Cultural appropriation, blaccent, and why everyone's got a fake Cherokee princess in their family tree. Beck teaches through grief while Dash navigates workplace chaos and disrespectful students. They discuss Appalachian identity politics, the difference between "Appalachia" and "Appalachian," and why white people are just now realizing what marginalized communities have known forever.

Also: anti-Trump holographic stickers, lesbian movie recommendations with questionable spitting scenes, what it's like to be the only female bowling alley mechanic, and the inaugural episode of Queernecks Sponsored Wrestling Federation (Rocking Chair vs. Lawn Chair).

Noun of Appalachian Interest: Ale-8-One

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Welcome

to Queernecks, the podcast that puts

2

the Yee Hall in y'all means hall.

3

I'm your host, Beck,

4

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

and I'm your host.

5

Dash.

6

Welcome to today's episode.

7

How was school

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

Actually pretty good today.

9

I've had a long

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: nice.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

we had to run to Michigan this

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morning, and so we did that.

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And then we came down.

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I had to get a haircut today.

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And then I had class,

uh, our topic today was.

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Cultural appropriation and

cultural appreciation and the quote

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unquote blaccent and blackface.

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And

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: damn.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: it,

it, it was, it's an, it's an

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interesting lecture, I think.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: is

blaccent the same as African

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American vernacular English?

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: When,

but when white, people do it

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Also?

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blaccent is the name of

culturally appropriating A A VE

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: exactly

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like like Iggy Azalea is a big

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Wow.

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Okay.

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That makes sense.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

It's like vocal black face,

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Mm-hmm.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

Awkwafina, does it?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Awkwafina.

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Really?

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah,

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Okay.

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I've seen the occasional like, uh,

interaction about it on social media and

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uh, kind of understood it to be something

to do with that, but didn't know what

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the, you know, the actual thing was.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah,

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Ebonics?

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Do you remember when they called

it Ebonics in the nineties?

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

It's not a word we use anymore,

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: No,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: is not.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

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Though I have to have the conversation

about I, I can't say the word, the,

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it's another word for people of color,

but then you add the ED on there.

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If you get what I'm saying, I won't say

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I do.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: And

I have a policy in my class.

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If you say it one time, you

get a zero on the question.

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If you say it two times you failed

the assignment, the third time you

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do it, you get a conduct referral.

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Because I explained very clearly why

we do not use that language anymore.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

Person first language.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah,

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I use the Appalachia example.

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Have you ever seen the video

pronouncing Appalachia on YouTube?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: if, if there's

one in particular you're talking about,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: if you

put in, uh, pronouncing Appalachia,

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you're gonna see a lady with

red hair and a green dress on.

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And she's kind of close up to

the camera and she tells a story.

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She says.

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If you go to Ireland, right, and you

drive through the country and you wanna

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go to the Waled city the, with the,

which, uh, the Irish named after the word

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for oak tree, which is Derry, So when

the, when the English came and invaded

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and colonized Ireland, they called the

same town, London Derry, So you can go

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into Ireland and you can stop at a gas

station and you can ask for directions.

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And either way, they're gonna tell you

how to get to the Waled city, right?

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But whether you say Derry or

London Derry, you're telling that

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person your politics, probably your

religion, which history you're part

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of, how you've been socialized.

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You're telling them a lot of

things about you by one word.

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And Appalachia works exactly the same way

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Hmm.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

that with Appalachia being the,

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uh, pronunciation of, uh, uh,

what's the word I'm looking for?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: It is

the colonized, I mean, like that

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pronunciation is, is it's francophone

in in origin because it's a corruption

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of, uh, Appalachia or Appalachia, which

is the, the native, the indigenous

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tribe or the indigenous people.

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It's the name of the language actually,

of the folks who lived here when these,

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these mountains or when this region,

however you wanna think about it,

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was colonized and even colonization

of something as recent as America.

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It's tricky because the, uh, so

many of those tribes or those

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family units or however they

identified themselves were nomadic.

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So who, who occupied what

land during what time period.

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I mean, it can change by as quickly

as like a hundred years or something.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: So

there's, there's multiple layers

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of indigeneity under every

colonized portion of this region.

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To your point, like, choosing to

pronounce it Appalachia, I know people

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who've changed the pronunciation

after learning about this.

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Is to signal an awareness of that

colonial history to also signal kind

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of a solidarity with colonized people.

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This, this region is one, two

actually of the most brutal and

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gruesome Indian removal acts, as they

were called, decimated Appalachia.

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The Trail of tears

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: went, I

actually don't remember what state

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it was that it, it started in,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

think it's North Carolina.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I, I was

gonna say North Carolina too, but

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I would Google it, but I'm afraid

to touch anything because I don't

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want this mic to just suddenly

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I can

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

no longer identify as a mic.

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Okay.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: see here.

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Northwest Georgia.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I mean there's,

that's one reason like that old, uh, joke

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about how so many people in Appalachia

don't wanna identify as white trash.

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They're looking for any way to identify

as something other than white trash.

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So they, you know, everybody's got

a, a Cherokee princess and somewhere

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back in their lineage or whatever.

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It's like, no bitch.

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No you don't.

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Because the Cherokee were some

of the first ones took outta here

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: right.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

long before your lily white

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indentured ancestors got here.

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I'm so sorry, but you're white trash.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

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I

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

generations of white trash.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: yeah.

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I, I could totally understand not wanting

to identify as, as white, I guess.

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And also as white trash, because

those are two different things.

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Like white trash is sort of a turd

that's been polished and is like

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waiting in line for whiteness.

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It wants to be associated with whiteness.

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It's, it's clinging to that

proximity to whiteness desperately.

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It's, it's like the, the, colorism version

of a temporarily embarrassed millionaire.

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Just a clo, you know, wait in line, be

a good little boy, lick all them boots.

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One day you'll be,

they'll pick you one day.

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They'll pick you.

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That's what running from

white trash is like.

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Just just be honest about who you are,

where your people come from, and don't

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even, there's a lot of people who

are like all in a bunch about whether

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their ancestors own slaves or not.

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Just go ahead and make the assumption

that whether they did or didn't,

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your ancestors were engaged in some

fuckery associated with slavery.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Even

if they didn't own them, they

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could have been like overseers.

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They could have been well, I

forget what they were called.

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The people, the, the ones that caught

escaped slaves that became police later.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

the, the pot Patty Rollers.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

Yeah, I think so.

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Like, just because my, you know,

poor ass ancestors didn't have

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the, the land to own slaves.

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Doesn't mean that doesn't wash 'em clean

of anything that hegemonic Whiteness did.

158

And it also doesn't mean that they weren't

out there doing the same shit these folks

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are doing when they suck up to ice, when

they're sucking up to fascism right now.

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And like the, the fact that you, a

lot of y'all are still out here doing

161

that shit also makes me think that

your ancestors were not blameless.

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' cause that apple didn't fall far.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah, keep

hearing people talk about when the regime

164

changes, when the re, when the regime

changes, I am, I can't wait to see the

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big, beautiful obituary is all I'm saying.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

I got something to show you.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: What's that?

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Ooh.

169

Where'd you get that?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Describe it

for the listeners and then I'll tell you,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: it

is a holographic kind of image.

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When you turn it one

way, it's one picture.

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When you turn it the other

way, it's another picture.

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It's a picture of Donald

Trump and it said Daddy's.

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And you turn it a little bit and it shows

a picture of Epstein and Trump Together.

