Welcome back to Queernecks, where glitter meets grit on the front porch. This week, Dash and Beck swap stories about house shoes, high-tech cat litter boxes, small-town characters, and the ways humor keeps Appalachian queer folks surviving and thriving. From food memories to mixtape nostalgia, from local legends to the grit of everyday life, this episode brings the laughter, the camp, and the real talk.

We’re building queer community one holler story at a time—and we want y’all in on it. Got thoughts, local legends of your own, or nouns of Appalachian interest? Drop us a line at mailbag@queernecks.com.

✨ Stay in the loop and get extra gossip by joining our newsletter: queernecks on Substack.

Welcome to Queer Next, the podcast that

puts the Yee Hall in y'all means hall.

2

I'm your host, Beck, and I'm your host.

3

Dash.

4

Welcome to today's episode.

5

, dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

I washed, I'm wearing some

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freshly laundered house shoes.

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Do y'all call 'em house shoes?

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: 'em

slippers, but yeah, house shoes.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I never

heard slippers until I went up.

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I don't remember when the first time it

was, but I just remember the first time I

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heard it going like that is thought that

they were two different items, right?

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Like

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

We didn't have slippers.

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We had, we had socks.

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That's what socks were for.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: my, uh,

grandmother, my grandparents would,

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they would occasionally be trying

to, I think, signal to us that they

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were richer than my parents were.

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and so they would, they would buy

us random things or take us shopping

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and buy us a really random thing.

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And so one year they got,

they got us all house shoes.

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I just remember being like, wow, this is

fancy shoes for the inside of the house.

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But now I, it's because I have a

texture thing and I can't stand when

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my bare feet walk on something that

is dirty and I don't sweep enough.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I hear that.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: It's

a cat litter problem my God.

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I did something that made

my little white trash heart.

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clutches pearls, though.

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I bought one of those litter robots.

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Have you seen those?

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Fancy,

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Yeah, I got it from Costco.

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It was like a $900 thing with it came with

a bunch of, you can get one for a lot less

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than that if you only get the machine.

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But it came with like some steps

for Oscar's old arthritic ass and

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a year's worth of bin liners for

the litter and a mat that catches

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it when they jump out of it.

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yeah, I've been living the life since

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

have they been using it?

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah, they will,

they didn't love it at first of course,

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'cause they were like, what in the hell?

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So I let 'em keep, they had, for all

of them, it took four or five huge

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ass litter boxes at any given time

and they smelled and it just was like

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all, I had to clean 'em all the time.

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and they tracked litter everywhere.

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So I got this thing and like

slowly diminished the number of

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regular litter boxes they had

over a period of several weeks.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Well, that's awesome.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: if I leave,

um, dirty laundry or something on

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the floor, they will pee in that.

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don't know which one of 'em it

is, I don't, I just think that

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that's, I don't know what that

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

They just don't like clutter.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah, they're

like, you need to clean this shit up.

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Disgusting bastard.

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It's customer appreciation

day at my gas station.

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So I was just over there

and they gave me a free hot

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Nice.

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Free food always tastes

better than food you pay for.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Uh,

I don't remember last time

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I ate a hot dog on purpose.

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Like, I thought to myself

like, I would like a hot dog

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: But me that one.

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I said, hell

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I haven't had

one since I've been allowed to say no

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to food, I don't like hot dogs at all.

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Funnily enough, I don't like

phallic shaped food, and it's not

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because they're phallic shaped.

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It just worked out that way.

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I don't like link sausage.

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I don't like bananas.

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I don't like eggplant.

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I don't like cucumbers.

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I don't like pickles.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: my God, does it

hurt being so incorrect about something?

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All of that stuff is incredible.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: It's the texture

for most of it that I can't handle.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Texture's a

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I remember.

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So talking about like just food texture.

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we didn't hardly eat much fresh,

vegetables and stuff growing up.

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It was all canned.

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I really thought for the longest time that

I hated all kinds of vegetables because

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I'd only hand the canned version so for

instance, the canned version of asparagus

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is, nobody should put that in their mouth.

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It, I mean, for one it, it, canned

asparagus has this odd like taste,

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but the texture, if you ever had that

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I've

never had asparagus in my life.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: well,

fresh asparagus is, is pretty elite.

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I love it.

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But, um, it took a long time for me

to even about trying it because I

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really thought that all asparagus was

like, can asparagus and it's mush.

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so, it still is kind of shaped

it's asparagus shaped when it comes

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out of the can, but when you touch

it, it just liquefies it is awful.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: The

only vegetables mom gave us

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were potatoes and corn and the

occasional carrot and a pot roast.

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yeah, mom had like five recipes that she

made on a rotation, rotating basis, and

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the rest of the time we ate fast food.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Does she ever like bake stuff?

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Does she make cakes and

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Not

all the time, sometimes for

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your birthday or whatever.

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Um, they could, they could whip

together that she was big on fudge.

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She made fudge for us.

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I, she learned, my wife

learned how to make it.

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and I try to get her to make

it for me and she won't.

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but it's, she knows how to do it.

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So there's at least that she

learned how to make my mom's fudge

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and my mom's mashed potatoes.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Fuck fudge.

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Like fudge is, um, amazing, but I,

there's a kind of, a quality to fudge

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in Appalachia in particular to me.

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' cause I've just tried many different

kinds since moving away and I'm like,

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yeah, there's like objectively sugar

and, and peanut butter and chocolate and,

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and whatever you're gonna put in here

and melt together, it's gonna be great.

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But there is, about the

kind that they made.

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Jellico Mountain in particular, there

was a gas station in there that would

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sell somebody's homemade version.

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And I have never tasted

anything like it since then.

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And in a way, I am kind of

like, I don't want fudge.

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It's not gonna

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Mom

made the, the recipe on the

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back of the Hershey cocoa.

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it was for, for a long time.

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It was on the back of the

Hershey cocoa container.

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it's really good.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: uh, my mom tried

to make some once my mom was not a, uh.

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A desserts person.

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She didn't, she will make us cakes

for our birthdays, but she just

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didn't put the energy into like,

you gotta cook a whole ass meal.

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You gotta, you have to go to work, you

have to do, you have to be a mom and a,

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a, a person who has at least one, if not

two or more jobs, they come home and, and

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put something on the table for dinner.

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I don't think it's weird at all to not

want to do des dessert on top of all

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: she would

claim that it was because she didn't

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like it, don't think that's true.

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likes it.

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But one time she did, she did

make an attempt at what I think

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was peanut butter fudge, and I

don't know what she did to it.

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I don't know what happened to

it while I was in that oven.

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But I have this distinct

memory of, you know, the, those

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really thick butter knives.

