most people
called him the ideas Guy, Travis had been the ideas
Guy for as long as he could remember. Brilliant ideas
popped into his head as easily as making popcorn take
his self repairing chocolate bar. For example, Travis dreamed of
inventing a chocolate bar where every time he took a bite,
(01:26):
the missing chunk grew right back. He wasn't quite sure
how to make that one work yet, but that was
a problem for grown up Travis. For now. What mattered
was that he had a super awesome idea just ready
to go. At school, Travis's wonderful ideas were always in
high demand. His classmates constantly came to him for advice,
especially his good friend Ember. Travis, look at my journal man,
(01:49):
it's empty. I can't think of anything to write about,
and now the teacher is looking at me weird. Help
me think of something to write about. Travis needed no
time at all. He came up with the perfect for
his friend. Why don't you write about the time you
went to a fancy gala and didn't notice that you
had a trail of toilet paper stuck to your bottom.
Remember how you played it off like it was supposed
(02:10):
to be there and that it was the trendy new style.
And then by the end of the night everyone had
added toilet paper tails to their fancy gowns too. Ember
began frantically putting words to paper while thanking her friend, Travis.
This is perfect unless the teacher makes us share our
journals with the class today, because that would just be embarrassing.
It wasn't just kids who called upon the ideas guy,
(02:32):
plenty of grown ups did too. Travis, I need your help.
The kids in this class never stopped talking. It's constantly
just blah blah blah. Yep, but yep, yep all day long.
I asked them to be quiet, but they just won't listen.
Do you have any ideas? Travis told his teacher, mister
milk Puddle, that he did have an idea. The very
(02:54):
next day, Travis had handed his teacher a bottle of glue.
The label on the bottle said lip glue. Travis, are
you suggesting I glue my student's mouths shut? Travis demonstrated
that the bottle was empty. Mister milk Puddle, you don't
actually have to do anything. I'll just leave this bottle
somewhere in the classroom where everyone can see it. Just
(03:15):
knowing that such a glue exists will make kids think
twice about talking when they're not supposed to, Mister milk Puddle,
felt relieved. Thanks ideas guy. Your ideas are the best.
And it was actually that very same day that the
principal had asked for Travis's help too. Travis, I need
a new idea for a spirit day. Everyone is getting
(03:37):
tired of the usual ideas, wacky sock day, dressed like
your favorite book character day, pajama day. I need a fresh,
new idea that will really get the students fired up.
The principle was amazed by how quickly Travis had come
up with an idea, but she had also been disappointed
that his idea was nothing out of the ordinary. Travis,
(03:59):
We've done each day before, the swim shorts, the beach at,
the flip flops, the towel. I'm looking for something new,
Travis smirked. I wasn't talking about that kind of beach day.
I meant like actually bringing the school to a real beach.
If it needs to have an educational component, just have
the teachers talk about the history of sand Er, some
(04:20):
boring thing. Well, Travis, you've done it again. Where do
you come up with all of these wonderful ideas? Even
Travis didn't have an answer for that question. Like I
said before, these ideas just came to him, he barely
had to try. The easiest ones were whenever his parents
asked for help coming up with a dinner idea. Travis, Dear,
(04:42):
I can't think of anything to cook tonight. What should
we do? I have just the idea. Mom. It's called
kids make their own dinner night and the parents just
go take the night after. Relax. Oh, Travis, that sounds marvelous.
I just love your idea. Loved his idea too. It
was the perfect way to guarantee himself a candy sandwich
(05:04):
for dinner. Some days, Travis couldn't help but feel like
a bit of a hero. His ideas had helped so
many people and had changed so many lives. And what
wasn't alike about being an ideas guy, especially when it
had always come so easily. But maybe that was only
because Travis had yet to face any significant challenges. Travis,
(05:27):
we have a situation, A bad situation, a really bad situation.
Have you already heard about the situation I'm talking about?
Amber had stormed up to Travis in a full blown
panic one day. Uh, if you're talking about the kid
who had his shoes tied together and then tripped and
fell head first into a bowl full of jello. Then now,
I haven't heard about that yet. Please tell me more.
(05:49):
Amber needed a moment to shake that image from her head. Huh,
bull of jello? What are you talking about? The situation
I'm talking about is the announcement the mayor just made.
She's canceling the Fall Fare and replacing it with a
new event. The Fall Fare was Travis and Ember's favorite
time of year. The games, the rides, the contests, the
(06:10):
cotton candy. These kids loved everything about it. It was
the Fall Fare. Why would the mayor cancel the Fall Fare?