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It says a pedophile.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

oh, my therapist sent me that.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Well,

that's an interesting origin story.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

No, there's multiple of them.

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Actually.

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This one might be a little harder

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

defend the homeland.

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Join ice Today, Gestapo.

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Join Ice Obey.

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Ooh,

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: And

it turns into the, they live like

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lizard, skeleton, alien inside of,

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh yeah.

189

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: there's

one that's actually kind of difficult

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to get that, to show up on camera.

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There's one of Kristi Noem though too,

and it says this, it's the same language,

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but it's, her transition is pretty fierce.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah, that's.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I'm, I'll

link the artist, uh, or artists.

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There's a website here.

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Bad Taste, good Cause and it is some

sort of, they, their website is wacky

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and, and they are not serious about

anything, uh, apparently except for,

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you know, making fun of these folks.

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But they describe themselves

as a DEI comedy troupe that.

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They've got all kinds of stuff.

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They got stuff on Gaza, but it's

such like, it's very heavy satire.

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So like if you're not into satire

it, it goes so hard as to be

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a little bit like upsetting.

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Like this one just says

stop talking about Epstein.

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And if you weren't familiar with, uh, they

live, you'd be like, what am I looking at?

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But yeah, that showed up in my mailbox.

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Like snail mail from my therapist

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

That's awesome.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: holograms.

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You know, you got the right one.

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I think they might be stickers.

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Not sure.

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I'll find out some other time.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

How was work today for you?

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: it started out,

I started out okay, started out strong

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and then I fucked off the last like, two

things that I was supposed to do because

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I started hurting so bad that it made me

feel sick and I had to get up and move.

218

But I'm on Zoom and so like, I like

all that stuff, they're very important

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meetings with very important people.

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Some of them, not all of them,

but, so I was like, okay,

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I'm just, I'm going to quit.

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So I rescheduled one thing, which

is fine, or it's two things.

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And then the other thing.

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You know, actually I didn't

want to go to it anyway.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

Well, there you go.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah, there's

a, this could be, this is the first

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like small school I've ever worked at.

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And it could be that this is a

common thing at a lot of schools

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this size, but people will just

put stuff on your calendar.

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They don't email you first

and say like, Hey, can we meet

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and talk about such and such?

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Or, Hey, do you have

time for this or that?

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They see an open spot on your calendar.

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They put a meeting on it.

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And there have been times when

they've, people have gone so far as

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to not say anything in the invite

about what the meeting is about.

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It's the rudest damn thing.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right.

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dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: So

sometimes there'll be things like that.

240

And this one, maybe it was something that

would've made sense to me if I hadn't been

241

like absent from work for three months.

242

But I was like, this, I don't think

this has anything to do with me.

243

I'm gonna skip it.

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But one of there were two minor crash

outs that led to me sort of like going,

245

I need to take some time away from work

and figure out like something's going on.

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Like mental crash outs that happened

while I was at work, like on the job.

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And one of them came from a

coworker did that to me, just

248

stuck something on my calendar

and it was, it was a presentation.

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And I was like, maybe they.

250

They just assumed that because the

person who had this, this, the 20,

251

this 25% of my job before me did it.

252

That, that I knew that I was gonna

be doing it or I, where it implied

253

that I had said yes to doing it.

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And like her position was

like, well, it has to be done.

255

And, and on a, on a proper campus, that

doesn't mean you're obligated to me.

256

Like you, I've identified you as

a subject matter expert on this.

257

Therefore you are obligated

to do this for me.

258

But it does here.

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I don't know why, but they don't,

they forget that we have this whole

260

other main campus that has a bunch

of resources that they can draw from.

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They forget that they're also not stupid

morons who can't put a thought together.

262

They forget that the, that there

are best practices collected by.

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Multiple of professional organizations

that have existed for decades.

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They don't engage with any of that stuff.

265

If there's not a human being that they

can, that that like they can force it on

266

on this campus, it just doesn't get done.

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And it was an lgbtq i a twos plus training

and I'm like, I mean I could do this.

268

But also you've got YouTube and the

Safe Zone project exists and I didn't

269

have any, uh, like support on, you know,

finding this person and going like, what?

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I can't do, I didn't agree to do that.

271

It just appeared on my thing.

272

And so I just was like,

fine, fuck it, I'll do it.

273

And they showed up with the students.

274

And the students were the rudest

damn bunch I have ever taught.

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beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh wow.

276

That's saying

277

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: ever.

278

I have taught middle schoolers in

Upward Bound that showed me more

279

respect than this bunch of students did.

280

And there were two chaperones that

were our students and then there

281

was the full-time staff member

that was my colleague, uh, and.

282

Did nothing to intervene.

283

And so I'm going through like, okay,

normally I would, it would be a discussion

284

and it would be like, okay, so what,

what are some other words for, uh,

285

you know, lesbian, right here's talk.

286

Basically I was going over language,

they were new to campus and I was

287

basically being like, here's some

appropriate ways to describe things.

288

Here's some things you might hear.

289

Here's some things that you know,

are, would go over like reclaiming

290

slurs and queer and yada yada.

291

Like baby bunny shit.

292

Seriously.

293

Could have been a YouTube video.

294

And when I would say things

like that, like they would say

295

slurs, they would intentionally

choose to say slurs and stuff.

296

And when I was describing trans

people and non-binary people,

297

they started like laughing and

like whispering to each other.

298

and I looked at, at my colleague and

she was just looking at her phone.

299

And I could feel I was

like, something's wrong.

300

I don't have the patience

I would normally have.

301

It's my job to let people call me

fucking slurs and stuff, right?

302

Like, I've spent, uh, 12 years doing this.

303

I want out, but I understand

that I'm not out yet of it.

304

And so I was like, I'm

getting really angry.

305

And so I tried a couple times to

like bring them back in and it was

306

only halfway through the presentation

and I was like getting very angry.

307

And so finally I said 45% of our

students identify as LGBTQIA twos,

308

plus every single room you're in while

you're here, there will be at least one

309

of these people in the room with you.

310

I hope your attitude changes between

now and the first time that happens.

311

And then I took them on a tour of the

Gaysement and I kicked them the fuck out.

312

And I was ne I've never done that before.

313

I've never ended a training early.

314

I've never, or a presentation, I've

never, nobody has ever gotten to me.

315

People have, have threatened to

physically assault me in a training

316

over, over how uncomfortable their

unlearning was over how stressful it is.

317

Usually I can, I can manage big emotions,

but I, I was like, I, I'm about to

318

lose my temper and that is not good.

319

It's not safe at all.

320

And by safe, I mean, I wouldn't have

physically harmed them, but like the

321

things I can say to a young person.

322

That will fuck them forever.

323

I don't ever want to be in a

position to feel like I've done that.

324

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right.

325

I'll spare you the details, but in

the middle of my dad dying I had a bit

326

of a mental break myself and one of

my bosses showed me a lot of grace.

327

because I, I did not handle

myself with beautiful conduct.

328

It, it was just a, a,

a bad choice of words.

329

And I, I, understood, he, he

sent me an email and he was

330

like, do you wanna explain this?

331

And I was like, well, I had

kept him that what was really

332

happening in my life, you know?

333

And there was just trauma

after trauma after trauma.

334

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

335

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I,

I cracked and it was some girl

336

I was trying to show a movie.

337

It wasn't even my class.

338

I was trying to show a movie and

some girl got loud out in the

339

hallway and it made me very angry

I ran my mouth and they showed me a

340

lot of grace for that, so,

341

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: that's good.