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Well, she broke one in half to

cut down the center of this fudge.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Now that's, that's a talent.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: And I remember

like in a, you know, to her credit,

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she thought it was hysterical too.

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But I just remember that was maybe

the, my earliest memory of my dad

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laughing so hard that he like turned

red and his, he was crying and stuff.

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My dad loves to

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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, dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Once we'd

learned that and we became, when you're

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a kid, you begin to like, get a sense of

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Mm-hmm.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: It, it

just became our mission to make him

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laugh until no sound could come out.

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That's how hard he laughs.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: That

was my goal with mom because I

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learned that you weren't in trouble

once if you were funny and she'd

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stop being sad if you were funny.

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So I got real funny.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: a lot of kids

learn that humor is a self-defense.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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It loosens a lot of situations

that are otherwise very tense.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I'm looking

at, need to take off the things we've

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already hit on the wheel, what have you.

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They go fast.

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It's gonna be time to put some more on.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Can you

believe this is our 13th episode

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

No, we're getting so good.

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One of these days I'll get like

a place to actually record where

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there's good sound quality.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: and one day

I'll get our website all put together.

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I'm working on it though.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I just

don't think, I mean, like we're, we're

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working, we're having a good time.

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I don't think there's any reason

to just freak out and rush about

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

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We got an email address this week,

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Hell yeah.

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Tell the listeners

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: so if you

would like to reach out to us via email,

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please do so at mailbag@queernecks.com.

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M-A-I-L-B-A g@queernecks.com

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

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We don't know why you'd wanna talk to us,

but if you did say you wanna offer us big

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bunches of money to make entertainment,

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

at your local bowling alley.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: what?

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Have, what Have you

been watching anything?

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What have you been doing

lately for entertainment?

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Um, the

last week and a half I've been

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solely working on my syllabi and

trying to get that stuff together.

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so I've been watching a lot of YouTube.

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there's a show on Netflix

called Son of a Critch.

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Um, nobody has heard of

it when I mention it.

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It's from Canadian tv.

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It Broad.

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It's on Canadian Broadcasting Channel.

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it's really cute.

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There's a fourth season that I

can't find anywhere that just aired.

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but the first three

seasons are on Netflix.

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It's really cute.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Malcolm McDowell is in this.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Yeah, he's the grandpa.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Cool.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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It takes place in, uh, Newfoundland

He's a kid and he's in a ca, a Catholic,

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uh, middle school elementary school,

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: it's on the cw.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Um, it's on Netflix.

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If you have Netflix.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I just

recently have started going like, what

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do I want to meaningfully spend money

on, like subbing to Patreons and stuff?

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Like who, what artists do I wanna support?

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' especially with the amount of time I

spend consuming podcasts or YouTube or

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something, and, and also just getting

started doing this, now I'm noticing that.

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there's, there's all these ways

you can support artists with your

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dollars I just subbed to one, person.

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and it's like $1 a month.

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she has so many, I think, subscribers

that that's all she needs.

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And so she's not trying

to, squeeze anybody.

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And I was like, I can do $1 a month for

the amount of stuff that I get from you.

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' cause I had been watching her shit.

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It's Fundie.

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Fridays on, YouTube and she does

watch parties and her Discord,

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I was like, that's a fuckton

of work and I'm benefiting from

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at least a good portion of it.

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So I'll give you, I can give you

a dollar a month, but at the same

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time, I'm getting rid of things like

Netflix and Paramount, Paramount.

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I'm so mad at

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah, I

got rid of everything for the summer.

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'cause there's no, nothing new

on TV during the summer anyway.

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There's no new content, so you're

really just paying to, to place

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hold until the new stuff comes out.

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Um, so I,

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: true.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: 'em

every summer and then as there's

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things I wanna watch, I re-up them.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

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I restarted Netflix so that

I could watch Wednesday.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: And I just,

I rarely ever actually open Netflix.

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First thing I do when I open

the Roku is go to YouTube.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

that's what I do on my tv.

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I watch, I have several

YouTubers that I follow and I

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watch all the late night stuff.

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Like I watch Jimmy Kimmel every morning.

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I don't watch him live, but I

watch the monologue every morning.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Really bizarrely

specific fake news going around lately.

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I saw, uh, I got a Google alert

that the IRS is gonna give us all a

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$1,500 stimulus package or stimulus

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I

got something like that too.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

That is absolutely

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right?

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: So

I was like, what the fuck?

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There's a funny, uh, weird Al

Yankovic, you know how he and um,

260

will Forte, they just did a cover

of Chappell Roan, pink Pony Club.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

No, I haven't heard it.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

It's really cute.

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and it's live.

264

And they were just, um, I don't know

what the rest of the show was, but

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they were kind of joking because

he doesn't do straight covers.

266

He always does parodies.

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and they just, they did a straight cover

of it because they're like, this song

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is, there's nothing to improve on here.

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But he posted, I don't know if it was

X or Threads, uh, in a screenshot of

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Google saying, something about, you

know, Chappell Roan And, and it's

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a picture of him doing that song

and he is like, are you sure about

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this Google, Google's getting worse.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I was using chat

GPT the other day, um, and I was working

274

on creating, um, a co a state, like

I'll, I'll write something and tell it to

275

rewrite it nicely or more professional.

276

and that, like, I would get the,

some, tips out of that sometimes.

277

And it was just making things up

whole cloth that weren't even part

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of the notes that I was giving it.

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And I was like, just typing

no and hitting enter.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: don't remember

the last thing I tried to use it for, but

281

I also just, and, and also like once it

starts on something, you can't get it to

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: and

you can't type either because

284

it's working on something.

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And so I just had to sit there

while it did something that

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was not at all what I wanted.

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Yeah.

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I, I think it's getting

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Are you,

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

it's getting dumber.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

you polite to AI.

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Well, I don't

talk to it that often, I guess mean to it.

293

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Do

you say thank you to Alexa?

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dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I don't have an

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Ah, you should.

296

It's good for the weather and it tells

you when your Amazon packages arrive.

297

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I

don't have any smart home things.

298

There's, I have a router, and it is

compatible with a lot of stuff like that,

299

but I don't, like what's it gonna do in

this a hundred year old goblin house?

300

in here is smart, so I

just never have bothered.

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I do

think the plugins are neat because

302

you can be like, turn on the living

room lamp and it just comes on,

303

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Yeah, that's really Star Trek.

304

That,

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beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: the technology

I always wanted from TV in the eighties

306

was the hand link that Al used on Quantum

Leap, the, the guy that was his coach.

307

Did you ever see that show

308

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah,

309

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: al his

friend that was in the future?

310

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: yeah,

311

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: had a,

312

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: the guide.

313

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: he had

a little thing that he would hold

314

a little hand link and he'd get

information from it and he'd read it.