Asked Travis. I mean, sure not as many people have
been visiting the fair these past few years. And yes
there was that one time we had to wake up
one of the workers who had fallen asleep because no
one was taking his ride. But like, we were still there,
(06:31):
we still had fun. Amber told him that no one
knew for sure what would replace it, though rumors were
buzzing about something called Grandparent Fest. Travis, I love my
grandparents and I want them to have fun too, But
I'm a little worried grandparent Fest might not really be
our thing. Travis agreed, but he wasn't worried. You don't
(06:51):
worry when you're the ideas guy, because there's always a
good idea that can fix anything. Don't worry. Ember. After school,
you and I will go speak with the mayor. I
have an idea. At this point, Travis only had one idea,
and that was just to try talking to the mayor,
but he felt confident that he'd have another brilliant idea
once the time came. Later that day, the mayor kindly
(07:15):
ushered the two friends into her office. Come in, come in,
Please have a seat. How nice to see some kids
in my office for once. I never get kid visitors.
Plenty of cranky grown up visitors, but never any kids.
So what brings you in? Amber looked like she was
ready to make some big business deal. Well, you see, Mayor,
(07:37):
my associate and I are deeply concerned over your decision
to cancel the Fall Fare. To put it bluntly, not cool.
Mayor not cool. The mayor sat back and made herself comfortable,
like she was used to this sort of thing. Well,
I take it you too, were among the very few
kids who still go to the fair. The truth is,
families just don't go out like they used to. Par
(08:00):
movie theaters, festivals. They're all sitting there half empty most
of the time. More often families are choosing to stay home.
Don't ask me why, but do you know who isn't
staying at home? The old people. They're out there partying
like it's nineteen ninety nine. Travis and Ember had seen
this first hand. They knew many families had stopped going
(08:22):
to the fair. Ember folded her hands together and gently
set them down on the Mayor's desk. Mayor Dimpleton, you
may not want to be so hasty and starting up
grandparent fest. My associate here has a really incredible idea
to share with you. He's the ideas guy. The mayor
was already familiar with some of Travis's ideas. The year
(08:42):
before she had become mayor was the year Travis had
encouraged the city to install a trampoline sidewalk along Main Street.
Sure it was difficult to enter a store without bumping
your head on the way in, but people still loved it.
Oh well, if the ideas guy has an idea, I
will most definitely be going with that idea. I love
his ideas. Remember the year he suggested we install those
(09:04):
cloud squirting machines and all of the parks for those
really hot, bright sunny days, and don't get me going
on his ice cream vending machine. Idea genius. So ideas, guy,
please tell me what wonderful idea do you have for
us this time? Travis was about to tell her when
he realized something. He didn't have one Normally, the ideas
(09:25):
just came to him instantaneously. Travis sat there for a moment,
waiting for the idea to appear in his head. When
it didn't, he sat there a little longer. The mayor
seemed puzzled by Travis's extended silence. Ideas, Guy, are you
still with us? Looks like you kind of spaced out
or something. Travis wasn't sure what to tell her. This
(09:46):
had never happened before. Amber could tell something was wrong
and jumped into help. Mayor Dimpleton, I believe my associate
here is wanting to surprise you with what is bound
to become the greatest event in this town's history. The
mayor looked hesitant at first, but then she lit up.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh ideas, guy, you've done it again, and I love
that you wanted to be a surprise for me. I
also love that you're handling everything, so I won't have
to do any of the work. Can I get a
yues please?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Amber had saved her friend this time, but now Travis
was more worried than ever. Why wasn't he coming up
with any ideas? At home? He couldn't sit still. He
paced back and forth, racking his brain for an idea,
any idea, but his mind just felt blank. Travis, dear,
sorry to interrupt whatever it was you were thinking about,
but the only idea I have for dinner tonight is beans.
(10:40):
Do you have a better idea? Travis would never suggest
a bowlful of beans for dinner, but for some reason,
he couldn't think of anything better. Mom, I can't think
of anything, he whimpered. Well that's okay, answered his mother,
A nice bull of beans.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
It is.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Wondered if perhaps a good night's rest would get his
mind back on track, but even after sleeping twelve hours,
he still couldn't come up with any ideas. On his
way to school that morning, he decided to pay a
visit to a psychic mind reader. The place looked like
it had been decorated by the same dude who designs
houses for wizards and witches. The room was hazy with
an eerie purplish glow. There were glittery scarves hanging from
(11:23):
the walls, and in the middle of the room sat
an old woman at a table peering into a crystal ball.
Welcome Travis, the mind reader said, whoa thought, Travis? How
did she know my name? Travis took a seat across
from the mind reader, who promptly began moving her hands
in a circular motion around the crystal ball. I can
(11:46):
see your future now, the woman remained fixated on the ball.