342

you know, we have more,

we have power, right?

343

We have influence and we have

status and stuff over the students.

344

And so like, we could be struggling or

whatever, and we should have the, the,

345

the space, I guess the safety net, the

length of rope to have a bad fucking day.

346

But we don't,

347

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah.

348

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: right?

349

and I was so on all the time and nobody

was helping this person, that thing

350

she was doing that was 100% of her job.

351

The thing I was doing there that

day was one of the five things

352

that I am assistant director of

353

that I was so behind on.

354

I was so behind on everything because

people kept doing shit like that to me.

355

and because somebody thought it was

a great idea to shove a bunch of

356

impossible shit into one job description.

357

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right.

358

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

So I was like, I never talked

359

to students like that before.

360

And I, I never, I mean, I, I

know that I'm, I'm evil, right?

361

There's a monster inside me that like,

uh, has been fed a bunch of trauma

362

and is looking for victims sometimes.

363

Like when that kid said, uh, you

look like you're from Kentucky.

364

I was like, you don't

know what's inside here.

365

You don't know what it wants to do to you.

366

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah,

there's a kid from my hometown in

367

one of my classes this semester.

368

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Cool.

369

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: He's

cousins with one, the girl that sat

370

next to me all through high school.

371

' cause it's a small town, you

372

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

373

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: If he is not

my cousin, he has to be the cousin of

374

somebody I know I have 41 first cousins.

375

But I thought that was interesting.

376

I, we were talking and he said, I

said, somebody asked me where I was

377

from and I was like, I'm 70, my 75

miles straight south of Columbus.

378

And he, after class, he was

like, where are you from?

379

And I was like, you know the

Lucasville Portsmouth area?

380

And he was like, I'm from Rosemount.

381

And like, that's like five minutes away.

382

It's the town between Lucasville

and Portsmouth where the

383

McDonald's is and about.

384

Not much, not much else.

385

That McDonald's is famous

of being the child.

386

The child drop off point

for a lot of people.

387

when you, exchange for the

weekend when dad comes to

388

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Oh,

389

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

'em up or whatever?

390

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: right.

391

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

392

It's a, it's a neutral spot.

393

I've known several people that used that.

394

Places for that.

395

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: That's funny.

396

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I

got a book in the mail today.

397

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: What'd you get?

398

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

It is called Black the

399

Un Whitewashed Story of

America by Michael Harriet.

400

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: cool.

401

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

Yes, I'm excited to read it.

402

What

403

with this, all this free time I have,

404

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

Is that for your dis?

405

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: It

can be, I'm gonna make it so

406

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

407

I was reading about, I don't

remember her first name.

408

This black musician in Seattle who

was like, she's, she's credited

409

as the godmother of grunge.

410

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh yeah.

411

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

Tina Bell is her name.

412

She had a band called Bam Bam.

413

She passed not recently, but

like she is no longer with us.

414

She died about 13 years ago.

415

But yeah.

416

So I'm gonna, I'm gonna go on a

deep dive of her music ' cause uh,

417

the, the students are into music.

418

This year.

419

And that's, that's cool.

420

I can work with that.

421

So we're doing playlists and, you

know, making like, okay, so some

422

low-fi jams to study to, or, you know,

taking your, angsty cold ass walk

423

for your mental health, like, uh,

making playlists to share for that.

424

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: That

425

sounds like fun.

426

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: And I also

made, made a movie list for Black

427

History Month for the students that's

why I asked you if you'd seen 42.

428

I put that one on there.

429

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh, yeah,

I've, I, I wrote a whole 25 page paper

430

about the use of the N word in that movie.

431

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Wow.

432

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah, like

there are some scenes, like there's,

433

there's one scene when Jackie first joins

the league, one of the managers, I forget

434

the number now, but it was like 48 times.

435

He uses that word in one scene and

it's, it's, it's the, it's Jackie

436

putting up with it, you know,

437

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

438

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: the,

the patients of a freaking saint.

439

And what I realized is that I was so angry

that they put that in there, that it was

440

such a, my first thought wa was that it

was a gratuitous use of that word, right?

441

And I was like, it didn't fit there.

442

And then I thought that

really was his experience.

443

That was what he dealt with.

444

And if it makes me uncomfortable for

the three minutes I have to watch it.

445

Just imagine what he felt

when he was going through it

446

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Mm-hmm.

447

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

like, that, that's one of

448

the best scenes in the movie.

449

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yep.

450

There's a, there's a pedagogy to

using uncomfortable language in film.

451

Right.

452

And, and making, especially like

a, a, there's a, it's, there's a

453

critical whiteness pedagogy to it.

454

just, can you even imagine this?

455

I've been thinking lately you know

how people are pointing out that

456

because of Renee Goode specifically,

or especially, white people are sort

457

of going like, oh, so we can just be

killed in the streets now from minding

458

our business and not doing anything.

459

You know, and people of color

in America specifically, black

460

people are like, yeah, that's

461

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

to the Fucking club.

462

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: right.

463

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

I pointed that,

464

exact fact out to my classes this week.

465

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah,

466

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: fact.

467

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: that,

and then I'm also noticing a lot

468

of cis women, especially cis like

liberal white women of uh, kind of.

469

Means or affluence, not like super rich.

470

'cause I don't know very many rich

people, but because of being in academia

471

and also being in podcasting space,

I have friends who have, they grew

472

up wildly different than me, right?

473

Like when we would go to events and

stuff together, go to see a show or

474

something, like they're, they're in

Chicago renting out hotels and I'm

475

in the hostel, They're now they're

talking about this Save the Save act.

476

And there's also a kind of

gotcha rhetoric that they'll do.

477

I've seen this one on TikTok where

they're like something like you, I bet

478

you can't name a, uh, rule or law that.

479

Go governs men's health or

bodies that changes by state.

480

But there is for women, right?

481

Like, and they're referring to abortion,

482

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: not just

that if, if a woman wants to get a

483

hysterectomy or whatever, they just

won't let 'em, you know what I mean?

484

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

485

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: and yeah.

486

So there's

487

lots of ways that the, the rules are

488

different for men and women.

489

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: the save

act is, uh, like if you, if you have

490

changed your name because of marriage,

but you didn't update your birth

491

certificate, then you'll have issues

registering to vote and stuff like that.

492

Or, or being allowed to vote and.

493

I'm just thinking like

that's the trans experience.

494

That has been the trans

experience all along, right?

495

Like we choose where we live based

on whether someone is allowed

496

to let us die in an emergency

room for religious reasons.

497

uh, that's why I was, I was terrified

to have this surgery in North Dakota.

498

I filled out a DNR because if somebody

had a religious objection to me, to me

499

being transgender and I needed emergency,

like resuscitation or something during

500

surgery, they could, they had the

right to let me die because they didn't

501

want to touch me, or their religion

says that I shouldn't exist at all.

502

Right?

503

And so I'm just thinking

about this and how.

504

It's scary for them.

505

I know.

506

It's scary, right?

507

It's scary for us.

508

It's always been scary.

509

I know.

510

It sucks to find out that your rights are

not as solid as you thought they were.

511

I know it's scary to see people who look

like you be executed in the streets when

512

that's not really been the case before.

513

But had you come along with us

back when we were begging you to

514

be our allies, you wouldn't be as

gooped and plucked about this now.

515

You wouldn't be as shocked.

516

You'd be more prepared.

517

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

That's absolutely Right.