315

It was way before cell

phones or anything like that.

316

So it was cool that he had this thing,

like this instant computer in his hand

317

they were bulky and they were colorful and

they made all kinds of interesting noises.

318

And I've always wanted one,

319

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Do you ever have an iMac?

320

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: hell no.

321

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

You remember those

322

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: school,

I think there were a few, um,

323

my, my parents never would've,

sprung for a Mac computer, never.

324

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: A

lot of people don't know like

325

how many eras Apple has had.

326

so Macintosh was just like the

first PC and it had like that, you

327

know, amazing green, font on it

and you could play organ trail.

328

But the iMac was that one that, this

is where Apple was first trying on.

329

They were trying to do aesthetic.

330

They were trying to be like, we

have style, this is how we're

331

gonna distinguish ourselves.

332

And they were bright colors

and bulbous and weird looking.

333

They were self-contained machines too.

334

and I just remember like

thinking, where's this going?

335

I would get wish books of guitars

and computers and just sit and dream

336

about owning something one day.

337

And now you kind of have to

try to not have a computer.

338

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

339

They're in everything.

340

My insurance company sent me all new

testing supplies today and it came

341

with a new monitor, um, and new test

strips and it's all super fancy.

342

and it's connected to the internet.

343

Why does my blood glucose monitor

need to be connected to the internet?

344

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

This, this litter robot I

345

bought it talks to me all day.

346

It'll send me a text message.

347

Felix took a shit.

348

It weighs them.

349

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: that's funny.

350

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

351

I'm like, okay.

352

It'll tell me when

brisket's playing in it.

353

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: So it's

a narc is what you're saying.

354

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: It's a narc.

355

Yeah, some you can get, uh, I was kind

of tempted to get the cat cameras that

356

you can watch your cats with all day,

but then I knew that I would just be

357

sad and then that they would be sad.

358

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: My

two littles will out of nowhere.

359

if they forget your home and they're

on the couch they will just throw

360

their little heads back outta nowhere

and howl the saddest little howl that

361

you have ever heard in your life.

362

And we talked about getting those cameras,

but I, I, if I saw that happening, I'd be

363

like, I gotta leave right now and go home.

364

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: to,

365

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I couldn't

know it was happening and not go.

366

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: when

you buy a house, they try to

367

sell you all kinds of shit.

368

There's these like parasite vendors that

come at you like ADT, and they're like,

369

we'll give you these cameras for free.

370

And it's like, I don't want any of that

shit, they'll come at you and they're

371

like, it's a selling point to have the

ADT sign in your yard because, because it

372

says, don't try to break into my house.

373

do you know where I live?

374

Nobody's gonna try to break into this

house they're all related to each other.

375

They all know each other.

376

if anybody saw you do it, everybody else

would know you'd done it in an hour.

377

You're not gonna get

away with anything here.

378

Be kind of gauche to be like,

don't break into my house.

379

There's nothing but garbage in here.

380

Maybe we ought to spin this

381

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Let's do it.

382

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: see

if we can get ourselves, whoop.

383

All right.

384

So we landed on local legends.

385

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Local legends,

386

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I was thinking

more like legendary people, here's one.

387

There's one person Uh,

this is from Richmond.

388

So when I lived in Richmond, a

guy there, I think he's still

389

alive, they call Big World.

390

he called himself Big World, actually.

391

so it world, but nobody's

pronounces the D So Big

392

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: big world.

393

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: and

394

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

It's like big worm.

395

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

396

so Whirl is a, a guy.

397

I never have known how old he

is, but he's smaller now, but

398

he was always a real large guy.

399

he was just kind of, I think, uh,

neurodivergent and, his favorite thing

400

in the world was to be outside and just.

401

Talking to people and he would ride

a bicycle around and just go from

402

place to place and talk to everybody.

403

He was a black guy, so was interesting

watching him go between, because the

404

places he would go, you would think, like,

I wonder if that's a safe place for him.

405

it could be that that was,

that's a, an assumption that's

406

not fair to make of anybody.

407

And it could also be that like

everybody just loved world.

408

but he called himself big world because

he was outside and he went around to

409

everybody so much that he started to sell

sign space on his bicycle for advertising.

410

So local businesses would give

whirl $5 a month or whatever to

411

ride his bicycle around with a

sign for the, with their business

412

sticking off the back of his bike.

413

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: That's awesome.

414

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: he got,

as he got older, he couldn't ride

415

his bike as much, but he got a

tricycle and would ride that around.

416

And then he got a little less

capable, of paddling that around.

417

and he would stop and praise on

the, on the corners and stuff too.

418

Like you, sometimes you'd stop at

the, at the, the red light and world

419

would be on the corner praising,

it's like, okay, Getty World.

420

And he would, it would be very

animated and then he would be

421

fine after that and just go on.

422

So nobody, nobody bothered him.

423

You just knew that sometimes

the world would stop and praise

424

and you couldn't talk to him.

425

but he wasn't, he would be struggling to

get along on his pedal powered things.

426

And somebody gave him a lawnmower,

they took the blades off of it and gave

427

him a lawnmower to drive around and

he got a big cart on the back of it.

428

And then it was just signs all

galore and everybody wanted world to.

429

Promote their business, but there

was a law against riding a mo, a

430

lawnmower on the road so there was

like a petition, like the whole town

431

petitioned I don't know if it was,

change the law or make an exception to

432

be able to still ride his mower around

and make his money and visit everybody.

433

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: That's awesome.

434

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: at the, the

bowling alley I worked at, we had a

435

little like newspaper there and it was,

we would do like, there was a game of

436

where's Whirl and it was like Photoshop

a picture of him into something.

437

He caught us one night, man, me and my

roommates, we were playing strip poker,

438

and we decided to go outside for a smoke.

439

He rolled up on us and we were

just like, oh God, what do we do?

440

But he stopped.

441

He saw it.

442

He noticed, he goes,

ah, shit, y'alls naked.

443

It's like, yes, you better go.

444

I guess he's probably the most legendary

person, uh, from, from Richmond.

445

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: The

only person I can think of is

446

a guy that was named Rodney.

447

Um, he happened to be a black man as well.

448

he was developmentally delayed.

449

Uh, and he would walk around.

450

I remember him from

the time I was 6, 7, 8.

451

He would always be around the

parks and the bowling alley.

452

'cause I was bowling alley a lot.

453

And he wanted everybody's autograph

and he would make balloon animals.

454

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Hell

455

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

456

But everybody knew Rodney and

you'd see him all over town.

457

there were people that came to Bingo

that were, that were legendary.

458

Like the lady that, um, got arrested

by the FBI in the middle of a game.

459

One day she worked at a bank and she

had embezzled from the bank and they

460

waited on her to be in a public place

and they came in and pulled her ass

461

out of bingo and took her to jail.