You will grow up and have seven kids, a pet
hippopot of this, and you'll have a job selling beans.
Travis wondered if his breath still smelled of beans from
the dinner last night. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great future
(12:07):
and all. But like, I really just need your help
looking inside of my mind. I've got this really great
idea in there somewhere, but I just can't see it.
I don't know if it's just clogged or something like
when a toilet won't flush. But would you mind taking
a quick look. The psychic mind reader began rubbing the
crystal ball once again. Oh, yes, there it is. I
(12:30):
can see the idea clearly now. Your brilliant idea is
to hurry off to school and tell all of your
friends to come see Mismade it Up, where I will
tell them their future for twenty dollars off the regular price,
using a referral code I will share with you on
your way out the door, Travis jumped up and ran
out of the room. He looked to be on the
(12:51):
verge of tears. This was worse than he had thought.
His brilliant idea turned out to be an absolutely terrible
one and had nothing to do with planning a special event.
At lunchtime that day, Travis tried to avoid speaking with anyone.
He needed to focus so we could come up with
a new idea. Already that morning, he'd been asked fifty
times to spill the tea. Everyone was wanting to know
(13:13):
what could possibly have do the fall fare and grandparent fest.
The pressure of trying to come up with his best
idea yet made it even harder to think, especially when
he was so used to ideas coming to him effortlessly,
And like, what was he supposed to do if he
couldn't think of anything? Just tell everyone that the ideas
guy had run out of ideas? What kind of ideas.
(13:34):
Guy runs out of ideas. He sat there impatiently tapping
his fingers on the lunch table while munching on some
carrot sticks. What could possibly be better than the fall fare,
he wondered. The fall fare was already awesome. It wasn't
helping that he could hear all of his friends at
the table trying to guess his idea. I bet you
(13:54):
he's going to make a car show for people who
really love cars, you know, like some people could bring
their cars and then other people could come look at
the cars. No, no, no, said another friend. Not everyone
likes cars. I think he's going to make a food festival,
but hopefully one that's not just all about the beans.
(14:14):
Has anyone else smelled Travis's breath today? You can totally
tell what he had for supper last night. Ambers shook
her head. A food festival would be okay, But this
is Travis we're talking about. Do you not understand how
his brain works. Whatever he's come up with is gonna
be huge, some kind of something our brains could never
come up with, Like, I don't know, a festival for everyone.
(14:39):
Travis was trying not to let on that he had
been listening but there it was the brilliant idea, a
festival for everyone. Only this wasn't his brilliant idea, it
was Ember's. He tried, giving his brain one last chance
to come up with something more perfectly perfect than Ember's
already perfect idea, but still nothing was coming. All he
(15:00):
could picture in his mind was a group of monkeys
pointing and laughing at him for running out of ideas.
Things only got worse that evening when he received a
phone call from the mayor. Hey, oh, mister great ideas guy. Now,
I know your idea is supposed to be a surprise,
so I won't ask you to share all of the details,
(15:20):
but I will need to know the name of the
event because I need to make my big announcement. It's
just a few weeks away, and I need to start
spreading the word. Travis started to panic. He gripped the
phone tightly while hopping from side to side like a
little kid doing the peepee dance. Well, Mayor Dimpleton, it's
funny you should ask, as you know, I've got a
(15:42):
really really, just really great idea. My event is not
just for the families or the non families, or the
grandparents or the car people or the people who like beans.
My brilliant idea is called Travis closed his eyes and
bit his lip. Everyone fest On the other end of
the line, The mayor was speechless for a moment. Everyone fast, Travis,
(16:07):
that might be your most brilliant idea yet, absolutely genius.
I cannot wait to see what this festival is gonna
look like. I'll let the whole town know first thing tomorrow.
Travis knew the mayor had already hung up, but he
continued speaking anyway, tomorrow, Hey seems a little soon, don't
you think In the morning, Travis tried convincing his parents
(16:29):
he was sick. He couldn't bear the thought of facing Ember.
After the mayor's announcement had gone out, Oh you are fine, Travis.
Look I can do a fake cough too. Oh see,
Now hurry up and get to school. On his way,
Travis stopped once again to visit the psychic mind reader.
He'd forgotten to pay her for the pleasure of finding
out he would someday be owning a pet hippo. Say, uh,
(16:52):
miss made it up? Do you also happen to offer
life advice like let's say a kid steals his best
friend's idea and then tries to pass it off as
his own idea, and then he feels really bad about it,
But he isn't sure how he's supposed to tell the
whole world. He's no longer the ideas guy, and in fact,
he isn't even sure who he is anymore. The psychic
mind reader said she would tell him anything he wanted
(17:12):
to hear, as long as he was paying for it.