518

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: So like when

black women were begging y'all to come

519

and you know, support their Black Lives

Matter and stuff like that, you could

520

have done been new about all this stuff.

521

You could have been prepared when trans

people were trying to tell you that like

522

what was happening to their healthcare

was going to affect more than just them.

523

maybe even just begging you to give a

fuck, you could have already learned

524

what you needed to do to be prepared

for this, but you didn't because

525

your privilege kind of protected you.

526

Until now.

527

I still don't want to be

like, nanny, nanny, boo boo.

528

That's not what I'm intending here.

529

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right.

530

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Nobody,

nobody should be losing their rights

531

is somebody coughing.

532

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: That's we,

she's on a medicine right now 'cause

533

she has a little bit of a cough.

534

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I was exposed

to my first ever, uh, or to my, to the, my

535

first like cigarette smell since quitting

536

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: How'd that go?

537

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: it was nasty.

538

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

539

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

somebody drove by.

540

I was walking back from the

store I haven't been wa craving a

541

cigarette or anything like that.

542

But the other night I've

been having weird dreams.

543

I had a dream that I

was craving a cigarette.

544

Like in the dream, I was like,

man, I really want a cigarette.

545

But I was talking myself

outta buying them, you know?

546

And then I woke up.

547

What the, was,

548

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: The

funniest dream I've ever had had

549

to do with buying cigarettes.

550

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: was

this the, the meatloaf one.

551

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

552

Yeah.

553

, I dreamed that I stopped at

a speedway in Portsmouth.

554

And asked for a pack of Marlboros

555

she was like 4 95 or whatever, and I

pulled out a hunk of meatloaf out of

556

my pocket and, and, and pulled off

a, a chunk of it and paid with that.

557

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Do you

think like dreams, do you think

558

they all mean something specific?

559

Like are they, are they all

always like us trying to tell or

560

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I don't

561

think every dream is, but

I think some dreams are.

562

Like,

563

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: yeah.

564

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

brother died, I dreamed of water

565

like almost every night and our

bridges or, or something like that.

566

And when I, when I had the

thought, it's all water under

567

the bridge now, they went away.

568

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

569

I think like we work on stuff, I guess

like unconsciously while we're asleep

570

sometimes, and it comes out in our dreams.

571

I also think that's true that we have

a lot more dreams than we remember.

572

I go through these phases where I

don't remember anything at all from

573

being asleep, but I know I dream.

574

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Well, I

take a medicine to help me not remember

575

my dreams because I remember them so

vividly, and I have a lot of nightmares.

576

It, it doesn't always work, but I'm, it's,

they're less wild than they used to be.

577

No meatloaf dreams recently.

578

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Have you

ever taken uh, fuck, what's it called?

579

Melatonin for sleep.

580

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: No.

581

I, I think I did one time and

didn't feel anything and just never,

582

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: It doesn't

put me to sleep, but it makes me dream.

583

So I'll like be awake,

but I'll start dreaming.

584

Absolutely horrifying experience and I can

feel myself like needing to go to sleep.

585

But it, it, it doesn't

actually put you to sleep.

586

I think it just starts the REM cycle,

whether your body likes it or not.

587

So I have not taken that in a long time.

588

Of course, I also, Jesus

Christ, these days I'm going

589

to bed at like nine o'clock,

590

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah,

591

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: 8 30, 8 30.

592

I'm sitting here nodding

off in front of the tv.

593

I don't what happened to us.

594

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I, I used

595

Huntington and go to the bar, shut

it down, and then drive an hour back

596

home and then get up and do all that

shit all over again the next day,

597

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

598

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I would

599

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yep.

600

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

trying to do that.

601

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I used to work

second shift at the bowling alley for

602

years, but like the first probably three

years I worked at the bowling alley.

603

I, I worked I would come in at five or

six and then we'd close at 1:00 AM and.

604

It would take us until 2:00 AM to clean

up everything because people would go

605

to this bowling alley to get turned.

606

And just, it was a

redneck ass bowling alley.

607

Uh, and it had a bar

in it called Champions.

608

And I worked there through the recession

and so they slowly cut down all the staff.

609

I was the mechanic, but if somebody barfed

in the bar, I had to go clean that up.

610

'Cause I was also what

they call the porter.

611

And so I had to shut down

that entire building.

612

Took me an hour at least.

613

And so then you're wired, you

know, after doing that, 'cause

614

it is physically demanding.

615

So I get home at like two 30 in the

morning and I'm not sleeping right.

616

I'm too like, and so that's how I kind

of started like drinking myself to sleep.

617

I would just, I would start

drinking as soon as I got home.

618

And then usually by the time the sun came

up, I could go to sleep and then I would

619

get up at like 3:00 PM and do it again.

620

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

621

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: God,

the thought of that right now,

622

I would, I would probably take my

life if I, if you found a way to

623

force me into some shit like that.

624

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

625

When I used to work for amazon.com

626

customer serWeicz in West Virginia.

627

And we didn't get off until

like two o'clock in the morning.

628

Shanna and I both worked there and I, we

ate so much Taco Bell during those years.

629

It was ridiculous 'cause that was,

nobody was open at that time of night.

630

It was Taco Bell or this, this hometown

restaurant called Dwight's, where a

631

cheeseburger was huge, but it was like

$20 for that and some fries or whatever.

632

and you can only eat that so many

times before you gain 80 pounds.

633

So,

634

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

635

Taco Bell, staying open until 4:00

AM was a game changer in Richmond.

636

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah.

637

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Like get,

get that to eat on the way home.

638

And that, like, that was a pretty

unhealthy point in my life because all,

639

most of my calories came from booze.

640

And my job was so physically demanding

because the first few, several hours of

641

the shift it was a 32 lane bowling alley.

642

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Wow.

643

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: yeah.

644

And during, say like Monday nights

was, uh, the men's league it,

645

that they filled the bowling alley

and I would be the only mechanic.

646

And if there was breakdowns or stops or

something like that on the pin setters.

647

I'd have to sprint down to lane one

because the mechanic shop was on Lane 32.

648

It wasn't in the middle like it

was on a lot of regular houses.

649

Like the first welling house I worked

at, it was right in the middle.

650

So either way you turn out the door,

you could get there pretty quick.

651

The mechanic shop was at the end

of the building off of Lane 32 and

652

the men's league was always started

at the other end of the house.

653

So I sprinted back and forth for

three hours straight sprinted.

654

Just trying to like keep all these

like just pins getting tossed or

655

something like that, or ball returns.

656

You're obviously not doing major

repairs during, but God, wobo tide you

657

something actually breaks down and you

have to move them lanes or something.

658

Like if it's a full house, we would

keep one set of lanes for breakdowns,

659

but if something was broken when

I came in, 'cause the dudes who

660

worked the night shift or not.

661

Trained well enough to actually

troubleshoot and do large repairs.

662

And I actually became the person who

did that on day shift because I taught

663

myself how to do it on night shift.

664

So I got moved to be the head mechanic

on day shift after a couple years

665

because I did work Monday nights and

they was, they would always give away

666

those fucking breakdown lanes and

something would inevitably break because

667

the GSX pin setter is half plastic

668

piece of shit and it is all plastic

and, and, specialty switches and they

669

wouldn't let us buy a new solenoids.

670

So we like invented a process.

671

It's.

672

It's a little like a coil of copper

basically, or some sort of hyper

673

conducting metal that can hold a charge.

674

So like if we would use them to open

and close the pin holders based on,

675

so the switch would tell it open and

close, and so the hood would fire

676

a pin based on whatever, uh, signal

it received or take the pin back.