462

Everybody was like, holy cow.

463

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Was she playing

464

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yes.

465

Oh, I don't know.

466

She was playing bingo.

467

I don't know where she got the money.

468

She was a big tip player too.

469

Um, some of those people would get their

check and come spend eight, $900 a night.

470

It was wild.

471

That's doing all that is why

I don't really gamble anymore.

472

I'll go to bingo once in a while knowing

that I'm gonna lose my money and it's

473

this pleasant surprise when I win.

474

But the house always wins and I

got, my mom was a gambler, my dad

475

was a gambler and I am just not.

476

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I, I've

never really, gambling wasn't a thing.

477

In Jellico, like it wasn't legal

and people played poker, but I

478

didn't, I didn't know anybody

that was like sitting there losing

479

their shirt on high stakes poker.

480

I don't think that the, the dopamine

hit from winning at, at something

481

like gambling would've been the same

to me as it was like something like

482

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

483

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: or alcohol.

484

you always know that one's gonna hit.

485

And I just, the gambling just

didn't, I didn't understand

486

it, it didn't do it for me.

487

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Gambling

was such a part of my mom's life that

488

my dad tracked down the first slot

machine she ever played and bought

489

it, and it sat beside the door of my

bedroom in the hallway for 20 years.

490

I don't know what happened to it.

491

When my dad died, it disappeared.

492

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Your, your mom

was kind of a local legend, like she had

493

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

I'll give you that.

494

I'll give you that.

495

Yeah.

496

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

Like the porn shop, the bingo,

497

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Anywhere you

wanted to chain smoke, my mom was there

498

and they would man that, that's why I

basically have to have a fan in almost

499

every room I'm in and I have to have a

window cracked in a car because I, for

500

so long they, they would chain smoke.

501

Like they would go between a

cart and a day between them.

502

yeah.

503

And they wouldn't roll down the windows

that's, like I said, that's why to

504

this day I can't sleep without a fan.

505

That's why I have to have a fan

in nearly every room I'm in.

506

I always have to have air moving.

507

I can't, the stagnant

air, I just can't breathe.

508

I come from a long line of smokers.

509

All three of my parents smoke.

510

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: On

my mom's side, they all did.

511

Um, nobody on my dad's side did I think

that there is a, well, it's, it's not

512

just me that thinks this, this is a pretty

well, well documented and researched,

513

correlation between smoking and poverty.

514

the way that certain vices are

classed all I, maybe all vices

515

are classed, I don't know.

516

but smoking in particular is

a poor person, affectation.

517

And I think some people, and I

also would, would probably say

518

that it's to do with, you can, you

can sit down and take a breath.

519

There's so few rests to be taken in the

life of someone who is in the mines or, or

520

a service industry or something like that.

521

Like you, I think we talked about

this before, like you start smoking

522

because you can take a break if you

523

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right.

524

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

And also it's a stimulant.

525

And it was a readily

available one for a long time.

526

Cigarettes were cheap as

527

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

528

And they would sell to anybody.

529

I started smoking when I was 16

and I had no problem getting them.

530

That was the nineties before all the,

the laws changed and everything because

531

now you have to be 21 to buy cigarettes.

532

I.

533

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I know.

534

I saw that.

535

yeah, I, I was buying cigarettes when I

was 15 or 16 supposed to, you were, had to

536

be 18, but nobody, not many people cared.

537

they knew we were in high school

because it was, we would stop at this.

538

It was, uh, the quick shop, quick stop.

539

One of those across the street from

my high school, literally across

540

the street from my high school.

541

And we would all just go in there

and smoke before school and buy.

542

We'd buy her cigarettes from there.

543

She knew we were high

544

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah, if a

place can be legendary as a legendary

545

local, the Briar patch was the name of

the gas station where I usually got my

546

cigarettes, and that place is legendary.

547

They sell everything

that you can think of.

548

You can get a giant bag of dog

food, like a 60 pound bag of dog

549

food just as easily as you can.

550

Buy a crockpot just as easily as you can.

551

Buy a sympathy card just

as easily as you can.

552

Buy a gas station chicken

with frog legs on the side.

553

they sell milk, they sell beer,

they sell, statues of, bald

554

eagles flying through the air.

555

They sell statues of, Native Americans.

556

they're one of those, uh, gas

stations that sell the little

557

crack pipes on the counter.

558

The little roses?

559

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: With a

560

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

561

Like you name it, and you can

get it at the Briar patch.

562

I worked there one summer and it was wild.

563

They never close for

any reason whatsoever.

564

they have live bait.

565

They have a live, live bait

refrigerator sitting there.

566

yeah, literally anything.

567

They have racing fuel,

568

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

what's racing fuel?

569

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: um, a

higher octane fuel that you can put

570

in a car to, to optimize the engine.

571

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: It's go faster

572

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

573

But you can also buy kerosene there

for heaters and stuff like that.

574

but yeah, they have

racing fuel right there.

575

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I think

it was pretty easy for, high school

576

athletes to become local legends.

577

it is like small town celebrity, don't

know, is this true at a, for a lot of

578

places, but the, the kind of like sad

decline of the high school football

579

star, like the person who becomes that,

that level of celebrity over something

580

like high school athletics and kind

of throws away the rest of their life.

581

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I know

there were some guys like that.

582

Um, I can think of one guy

specifically named Josh.

583

Um, he was like six foot four

when we were in the seventh grade.

584

He was huge bean pole and he was

good at basketball and that kind of

585

thing, and he was really popular.

586

I knew he was the only person I knew

from kindergarten through 12th grade

587

because we both changed schools and went

to the same school in the sixth grade.

588

Like he followed me there like

three weeks after I moved.

589

It was weird.

590

But then he spent the rest of his life

working as a, he, he first was a, a writer

591

for the local newspaper, a sports writer.

592

Then I ran into and ran into

him, and he was a waiter at a,

593

like a roadhouse type restaurant.

594

and then in his obituary it said that

he was an adjunct at Shawnee State.

595

So I don't, I think he was an EMT.

596

He might have been doing stuff with that.

597

I don't know.

598

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Hmm.

599

So he did stuff

600

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: he, but he,

he definitely peaked in high school.

601

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: well,

I think we have to be careful,

602

like how we're measuring success,

603

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Totally true.

604

True.

605

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

I have a, I have a bias.

606

I know that staying behind

would've been not successful.

607

It wouldn't have felt successful to me.

608

But for some people then that

is, that is what they out to do.

609

but I think it's a more like a level

of, of how they see themselves.

610

does someone, is it, is it more

difficult to continue to grow, to

611

see yourself as an evolving person?