My crystal ball is suggesting you move to another city
and never talk to that friend ever again. When she
noticed Travis didn't like that idea, she began rubbing the
crystal ball once more. Or you could just talk to
your friend. Sometimes good things happen when we work together.
(17:36):
Are you saying, Ember and I should put our heads
together to plan the most spectacular event this town has
ever seen? I will answer that question for another fifty dollars.
For the first time in days, Travis came up with
a good idea, the idea to answer that question for himself.
Later that morning, Travis told Ember everything he told her
(17:58):
about his mind going on vacation to bore A and
how we couldn't think of any ideas. He told her
about the mayor and how she needed to know his idea,
But instead of telling the mayor he didn't have one,
he told her Ember's idea and acted like it was
his own. By the end, Ember's mouth was hanging open
hold the front door, said, Ember, are you telling me
(18:19):
that the ideas guy likes my idea? What does this
make me? The idea's girl? Travis asked Thember if she'd
be willing to work together to co plan the most
spectacular event of all time everyone fest. Ember told Travis
that there was nothing she'd like more. The two friends
quickly got to work planning an event that blended both
(18:41):
of their ideas. Not every suggestion it was a winner.
Travis's pitch for a bean station, for example, was politely
and loudly denied, But they were honest with each other
when an idea stunk, and for the most part, it
felt like Travis was truly the ideas guy again. He
was back to firing off all sorts of clever ideas,
made even better with the help of the idea's girl,
(19:02):
who brought plenty of brilliant ideas of her own. The
weeks leading up to the big day were busy and exhausting.
There were phone calls to make, supplies to order and
details to finalize. But when everything was finally ready, they
could hardly wait to show the town what they had created.
Well until the mayor called them the night before. Kids,
(19:23):
what happened? This is all wrong? Travis and Ember had
no idea what the mayor was talking about. I wasn't
trying to ruin the surprise, but some of my people
have informed me that tomorrow's event is looking an awful
lot like the Fall Fare, just with a different name.
If that's the case, we're ruined. No one will want
to be there. After the kids got off the phone,
(19:46):
they couldn't help but ask themselves. Had they really just
recreated the Fall Fare? Had all of their wonderful ideas
really just been the same old ideas that had been
used before. This was supposed to be a festival for everyone,
and now it was looking like they were about to
let everyone down. What do we do now, asked Ember.
We don't have time to fix this. Travis no longer
(20:08):
had the worried look of someone whose mind was on
vacation in Bora Bora. He just said, don't worry, I
have an idea. The next morning, the lineup at the
ticket gate was longer than any lineup Travis or Ember
had ever seen before. Everyone had come out to see
what Everyone Fest was all about, only it wasn't going
to be what any of them were expecting. At the
(20:30):
front of the line, Travis climbed up onto an empty
wooden crate and began speaking loudly through a bullhorn so
everyone could hear. Hello, everyone, Welcome to Everyone Fest. Before
any of you go in, I have something I'd like
to say. My friend and I helped put this event together,
but if I'm being honest, it really doesn't look a
whole lot different than the usual fall fare. However, before
(20:53):
you turn around and leave, I'd like you all to
give it a chance. The fall fare has always been
for everyone. We've got activities for the families and the
non families, some old people stuff for the old people,
cars for the car people. Unfortunately, no beans for the
bean people. Sorry bean people. But the point is, somewhere
along the way, we've all forgotten how to get out
(21:15):
and enjoy doing stuff together as a town. So that's
what I'm asking you all to try doing today. Instead
of turning around to return home, the people just stayed
in line, They looked happy to be out of their
homes doing something fun with their fellow townspeople. Travis hopped
off of the crate and began helping Ember open the gate,
but then he remembered something else. Holding the bullhorn up
(21:38):
to his mouth again, he said, Oh, and actually there
is one special change this year. We have a booth
where you can speak with a mind reading psychic. She'll
look into a crystal ball and tell you your future. Just
make sure you use promo code ideas Guy for twenty
dollars off. Once again, that code is ideas Guy. Don't
miss out and have yourselves a wonderful day. The end.
(22:05):
That's the story, And here's your question of the week.
If you were planning an event called Everyone Fast in
your community, what sorts of things do you think that
people would want to see there? Well, that's a wrap
on episode one twenty. I'll have a new bonus story
coming out on Thursday and a story for everyone on Monday.
I'll catch you on the next one.
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