677

And so that's how the, the pins

would go up like this open and then

678

go back, what is this horizontal

and then leave the pin there.

679

And so if that was malfunctioning,

it would do this, not let

680

go of the pin come back out.

681

So it thinks it did its job and

there's no fucking pins there.

682

So, and it, and it could, there's a

million things in that one process that.

683

Break.

684

First of all, those pin flaps, they're

plastic, the whole pin holder is plastic.

685

The switch could tear out, the

wiring could tear out, the solenoid

686

could burn itself out because it's,

it really is like a hundred feet

687

of copper wire coiled together.

688

And so after so many charges, the

plastic coating on it can like

689

melt or something, and then it

just itself, and then it's no good.

690

So we would pull the covering off, take

a Dremel and scrape it back, uh, to find

691

where the short was, and then solder it

back together, put new heat shrink wrap

692

around it instead of buying new solenoids

because the recession was so bad, we

693

couldn't afford stuff to repair it.

694

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Wow.

695

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Like we

did all kinds of redneck shit back

696

there and sometimes we did it for

fun 'cause we also, you can't leave

697

the shop whenever league's in play.

698

And so if things are going

good, you're just bored.

699

And so we would clean and do stuff like

repair solenoids, but we also built a

700

motorcycle out of spare pin setter parts.

701

We didn't go to school for half of the

stuff that we were doing back there.

702

So, uh, we taught ourselves how

to it's called arc welding, some

703

people call it stick welding.

704

So you just take, it's a

current pretty high current.

705

They look like jumper cables.

706

They are put one on whatever you're

welding, and the other's a ground on the

707

on this like big generator, put, uh, a rod

in the other one and then put it on the,

708

the metal and you can weld it that way.

709

And so just through trial and

error on broken pieces, we

710

would learn how to, to weld.

711

And those frames, they're

really, really good steel.

712

And so this crazy dude who was my

supervisor for a long time, like

713

one of the reddest people I've

ever met, just absolute redneck.

714

He, like, he and his dad grew

weed up on his dad's property.

715

He lived in a camper.

716

He didn't have a driver's license.

717

He just like drove with this motorcycle

to work every morning and then he would

718

go into the shower and shower at work

because he lived in a camper in the woods.

719

it's like he just wandered in

from the hills and was like, yeah,

720

I can fix literally anything.

721

So yeah.

722

So he, this, this was a

redneck bowling alley,

723

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

It sounds like it.

724

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: so he

brought in a little engine, just

725

a two stroke and got a a rear

tire with the chain to put on it.

726

And then I fabricated a brake system and

he, some, somebody brought in like a, a

727

go-kart steering wheel and we just slowly

over the course of a season built this

728

thing and then we would drive it around.

729

But I don't know, I wonder

what happened to it.

730

Can you imagine?

731

Like, because this was all

going on behind the building.

732

And so most customers wouldn't

drive around that far.

733

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Right.

734

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: had these

big bay doors talking about dreams.

735

I dream about that workplace a lot.

736

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

737

I dream about college campuses a lot.

738

I

739

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

740

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: dreams

that they're like student dreams, but

741

they're the, the professor version now.

742

Like I dream that I show up

and don't have the exams, which

743

happened to me last semester.

744

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah,

745

I remember,

746

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah,

I had an 8:00 AM final and I got

747

halfway there and realized I left the

tests sitting on my table here, and

748

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: oh man,

749

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: around and

go back and so I, to make up for it

750

since y'all had to sit there for a half

an hour, I was like, I'll, I'll give you

751

full credit for the, uh, essay question.

752

Just do the rest of it.

753

And they, nobody was mad at

me anymore after that, so,

754

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: I used to hear

the sound of pins of a, of a, a bowling

755

ball hitting the pins in my sleep or

like, as I was falling asleep, you know.

756

Have you heard of exploding head syndrome?

757

Uh.

758

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: no.

759

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: It's,

it's just a neurological thing where

760

sometimes people will suddenly hear a

really loud sound, like their head's

761

exploding, but there's no sound.

762

It's just in their head.

763

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh

764

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

It sounds terrifying.

765

I don't think I had that or anything, but

I, if sometimes if I was falling asleep,

766

you know, like you do the little twitches

and things as you're falling asleep,

767

and I would hear that clear as day, that

sound of a 16 pound bowling ball hitting

768

all 10 pins the way like the polyurethane

pins sound as opposed to the wood ones.

769

I do kind of miss working on pin

setters because it was so, I'm not

770

gonna say simple, like troubleshooting

is one of my favorite things.

771

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I think

the reason that, because I like

772

to bake when I'm working heavily.

773

I think it's because in our work it's

never finished and those kinds of jobs,

774

you start it, there's a beginning,

there's an end, and you finish it, right?

775

And, and you go on about your life.

776

And I think that we crave

that sometimes because there's

777

so little of it in academia.

778

goes on and on forever, my friend.

779

It's the song that never ends.

780

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah,

There's kind of a narrative arc to

781

troubleshooting or making something,

782

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Mm-hmm.

783

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: but I never

I didn't learn anything about engines

784

though, like combustion, I don't

know shit about combustion engines.

785

Like motors, electric belts.

786

I got you.

787

But.

788

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: My dad

wanted to teach me about motors,

789

and I had no interest whatsoever.

790

His knowledge was just wasted

because I have no interest.

791

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: You know,

like my interest in doing anything

792

has arrived way too late in life to,

to really be of any use to anybody.

793

And I think it's because I transitioned

so late in life, like before that I

794

was just trying to like not be noticed.

795

Even the fact that I became, so I was the

only female pennett mechanic that anybody

796

at Brunswick or Ace Mitchell had heard of.

797

People would ride along with the

ACE Mitchell salespeople from

798

Akron, from the Ohio territory to

see the female pennett mechanic

799

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Oh, wow.

800

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752:

and like quizzed me and shit.

801

the dude who he picked me out of all

the dudes, I was the only obviously

802

the only person who was an cis guy

who worked in the shop and, uh.

803

He had to kind of defend picking me

to be his apprentice when several

804

of the guys wanted the position.

805

But I remember one of the things

he said was like, first of

806

all, you actually listen to me.

807

Like Cis guy culture is very

like, I already know everything I

808

need to know and you should want

me because I'm already the best.

809

Not because you know, I'm a good

learner, I'm a fast learner.

810

And then he also said like,

there was plenty I didn't know

811

about using various tools.

812

I didn't know how to weld or whatever.

813

But he said, you learning curve is

a vertical line, which might be the

814

nicest thing anybody's ever said to me.

815

So he was like, I will take that any day.

816

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Well,

did you see the comment We got

817

on our, on our newsletter today?

818

I, I got an email.

819

I don't know if you got an email.

820

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Uh, I

just actually saw that a minute

821

ago from neur Neural Foundry.

822

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

823

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

824

Very nice.

825

They were, they were appreciating

the one lane bridge bit.

826

And also commented on my, I don't

know what I'm doing with this,

827

this, like, I was thinking about

soap operas and then thinking about

828

like how sponsors like coming up.

829

It's fun to come up with them and stuff

like that, but like, where do they go?

830

I think back about old sponsors sometimes,

so I was just like, well, maybe I'll

831

turn them into little anthropomorphic.

832

So we got episode one today, so

let's see what I've done here.

833

So welcome to the first episode of

the exciting new Serial Queernecks

834

Sponsored Wrestling Federation.