612

If you receive that amount of

adoration and praise and stuff at

613

such a silly point in a person's

614

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

615

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

school is fucking

616

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

617

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: and I just

always wondered what it would be like,

618

what it's, what it would be like to have

to try to become an adult, which it has

619

a lot of sad and lonely and difficult

parts after having been someone who was

620

damn near and worshiped in in high school.

621

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: there's

a lot of drinking that goes on.

622

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: you know,

well, a lot of the guys that were in

623

that position from my school are dead

624

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

625

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

from stuff like that.

626

But our generation too, like the, our

generation was really specific because

627

we got hit by the opioid epidemic.

628

And I'm, I'm continually struck by

being other places than Appalachia

629

and also just meeting younger people

that they really don't know what

630

that, what that means, what the opioid

epidemic did and what it was, and

631

how its effects are still so felt.

632

you know, we talk about how we,

we lost a generation to hiv aids.

633

Appalachia lost a generation to

634

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: They sure did.

635

I lost my brother and uh, three

first cousins to the opioid epidemic

636

so many people that I knew from

high school and my area was so bad.

637

The intervention made an episode about

the opioid epidemic, about my hometown.

638

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

639

And, and the region you're

from in particular is, is

640

often considered the ground

641

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

642

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

for that epidemic.

643

And listeners, if you don't

know that epidemic was

644

engineered, it was class warfare.

645

I don't care if you think I

sound like Alex Jones right now.

646

It's documented.

647

You can look it up.

648

it was done to us to make a buck and

the Sacklers need to burn in hell

649

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Amen.

650

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: poverty is

is a where these kinds of things root.

651

They can be engineered, they can be

incidental, they can be overflow, they

652

can be the next wave or evolution of

some other evil or some other thing.

653

but this one was ours.

654

This was, was the one that

defined our generation.

655

and I think still, still does.

656

I mean, I know plenty of people

who are still dealing with,

657

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yep.

658

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

with repercussions of

659

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yep.

660

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: you know, in

the nineties too with AIDS was, it's

661

not like AIDS wasn't there anymore.

662

Between that and opioids,

they're just all gone.

663

Gone.

664

Or sick.

665

Or sick.

666

And, and, their lives have been

marked or defined by this thing.

667

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I've

lost a lot of people to drugs

668

and alcohol and depression.

669

Well,

670

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

671

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I lost

my dad to lung cancer from smoking.

672

I lost my aunt to COPD from smoking.

673

Um, I had another aunt die kidney

failure from her uncontrolled diabetes.

674

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: the kinds of

things that happens on a systemic level to

675

Appalachia or to poor black neighborhoods

not a long list of places where we would

676

allow that shit to happen to other people.

677

Where it would just, to middle

class people to nice white people.

678

They would, they would ring

every alarm bell they could

679

find, but it's not affecting the

kind of people that care about.

680

So why do

681

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Right,

682

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: and sort of

back to this like local legend type

683

of thing, and I, I'm telling everybody

this every time I get the opportunity,

684

places like that, like Appalachia,

like those poor black neighborhoods,

685

they will do the shit themselves.

686

Like if, if they need, if somebody needs

help, they will do that shit themselves.

687

They will find help.

688

The mutual aid going on in Appalachia

right now, the, um, socioeconomic

689

development, Self-directed, by people in

the region to try to do something because

690

nobody else is going to, nobody external

to the region is gonna give a fuck.

691

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I ain't that it,

692

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Did you

ever do something legendary and then

693

like want to tell everybody about it?

694

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

It's, it's kind of dark.

695

Um, but the coolest thing

I have ever done, um.

696

Stay with me here.

697

One of my many jobs, over the years

is that I worked at the rape crisis

698

center in Toledo, and one of the first

cases I had was pretty appalling.

699

long story short, it, it happened in

front of the woman's grandson and, I

700

only worked there for a short period of

time, but I remained close to the woman.

701

Um, I was there when she had

her exam at the hospital.

702

I went through the whole process with her.

703

I held her hand, and I, I

stayed on as a volunteer.

704

And when the guy went to trial, um, and

they, it was time to read the victim

705

impact statement, I read her, I, I

helped her write it and I read the victim

706

impact statement for her and I got to

call that guy an asshole to his face

707

before the judge.

708

It's on the record forever that

I called that man an asshole.

709

Um, and then he got

sentenced to five years.

710

So, I think that was pretty legendary.

711

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: yeah,

712

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: It's one

of the coolest things I've, I've

713

gotten to do, um, through my work

in women's studies and feminism.

714

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: that's,

that's pretty fucking epic.

715

I don't think I've, I don't

think I've done many cool things.

716

I have.

717

Survived a lot of things

that should have killed me.

718

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Amen to that too.

719

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: There's,

I have a whole lot of stories that,

720

should have been my last thing that

could have been on my, my gravestone.

721

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: CII haven't

spent a lot of time inebriated in my life.

722

but I have greivously injured

myself on more than one occasion.

723

like I said, my n my leg

nearly fell off one time.

724

my arm was almost ripped off by a boat.

725

my cat, I, I got bitten by a

cat and my hand turned black and

726

started swelling up like crazy.

727

I've been in some, some serious accidents.

728

I, I've wrecked several cars.

729

but thank goodness I've

always been okay so far.

730

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: My, my papa,

has done, survived some crazy shit,

731

and he's kind of a, legend to me.

732

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I.

733

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: so he, I think

he was in his, in his eighties, late

734

seventies, early eighties, and was driving

a tractor and it rolled down the hill.

735

It rolled over on him and he was fine.

736

he fractured a rib and that was it.

737

When he was 90, he was driving an

old a Chevy S 10 without a seatbelt

738

and got t-boned and was fine.

739

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Oh wow.

740

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

he was, he was like made of

741

something, some different stuff.

742

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: A wild

story that happened to my Pappa.

743

It was before I was born, and I heard

it through the grapevine, of course.

744

he was a truck driver and one time he was

trucking along and he fell asleep at the

745

wheel and there was a truck broke down

on the side of the road and his, his semi

746

hit the truck and ran over the guy that

was under the hood and the guy was dead.

747

And so they did some research and

it turns out he had had a heart

748

attack and died under the hood.

749

And if they hadn't been able to

prove that, my grandpa would've

750

gone to prison for a very long time.

751

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

752

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

753

But the guy had had a heart

attack and pa and died under the

754

hood on the side of the road.

755

And that's when my papa hit him.

756

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Dang.

757

My, so my dad drove trains for,

the railroad as a brakeman because

758

everybody starts at the bottom,

and it's all seniority based.

759

eventually though, everybody

works up to go into engineer

760

school at Norfolk Southern.

761

Anyway, I don't know if all railroads are

like this, after that you drive trains.

762

So he did that for probably 15 years.