835

This episode is brought to

you by Creaky Rocking Chair

836

versus the Fraying Lawn Chair.

837

Rocking chair is

representing the front porch.

838

All stars, hand carved hand me down

older than the house it's sitting in.

839

It doesn't move fast and it doesn't

move far, but it keeps time.

840

It knows every secret in the holler.

841

It remembers when you left and it

remembers when you came back and

842

it remembers that you were drunk.

843

Out in the yard.

844

Plastic legs sunk halfway into the

dirt is the fraying lawn chair flying.

845

The colors of the holler

tchotchke Alliance brought cheap,

846

folded, wrong sun bleached.

847

One more.

848

Sit away from catastrophic failure.

849

It's light enough to throw.

850

It's loud enough to be heard,

and it's young enough to believe

851

instability counts as a strategy

and also kind of a personality.

852

This is the Appalachian

Championship wrestling and the

853

porch is no longer neutral ground.

854

They don't yet touch.

855

The rocking chair settles

back on the boards and rocks

856

just enough to be heard creek.

857

It's not a threat, it's just a

reminder that it's been holding bodies

858

longer than this moment's been alive.

859

The lawn chair doesn't sit.

860

It just leans one leg bent, wrong

fabric pulling apart at the seam.

861

Aluminum frame buzzing in the heat

like it's daring someone to try it.

862

It shifts, scrapes folds

away, snaps back open.

863

It looks accidental.

864

If you don't know any better.

865

Behind the rocking chair, the

front court, all stars don't rush.

866

They lean in and they watch, and

they've seen this kind of thing before.

867

Out in the yard.

868

The Holler Tchotchke

Alliance won't stand still.

869

Somebody's pacing and

somebody's too close.

870

Nobody's pretending this

hasn't grown personal.

871

The porch creeks louder

and the yard goes quiet.

872

The French porch, all stars

say the porch is earned.

873

You sit here long enough

and you belong here.

874

That rocking chair has been in that

spot since before anyone remembers who

875

dragged it up, but the Holler Tchotchke

Alliance says the yard counts too.

876

It says you don't need

permission to pull up a chair.

877

It says, space gets claimed by showing up.

878

Last summer, somebody dragged the lawn

chair into the edge of the porch just

879

for a minute, just for shade, just

to see it scraped the boards and the

880

rocking chair didn't move an inch.

881

Nobody said anything.

882

That's how you know Come back next

week for episode two, the continuation.

883

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

Well, that was fun.

884

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: It's stupid.

885

This is what happens when you get bored.

886

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I hear you.

887

I haven't felt that in a little while.

888

I've been so busy with school.

889

I feel like it's just thing after another.

890

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah,

891

brisket.

892

Has found an odd position to sleep in.

893

Oh, they're getting famous at work

for interrupting everything I try to

894

do, ' cause the speakers are broken

on my Mac and so I have to use the

895

headphones every time I'm on Zoom.

896

And so the cats don't know who I'm

talking to 'cause, and I'm not sure

897

they would've figured it out anyway.

898

But they definitely think I'm

talking to myself 'cause they

899

don't hear anything I hear.

900

So I started meeting and ziggy's

up in my face like, what's wrong?

901

What's wrong?

902

Who are you talking to?

903

What's going on?

904

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Do you

think they, what do you think they

905

think when they see us undressed

906

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Um,

907

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

we've peeled our fur off,

908

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: yeah.

909

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: that

must be so jarring for the, because

910

pet likes to come in the bathroom

when I'm showering and she'll

911

just stand there and look at me.

912

I think she's like, what are you doing?

913

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: What

are you like, what happened?

914

I know that they definitely think

it's fucked up that I get into the

915

shower and after I am done with it or

whatever, then they'll be over there

916

like touching the wet floor, you know,

or, you know, brisket will lick parts,

917

like lick the, it's disgusting to me,

but I don't know, maybe they're just

918

trying to understand what the appeal is.

919

There's a woman on TikTok whose

cat likes to take showers, goes and

920

begs to have the shower turned on

and the door open and it just goes

921

and just hangs out under the water.

922

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: What a freak.

923

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: It's been a

long time since I've given a cat a bath.

924

I see you got your hair cut.

925

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah.

926

I like it.

927

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah, I do too.

928

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

went extra short this time, so

929

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

930

You gotta buy a nice fade.

931

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah.

932

I like half my hair short.

933

I really enjoyed my time.

934

The, one of my favorite things

about being down there at mom's

935

was going to the barbershop,

936

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

937

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: our, our

friend that you graduated with recently

938

when she lived down there with me, she

took me to the, the Black Barbershop.

939

And that was a really cool experience.

940

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

941

I love black barbers.

942

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Yeah, the

barber that she had me go to he was

943

in the same elementary school I was

in a year behind me, so we knew a lot

944

of the same people, so that was cool.

945

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Nice.

946

Learning how to navigate barbershops was,

uh, well, I mean, still not really done

947

it, but like, uh, after transitioning,

I remember asking somebody like, you

948

know, who's, I need to find a barber.

949

Like who's, who's the

barber you recommend?

950

And they went like, do you want

a black barber or a white barber?

951

And I was like, I don't feel

qualified to answer this question.

952

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751:

My, my, the girl that cuts my

953

hair now, she's a queer woman.

954

She's in a straight facing relationship

right now, but she's a queer woman.

955

And we talk about a lot of different

things and we were talking about white

956

privilege and I said, even when you

go to beauty school, I said, they

957

don't teach you black hair, do you?

958

And she said, no.

959

She said, you know what?

960

They did teach me.

961

She said, the one thing they taught me

about black hair was how to do a relaxant.

962

How to, how to put a

relaxer in and, you know.

963

Yeah,

964

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: So, so how

to, how to make it look more white.

965

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: yeah, exactly.

966

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Wow.

967

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: Because

if you need your hair done and you

968

live in Bowling Green, Ohio, you're

gonna be going and you're black.

969

You're going to either Toledo

or Detroit to get it done.

970

There's nowhere in BG that I know of.

971

Some, like on the BG like, uh, trade

page, sometimes you'll see girls post

972

on there, their students that they say

they can braid and stuff like that.

973

And I've heard other people say

there are people who are well known

974

on campus for being able to braid,

but unless you're like in on that,

975

you, you, there's nowhere to go.

976

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Yeah.

977

I actually learned to cut hair from the

girls that did braids at my undergrad

978

'cause I just happened to live with them.

979

The floor I lived on.

980

The girls who braided, like all the, it

was a lot of football players at first.

981

Like I think that they were friends with,

uh, a lot of those, girls came from Bryan

982

Station, the school there in Lexington.

983

And then they just made friends

with, the other black people

984

that needed their hair done, but

they didn't know how to cut hair.

985

And I was cutting my own hair and they

were like, we need somebody to do a

986

lineup before we can braid his hair.

987

Like his edges are awful like he needs.

988

And I was like, oh fuck.

989

I don't know what you're talking about.

990

I've got these clippers,

but if you explain what you

991

mean, I'll, I'll try my best.

992

And so like, we, we did the best we could,

but you know, there wasn't really like

993

Google yet, so I couldn't do any research.

994

I didn't have anybody to ask for help.

995

I'm sure I fucked up some people's hair.

996

beckc_27_02-04-2026_192751: I've

997

let cut my hair many times.

998

dash_26_02-04-2026_182752: Well, that

made me better at cutting my own hair.