763

People will, I know a, a person who is,

is, uh, in the mental state where they

764

want to take their own life, is not making

decisions, in a, in an organized way.

765

folks choose trains to take their own

lives I think maybe not understanding

766

that there's a person inside and

so he has to go, on kind of trial

767

every time someone does that.

768

so he sees this, right?

769

Because it's, there's windows , but

then he has to go and be deposed and

770

make sure that like, though they're the

person, they put themselves in front of

771

the train, he still, like if he make,

if he had made a single mistake or

772

something like that, he would be liable.

773

and the number of times that, like, I, I

don't know how he did the job he did for

774

as long as he did once would be enough for

775

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

776

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: that.

777

And people do it a lot.

778

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Wow.

779

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I

780

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: You

don't hear about that very often.

781

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: know.

782

No, the railroad's actually

pretty good at keeping secrets.

783

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah,

784

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Well,

I maybe it is a good time to

785

hear from this week's sponsor.

786

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: do it.

787

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I'm really

excited, really excited about this one.

788

this week's sponsor is 1989 Geo Metro.

789

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

I owned one of those.

790

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I do.

791

Now y'all, some folks out here will

flex with their shiny new trucks,

792

their lifted Jeeps, their cars that

start with keys, but you don't need

793

none of that when you got the rubber

band powered Dollar Store Gremlin of

794

Appalachia, the 1989 Geo Metro, car for

which the Ford Pinto is aspirational.

795

Three cylinders count

'em like the dollar bill.

796

Your queer as a fourth cylinder would

simply be too much, and that's only

797

reserved for blush and the number

of carabiners on a wallet chain.

798

Four speed transmission means you'll

get to savor every gear shift like the

799

last cigarette before drag bingo starts.

800

need for any theft protection.

801

If anybody wanted it,

they'd have already got it.

802

The key's been broken off in the

ignition since 93, and the door

803

locks may have never worked.

804

Now the dash.

805

this beauty tops out at 85 miles an

hour, but if you dare take it over 55.

806

Oh honey, she shakes harder

than a Pentecostal in church.

807

she's not driving.

808

She's reviving.

809

This Metro's interactive dash and column

panel keep you and your passengers

810

engaged, chasing buttons around the

floor as they fly off in every direction.

811

Push one for the wipers and the low beams

button launches a bid towards the window.

812

Metro likes to keep you on your toes.

813

the 1989 Geo Metro is the

perfect car for Appalachia.

814

A place where the question is never

whether it's the newest or the nicest,

815

but only can it take me and my chosen

family somewhere else for a while.

816

If the answer is yes, then it's as nice

as a Bentley and fast as a Maserati.

817

Plus, you can get one for the

cost of gas to get it home.

818

week's episode is sponsored by 1989, geo

Metro, keeping you humble and creative.

819

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Very cool though.

820

I would like to point out I did

have an alarm system on my metro.

821

yes.

822

Because I had really nice stereo.

823

We put a pioneer stereo in it,

so we put a car alarm on it.

824

It would just go off for hours at school.

825

I'd get called into the office

and I'd know what it was for.

826

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Uh,

mine had a tape deck in it.

827

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah, no,

that was one thing that I had, uh, I,

828

my dad always kept me in a good radio.

829

I had satellite radio like

the first year it came out.

830

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Dang.

831

Oh, that's

832

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

833

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: your mom and

your, your dad and stepdad were big

834

believers in, having the, the cinemas

835

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

836

Yeah.

837

Not so much the insurance, but yeah.

838

Like the satellite radio

and the, the bingo and the,

839

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

we, we would make mixtapes

840

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: mm-hmm.

841

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: like I

was talking about last week, and

842

then also off of, you remember M 2,

843

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: No.

844

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

so not M-T-V-M-T-V two.

845

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: No.

846

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: MTV became

just reality TV and stuff like

847

that, they moved the music videos

to a separate channel called M

848

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Huh.

849

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: It wasn't

part of, I think, traditional cable.

850

We got it because of the, the

satellite dish that my dad took

851

the restraining bolt off of.

852

And they played all, they, it

wasn't just what was on the radio,

853

they played like indie stuff.

854

This is the first time

I heard Ani DiFranco.

855

This was the first time I heard,

Suzanne Vega and Slater Kenny

856

Veruca Salt, like all of these

things that really became important.

857

music influences for me.

858

They were on M two, but my dad had

hooked up this system, this monitor with

859

JBLs so we could listen to, you know,

movies and stuff and surround sound.

860

and me and my brother figured out a way to

wire it to the TV so that we could record

861

music it I think it was, I don't even

remember how we did it, but yeah, we were

862

making our own, mixtapes off of M two.

863

And so I was.

864

Thumping those in the, in the metro.

865

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I remember I

had, um, I specifically remember listening

866

to the Weezer Blue album, back then.

867

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

I listened to that one

868

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah, I

know every word to that whole cd.

869

It's, it's perfect from start to finish.

870

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

871

Yeah.

872

The, from the very first, like that,

like acoustic guitar of my name is

873

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yep.

874

Which I had a very best

friend named Jonas.

875

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: yeah.

876

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: it was funny.

877

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Did you

see any of the music videos for that?

878

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Uh, yeah.

879

The Buddy Holly one was really popular.

880

Um, and the, the, the undone

sweater song was also popular.

881

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yeah.

882

Say it ain't

883

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

884

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I took that

CD to college with me and my, I remember

885

feeling really lonely and I was, um, in

my dorm room on the top bunk, staring at

886

the ceiling, listening to Only In Dreams.

887

And you know how that song, like, it takes

its time, it really, pares itself down

888

to hardly anything for a while there it's

just the bass guitar and that, the cymbal,

889

the high hat and it slowly builds back up.

890

And that's like a formative memory

for me of going away to college was

891

just kind of, I had my eyes closed

and I was just listening really hard.

892

I had it turned up really loud and I was

trying to, trying to find some bridge

893

between like who and what and where I had

been just a week ago and where I was gonna

894

be, you know, now, whatever that meant.

895

It's funny how music can do that.

896

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: The, the

don't go chasing waterfalls takes

897

me back to my very first dorm room.

898

from the, I I did a summer program

between my junior and senior year of

899

college where we stayed on campus for

six weeks and lived in the dorms, had

900

a roommate and all that kind of stuff.

901

And that was that summer

that that song came out.

902

And I remember people listening

to it spec I specifically,

903

that song takes me back there.

904

my senior year of high school, my

mom let me go to a, a concert in

905

Toledo, which is, is no big deal now

because I live in Toledo, but Toledo

906

is 250 miles from where I grew up.

907

It was a pretty good drive.

908

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: a big city.

909

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

910

but we were allowed to go and it was

the off, no, it was, um, Bush, no doubt.

911

And the Googo dolls.

912

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Oh, hell

913

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

914

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: a great

915

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

916

It was, it was fantastic.

917

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I loved Bush.

918

That first album, um, what was it called?

919

Come Down?

920

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

Uh, was it glycerine?

921

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: uh, no,

those are the names of the songs.

922

What was the first?

923

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I had it.

924

Pearl Jam versus is one of my favorite.

925

Also Perfect.

926

From,

927

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Stone.

928

It was called.

929

Yeah.

930

Uh, which I had no idea was a measurement

system because I didn't know anything

931

about Britain and their stone things.

932

but yeah, I, that album and, um,

offspring, I, I really, I enjoyed

933

them, but I was never as huge into

them as, as I was like Weezer, um,

934

silver chair, uh, Columbia House

has probably got a hit out on,

935

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

I had so many accounts.

936

I would just put a variation

spelling of my name and order.

937

12 more

938

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

of CDs from those

939

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: of them, like

I had the Gregorian chant cd and yeah.

940

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247:

that was kind of funny.

941

Like that, that period in the

nineties when everybody was

942

really into that Gregorian

943

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

944

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: I had Inya, but

I also, this is where I got Tori Amos.

945

Did you ever listen to her?

946

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: No, no.

947

I was never a big fan.

948

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: she was

fucking everything to me for the longest

949

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I have an

ex-girlfriend that was like that, so,

950

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: who is

this bitch who says things like this?

951

there was Columbia House

and there was another one.

952

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: B-E-G-B-M-G.

953

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: BMG.

954

Yeah, it, these were, um, music agency

outlets and I was just, what were they?

955

Like what, how were they, they had

to know that they were never gonna

956

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: They were

the subscription ones because then they

957

could sell you a regular price CD at 2195

that you could go to Walmart and buy for

958

1295 or whatever, and you had to do one,

like you had to order so many in a year

959

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: You

know, in Corbin there was.

960

I know now to be a head shop.

961

I didn't know at the time that

that was the name of it that

962

my parents would take me to.

963

And it's 'cause they had music in there.

964

It was kind of like a special

media, what's it called in malls.

965

There's a, a store that sells like,

incense and blacklight posters

966

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Spencer?

967

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Spencer's.

968

Yeah.

969

It was kind of like that, but it,

it was even a little more hardcore

970

because it was independent.

971

And so I got books on like witchcraft

and stuff there, and a lot of posters

972

and music magazines and things.

973

And I would come home

with all kinds of incense.

974

I don't know why they

let me do it, I guess.

975

Well, I mean maybe they just knew

that it was actually kind of harmless.

976

I think my parents were not,

they didn't overreact about shit

977

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Yeah.

978

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: they were

never, you're gonna go to hell.

979

Satan's in there.

980

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: Though,

I gotta say when I walk into a head

981

shop these days, especially one that

has a back room with like dildos and

982

stuff in it, like, it smells like my

childhood, like incense and, and rubber.

983

It's, it's the smell of my childhood.

984

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: We, what will

we name our LLC in sense and rubber

985

listeners?

986

What should our LLC be named?

987

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247:

That's funny right there.

988

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: help this out.

989

Well, uh, if you brought one with

you, if you have it handy, would you

990

like to give us a noun of Appalachian

991

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: I would,

I picked a good one for this week.

992

Um,

993

dash_2_08-21-2025_122247: Yay.

994

beck_2_08-21-2025_132247: the

Appalachian interest, the, the

995

nouns are people, places, and things

that are of Appalachian interest.

996

And this week I went for Don Knotts.

997

When you, when you think of

American comedy legends, you

998

can't skip over Don Knotts.

999

The man that could just get

a laugh by looking nervous.

00:39:40,934 --> 00:39:44,864

in Morgantown, West Virginia.

00:39:45,104 --> 00:39:48,104

He was proof that small town

Appalachia could produce some big time.

00:39:48,104 --> 00:39:48,554

Funny.

00:39:48,554 --> 00:39:50,684

Don wasn't your typical

Hollywood leading man.

00:39:50,684 --> 00:39:53,774

He didn't swagger, he didn't flex,

and he definitely wasn't the guy

00:39:53,774 --> 00:39:55,274

saving the day with the six shooter.

00:39:55,274 --> 00:39:58,844

No, his weapon of choice was an

expression, wide-eyed twitchy, and always

00:39:58,844 --> 00:40:00,824

about two seconds from a total breakdown.

00:40:00,884 --> 00:40:03,524

And somehow that made him the

most lovable guy in the room.

00:40:03,524 --> 00:40:07,004

Of course he's best remembered as

Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show.

00:40:07,184 --> 00:40:11,474

The overconfident underqualified deputy

who kept Mayberry safe with exactly one

00:40:11,474 --> 00:40:15,404

bullet, which for public safety, Andy

wisely, made him keep in his shirt pocket.

00:40:15,404 --> 00:40:18,014

Barney was the kind of character

you rooted for even when you were

00:40:18,014 --> 00:40:21,074

waiting for him to mess something

up, which you always did gloriously.

00:40:21,074 --> 00:40:22,904

But Don Knotts wasn't a one role wonder.

00:40:22,904 --> 00:40:25,604

He made a career out of playing

the unlikely hero in comedies

00:40:25,604 --> 00:40:27,404

like My favorite, the ghost of Mr.

00:40:27,404 --> 00:40:29,174

Chicken or the Incredible Mr.

00:40:29,174 --> 00:40:32,744

Limpet where he literally turned into a

talking fish and somehow made it work.

00:40:32,744 --> 00:40:35,144

He had this rare gift for

making awkwardness, charming

00:40:35,144 --> 00:40:36,764

and fear, downright hilarious.

00:40:36,764 --> 00:40:38,594

And then there's the role that

lives in our nick at Night

00:40:38,594 --> 00:40:40,184

Hearts, the quirky Ralph Furley.

00:40:40,184 --> 00:40:43,154

Knotts carried that Appalachian

mix of humility and grit

00:40:43,154 --> 00:40:44,444

into everything that he did.

00:40:44,534 --> 00:40:46,304

He wasn't just playing small town.

00:40:46,304 --> 00:40:49,634

He was small town, and he took that

sensibility all the way to Hollywood

00:40:49,634 --> 00:40:51,614

winning five Emmys along the way.

00:40:51,614 --> 00:40:54,974

So here's to Don Knotts, the skinny kid

from Morgantown, who became America's

00:40:54,974 --> 00:40:58,094

favorite nervous wreck and proved that

you don't have to be the toughest guy

00:40:58,094 --> 00:41:00,134

in town to be the one everybody loves.