999

Like that's probably why I can give myself

a phase because I learned how to, like a

00:47:37,319 --> 00:47:43,629

big part of cutting textured hair with

clippers is like angling, like learn, like

00:47:43,629 --> 00:47:48,339

learning how to actually manipulate the

angle of the thing and account for like

00:47:48,739 --> 00:47:51,079

the way skin moves under textured hair.

00:47:51,479 --> 00:47:53,669

I could be a, I don't think

I could be a barber though.

00:47:54,069 --> 00:47:54,519

00:47:54,729 --> 00:47:57,744

My years as a photographer

taught me I couldn't do a, a,

00:47:57,864 --> 00:47:59,439

a public facing job like that

00:47:59,934 --> 00:48:00,384

00:48:00,429 --> 00:48:02,379

constantly your talent on display

00:48:02,779 --> 00:48:05,064

it's so personality forward.

00:48:05,657 --> 00:48:08,267

expect you to be on it every time.

00:48:08,267 --> 00:48:08,777

And you

00:48:08,807 --> 00:48:09,097

00:48:09,347 --> 00:48:10,877

and you had bad days, you know,

00:48:11,277 --> 00:48:11,397

00:48:11,797 --> 00:48:15,457

And I'm just such an, I'm just

such a cunt now, you know?

00:48:15,487 --> 00:48:19,902

Like, if I don't like somebody, I

cannot, I, I, I, I could force myself

00:48:19,902 --> 00:48:23,232

to interact with them, but not for

very long and not for more than once.

00:48:24,670 --> 00:48:25,120

00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:28,450

Like, and if I never have to do

Christmas photos of anybody ever

00:48:28,450 --> 00:48:30,340

again in my life, it will be too soon.

00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:33,790

I hated doing Christmas

photos of families.

00:48:34,180 --> 00:48:35,470

Oh God.

00:48:35,870 --> 00:48:38,750

kids were always in itchy outfits and, oh,

00:48:39,150 --> 00:48:40,815

and the parent and I'm, we're

00:48:40,815 --> 00:48:43,665

like, the parents are always

like, aren't my kids just perfect?

00:48:43,665 --> 00:48:44,925

They're the best ones,

00:48:45,325 --> 00:48:45,545

00:48:45,650 --> 00:48:46,970

but also I hate them.

00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:47,210

If

00:48:48,051 --> 00:48:50,481

will you bring a n of

Appalachian interest?

00:48:50,496 --> 00:48:55,516

brought a, uh, a regional one today.

00:48:55,916 --> 00:48:56,366

All right.

00:48:56,436 --> 00:48:59,856

This week's down of Appalachian

interest is a eight one

00:49:00,441 --> 00:49:00,741

00:49:02,505 --> 00:49:04,395

to friends, family, and gas station

00:49:04,395 --> 00:49:06,675

clerks as a eight one A eight.

00:49:06,675 --> 00:49:10,065

One comes from Winchester, Kentucky

and started with a ma, a man named

00:49:10,065 --> 00:49:14,745

GI Wayne Scott, who had already

00:49:15,135 --> 00:49:20,145

Before Ailey, he, he made, uh, Rocka

00:49:20,145 --> 00:49:23,985

try something different using what he

had learned about ginger based drinks

00:49:23,985 --> 00:49:27,525

while traveling in Northern Europe,

Wayne Scott developed a new recipe

00:49:27,525 --> 00:49:29,925

00:49:30,240 --> 00:49:34,620

He even held a naming contest and a

late one won, meaning that it was the

00:49:34,620 --> 00:49:38,430

newest thing on the market, which folks

quickly shortened to a L eight one.

00:49:38,910 --> 00:49:42,330

well enough that Wayne Scott bought

00:49:42,330 --> 00:49:45,904

an old Livery stable and turned

it into a bottling plant, which

00:49:45,904 --> 00:49:47,674

feels exactly right for Kentucky.

00:49:48,124 --> 00:49:52,654

did something unusual and split ownership

00:49:52,654 --> 00:49:54,574

between his wife and his employees.

00:49:54,974 --> 00:49:58,754

Eventually the business ended up with

a Rogers family who still run it today.

00:49:59,054 --> 00:50:02,594

every other drink just to focus on a L

00:50:02,594 --> 00:50:05,924

eight one, which tells you everything

you need to know about priorities.

00:50:06,404 --> 00:50:09,824

The recipe itself is a family secret,

guarded closely enough that only a

00:50:09,824 --> 00:50:11,324

couple of people are said to know it.

00:50:11,654 --> 00:50:15,614

What people do know is that it has less

caffeine than most big name sodas and

00:50:15,614 --> 00:50:19,214

that it tastes like ginger citrus and a

little bit of stubborn regional pride.

00:50:19,574 --> 00:50:23,474

Over the years, AATE has branched out

into zero sugar versions and seasonal

00:50:23,474 --> 00:50:27,224

flavors, but the original Green

Bottle still does most of the talking.

00:50:27,674 --> 00:50:30,584

For a long time, you could

only find Aate one in parts of

00:50:30,584 --> 00:50:34,154

Kentucky, which made it feel like

a local handshake in liquid form.

00:50:34,394 --> 00:50:37,544

Now, you can spot it further away,

especially if you walk into a Cracker

00:50:37,544 --> 00:50:39,791

Barrel, but it still feels tied to home.

00:50:40,121 --> 00:50:42,597

People who grow up with it miss

it when they leave, and people who

00:50:42,597 --> 00:50:44,607

stay, feel defensive in a loving way.

00:50:44,607 --> 00:50:47,847

When outsiders ask what it

tastes like, a eight one is not

00:50:47,847 --> 00:50:49,167

trying to compete with anyone.

00:50:49,167 --> 00:50:53,997

It has already outlasted trend, soda wars,

and several generation of taste tests.

00:50:54,147 --> 00:50:57,177

It just shows up cold and

dependable like it always has.

00:50:57,507 --> 00:50:59,667

Uh, that's this week's nand

of Appalachian interest.

00:50:59,667 --> 00:51:00,177

Open it.

00:51:00,417 --> 00:51:03,507

Take a sip and understand that

you're drinking history with bubbles.

00:51:04,395 --> 00:51:04,725

Are you a

00:51:04,725 --> 00:51:05,895

fan of the a L eight one?

00:51:06,295 --> 00:51:07,795

00:51:08,155 --> 00:51:13,915

Uh, I love the gingery flavor,

but it is so much sugar.

00:51:13,945 --> 00:51:14,995

It's so sweet.

00:51:15,305 --> 00:51:20,785

it's like almost syrupy to me that I

get like thirstier the longer I drink

00:51:20,785 --> 00:51:23,085

it and I have to have water after I,

00:51:23,579 --> 00:51:25,469

how I feel about Welch's grape soda.

00:51:25,854 --> 00:51:26,144

Yeah.

00:51:26,429 --> 00:51:26,699

00:51:26,699 --> 00:51:27,539

Oh yeah.

00:51:27,639 --> 00:51:30,549

No, I, I love L eight and the,

well we called it L eight.

00:51:30,549 --> 00:51:31,119

I don't know.

00:51:31,149 --> 00:51:34,059

I know it's L eight one, but

the whole time I was in school,

00:51:34,059 --> 00:51:35,109

we just called it L eight.

00:51:35,509 --> 00:51:40,159

They've got a diet version now and

they also have several flavors other

00:51:40,159 --> 00:51:45,499

than the, the standard ginger and

lemon lime soda type mix thing.

00:51:45,499 --> 00:51:49,449

It is, there's a cherry one

and an orange one, I think.