00:41:00,134 --> 00:41:01,748

Yeah, Did you ever see that,

00:41:01,853 --> 00:41:03,488

uh, music video for peaches?

00:41:03,904 --> 00:41:04,654

Fuck the pain away.

00:41:05,579 --> 00:41:05,849

00:41:05,849 --> 00:41:06,479

Can't say I did

00:41:06,773 --> 00:41:08,273

know if that's what it's called.

00:41:08,516 --> 00:41:09,656

me, oh God.

00:41:09,656 --> 00:41:11,306

What's gonna happen when

I put this into Google?

00:41:12,566 --> 00:41:13,131

Incense and rubber.

00:41:13,574 --> 00:41:14,499

it doesn't know what to do.

00:41:14,499 --> 00:41:16,089

It's not even suggesting anything.

00:41:16,779 --> 00:41:17,709

That's the name of the song.

00:41:17,799 --> 00:41:18,489

Fuck The Pain Away.

00:41:18,489 --> 00:41:20,469

the, the music video is on YouTube.

00:41:20,469 --> 00:41:22,029

it's a really good song, first of all.

00:41:22,089 --> 00:41:25,539

Uh, and it, I love peaches in

general, but what they did for this

00:41:25,539 --> 00:41:30,519

music video was green screened,

photoshopped in a hot chick.

00:41:30,519 --> 00:41:31,959

dancing in.

00:41:31,959 --> 00:41:35,499

She's got kind of, kind of a

short skirt and, sort of dancing

00:41:35,499 --> 00:41:37,449

very provocatively around.

00:41:37,449 --> 00:41:41,439

Knotts in Andy Griffith, in

particular in the jail cell.

00:41:41,499 --> 00:41:45,351

And it's just like they, you know,

the Kuleshov effect where how

00:41:45,351 --> 00:41:47,961

you cut between someone's

expression and what they're looking

00:41:47,961 --> 00:41:49,431

at creates different meaning.

00:41:49,436 --> 00:41:50,481

and so they used that.

00:41:50,481 --> 00:41:54,141

They have him reacting in his like,

you know, bug-eyed, overreacting,

00:41:54,141 --> 00:41:57,141

dawn Knotts kind of way as Barney

Five to this woman dancing around.

00:41:57,141 --> 00:41:58,461

And I just, I don't know.

00:41:58,461 --> 00:41:59,781

It was really, really fun for me.

00:41:59,898 --> 00:42:01,878

When I saw that, I was like,

I bet he would find this

00:42:02,028 --> 00:42:02,388

00:42:03,108 --> 00:42:05,088

he would know why this was funny.

00:42:05,088 --> 00:42:06,708

to have some sense of humor to have

00:42:06,708 --> 00:42:10,338

a show that had a supposed gay

character to even suggest such a

00:42:10,338 --> 00:42:13,278

thing with three with Three's Company,

how Jack was supposed to be gay.

00:42:13,278 --> 00:42:14,118

00:42:14,178 --> 00:42:17,028

you had to have some, some sensibility.

00:42:17,028 --> 00:42:19,518

not watch a lot of Three's company.

00:42:19,518 --> 00:42:23,328

here, I'm sending this, uh, fuck the

pain away music video to the chat.

00:42:23,328 --> 00:42:26,058

by the time like Nick at night

had gotten up to the eighties,

00:42:26,058 --> 00:42:27,198

I wasn't watching it anymore.

00:42:27,198 --> 00:42:28,218

When I was watching Nick at night.

00:42:28,218 --> 00:42:29,628

It was the fifties, like the forties of

00:42:29,718 --> 00:42:30,078

00:42:30,138 --> 00:42:31,938

was Robin, Laura, Petri.

00:42:31,938 --> 00:42:33,588

It was, I love Lucy.

00:42:33,588 --> 00:42:37,341

did you ever watch, Petticoat

Junction and Green Acres

00:42:37,341 --> 00:42:40,491

watch every Western that has ever been.

00:42:40,491 --> 00:42:42,111

00:42:42,111 --> 00:42:45,321

I've seen basically every

Western, so anything that was

00:42:45,321 --> 00:42:47,271

Western related I try to avoid.

00:42:47,271 --> 00:42:48,291

what is going on now?

00:42:48,291 --> 00:42:49,881

There's like a siren outside.

00:42:49,881 --> 00:42:51,196

one of your cats meow earlier.

00:42:51,517 --> 00:42:52,957

Yeah, that's Ziggy.

00:42:52,957 --> 00:42:54,967

she can't stand not being

the center of attention.

00:42:54,967 --> 00:42:57,097

sleeping dogs passed out around me.

00:42:57,227 --> 00:42:57,857

00:42:57,966 --> 00:42:59,046

00:42:59,046 --> 00:43:00,906

My girls are getting so old though.

00:43:00,906 --> 00:43:03,546

Little dogs tend to live

longer than big dogs

00:43:06,436 --> 00:43:09,376

guess, we should, uh, wrap up here,

00:43:09,376 --> 00:43:13,876

I, hope that if you, if you have

ideas about what we can name our LLC,

00:43:15,081 --> 00:43:16,781

for the wheel of what have you.

00:43:16,908 --> 00:43:17,178

00:43:17,178 --> 00:43:22,758

Remember to give us those, You can message

us, you can uh, add us on, threads.

00:43:22,758 --> 00:43:26,748

You can add us on Facebook at

Queer you can, A lot of people are

00:43:26,748 --> 00:43:31,128

commenting on the Spotify now, like

just commenting on the episode on

00:43:31,128 --> 00:43:32,658

Spotify, which is, I really love.

00:43:32,658 --> 00:43:33,318

That's pretty cool.

00:43:33,318 --> 00:43:34,578

It's easy to keep track of.

00:43:34,744 --> 00:43:34,904

00:43:35,264 --> 00:43:36,734

tell us your local legends.

00:43:36,764 --> 00:43:38,444

Tell us if you're a local legend.

00:43:38,639 --> 00:43:40,169

noun of Appalachian interest you

00:43:40,204 --> 00:43:41,164

would like to see highlighted.

00:43:41,331 --> 00:43:41,571

00:43:41,571 --> 00:43:44,181

What's, what's good from,

from your neck of Appalachia.

00:43:44,181 --> 00:43:47,601

We know it's a big wide world out

there yeah, we'll love to put more

00:43:47,601 --> 00:43:49,251

of, more of y'all in the show.

00:43:49,251 --> 00:43:52,761

I can't think of anything else to

say, so I guess we'll just let you go.

00:43:52,761 --> 00:43:53,751

Don't rush off now.

00:43:53,751 --> 00:43:54,651

Don't rush off now.

00:43:54,651 --> 00:43:55,461

Say hi to your mom and them

00:43:55,491 --> 00:43:55,711