00:51:49,849 --> 00:51:50,809

Oh, black cherry.

00:51:50,839 --> 00:51:51,139

Yeah.

00:51:51,139 --> 00:51:52,189

And it's good too.

00:51:52,539 --> 00:51:54,639

thought about doing cheer wine, but a

00:51:54,969 --> 00:51:57,309

wine sounded felt more at home to me.

00:51:57,759 --> 00:52:00,069

So, because Cheer wine

is more North Carolina.

00:52:00,379 --> 00:52:02,839

So I went with, with

the a, the, the Kentucky

00:52:03,239 --> 00:52:06,914

cheerwine, but I, I only recently learned

00:52:06,914 --> 00:52:09,614

about cheerwine because I was on the road.

00:52:10,014 --> 00:52:10,464

yeah.

00:52:10,464 --> 00:52:11,574

And it.

00:52:11,974 --> 00:52:15,854

Is it just black cherry

flavored like bubble drink or

00:52:16,254 --> 00:52:16,644

What do you mean

00:52:16,749 --> 00:52:17,049

00:52:17,214 --> 00:52:17,634

00:52:17,859 --> 00:52:20,649

like a soda or is it like a lemonade?

00:52:20,874 --> 00:52:21,684

It's like a soda.

00:52:22,084 --> 00:52:22,414

00:52:22,814 --> 00:52:23,204

Yeah.

00:52:23,624 --> 00:52:28,794

I, I never heard of it until I went on

the road in eastern Kentucky and people,

00:52:29,194 --> 00:52:34,724

they were selling, they sold it at all

the little like Derry bar type diners.

00:52:34,944 --> 00:52:35,234

00:52:35,354 --> 00:52:36,434

what the hell is cheer wine?

00:52:36,834 --> 00:52:38,699

discovered it when I went to North

00:52:38,699 --> 00:52:42,849

Carolina one time to the outer banks with

my friend and it was everywhere down there

00:52:42,849 --> 00:52:44,199

and I was like, well, I gotta try that.

00:52:44,599 --> 00:52:46,399

North Carolina is gorgeous.

00:52:46,399 --> 00:52:50,029

I've only been there a few times for

very specific reasons, but like the Blue

00:52:50,029 --> 00:52:53,899

Ridge Mountains just absolutely gorgeous.

00:52:53,959 --> 00:52:55,099

And they also.

00:52:55,499 --> 00:52:59,369

Because there is so much

shoreline there, both freshwater

00:52:59,369 --> 00:53:01,829

and is there a marine as well?

00:53:01,829 --> 00:53:03,389

I don't know shit about geography.

00:53:03,389 --> 00:53:06,029

Does, does North Carolina

border the ocean?

00:53:06,449 --> 00:53:07,139

00:53:07,449 --> 00:53:07,959

00:53:08,109 --> 00:53:08,259

00:53:08,259 --> 00:53:09,129

absolutely does.

00:53:09,619 --> 00:53:10,699

was pretty sure it did.

00:53:12,415 --> 00:53:18,270

But I, because I would go there with

this ex of mine, uh, to Greensboro and

00:53:18,270 --> 00:53:20,770

we would always go to this oyster bar.

00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:22,270

Have you ever been to an oyster bar?

00:53:22,505 --> 00:53:24,340

allergic to most seafood, so no.

00:53:24,740 --> 00:53:25,310

00:53:25,580 --> 00:53:27,890

I'm sure this would get you, but it's just

00:53:27,890 --> 00:53:28,400

um,

00:53:28,400 --> 00:53:29,720

when you cook it outta the ocean.

00:53:29,720 --> 00:53:31,280

I'm allergic to 'cause the iodine.

00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:32,130

00:53:32,340 --> 00:53:32,700

Okay.

00:53:32,730 --> 00:53:34,710

Yeah, iodine and peppermint oil.

00:53:35,110 --> 00:53:36,730

these didn't, they were steamed and

00:53:36,730 --> 00:53:38,230

they didn't change colors, but that.

00:53:38,630 --> 00:53:41,175

I still wouldn't trust it 'cause

they're technically shellfish, but they,

00:53:41,180 --> 00:53:43,880

they also might have been freshwater.

00:53:44,090 --> 00:53:46,970

I don't have a ton of experience with

these oysters, and they weren't like

00:53:46,970 --> 00:53:51,030

anything else I've seen, like, like,

uh, oysters on the half shell, these

00:53:51,030 --> 00:53:53,130

were steamed and they would shuck 'em.

00:53:53,130 --> 00:53:57,405

And then they had different dipping things

and it was just a, just a dude with a, a

00:53:57,650 --> 00:54:01,016

really thick, crooked tool of some kind.

00:54:01,316 --> 00:54:07,796

Just, uh, pulling oysters, big ass oysters

out of this steamer and cracking 'em open.

00:54:07,796 --> 00:54:11,246

And he would just like blo, bloop,

bloop, throw them into our plates

00:54:11,246 --> 00:54:12,776

and we would dip 'em in stuff.

00:54:13,046 --> 00:54:13,856

They're delicious.

00:54:13,856 --> 00:54:18,616

I've never, I've never had them since,

but I was like, North Carolina became a

00:54:18,616 --> 00:54:23,206

magical realm in my mind when I had that,

like driving through the mountains and

00:54:23,206 --> 00:54:29,036

then finding this beautiful like seaside,

but like also mountainous place with this

00:54:29,456 --> 00:54:31,556

amazing food I'd never even heard of.

00:54:31,956 --> 00:54:32,616

What's cool?

00:54:33,016 --> 00:54:34,876

dad lived in Southern Virginia and

00:54:34,876 --> 00:54:37,966

when he was in hospice, I went down

there a couple of times and got

00:54:37,966 --> 00:54:39,556

to drive the Blue Ridge Mountains.

00:54:39,556 --> 00:54:40,786

It was beautiful.

00:54:41,186 --> 00:54:41,576

00:54:41,666 --> 00:54:42,416

00:54:42,816 --> 00:54:47,206

music festival called Merl Fest that

00:54:47,206 --> 00:54:51,513

used to be in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

00:54:51,913 --> 00:54:52,393

Oh my God.

00:54:52,393 --> 00:54:53,203

They're still having it.

00:54:53,603 --> 00:54:56,573

This is like a leg, a

legit music festival.

00:54:56,573 --> 00:54:58,733

Like I met Ricky Scaggs here.

00:54:59,133 --> 00:55:03,883

Some friends of mine from Williamsburg

went every year and like literally

00:55:03,883 --> 00:55:04,813

every year, like clockwork.

00:55:04,813 --> 00:55:05,953

And they were also all musicians.

00:55:05,953 --> 00:55:08,863

All these, they were all these old

dudes that I learned to play music

00:55:08,863 --> 00:55:10,783

with, uh, bluegrass musicians.

00:55:11,083 --> 00:55:12,733

And I went with them like twice.

00:55:12,733 --> 00:55:16,263

I didn't go when I, when I was in college,

00:55:16,463 --> 00:55:19,253

friend that tours with different, uh,

00:55:19,553 --> 00:55:23,843

she's a merch manager for several bands

and she tours all the different festivals

00:55:23,843 --> 00:55:25,193

and everything, and that's her job.

00:55:25,417 --> 00:55:26,767

I thought that would be an

interesting way to live.

00:55:27,566 --> 00:55:27,856

00:55:28,546 --> 00:55:29,431

Merch, girl,

00:55:29,831 --> 00:55:30,701

when is spring,