Remembering Emily Cobb Thomas + The Night I Quit Mushrooms | Queernecks

Beck and Dash open with a theory that Trixie Mattel is diddlin a country dumplin, then share updates and stories ranging from dog grooming costs and haircuts to an oddly bonding conversation about health “battle scars.” The episode’s “Noun of Appalachian Interest” honors Emily Cobb Thomas, a close friend of Beck’s and an anti-racist community leader in Scioto County, Ohio, who worked decades at the Community Action Organization, fought housing and employment discrimination, helped lead the NAACP, and supported local programs. Beck tells a story about a caravan to see Larry the Cable Guy where Emily got high and admired “the prettiest fucking tulips,” plus a bingo mishap and memories of Emily’s humor and impact. Beck then recounts a disastrous college mushroom trip that led to quitting shrooms. A sponsor segment riffs on “Local Honey” lore and its supposed benefits, before the hosts discuss ranch, “boomer,” politics, and plan next week’s “show and tell.” 00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:23 Trixie Kentucky Rumors

01:29 Birthday Tradition

02:09 Dog Grooming Costs

03:02 Haircuts and Hairdresser Tea

04:48 Work Lunch and Battle Scars

05:42 Wheel Anecdote Setup

07:36 Noun Emily Tribute

10:54 Emily Legacy and Community Work

13:40 College Firsts and Family Stories

15:36 Tulips and Bingo Memories

23:27 Storytelling and Quitting Shrooms

28:54 Chaos at Mom’s House

29:50 Barn Party Shroom Tea

31:02 Bad Trip Breakdown

32:49 Escape Ride Home

34:10 Dorm Panic Spiral

36:33 Never Again Shrooms

37:16 Psychedelics Aftermath

38:02 Four Leaf Clover Vision

38:40 Nose Talk and Siblings

40:16 Psychopath Eyes Theory

42:03 Family Sociopath Rant

42:42 Aging Cats Check In

43:35 Local Honey Sponsor Bit

46:20 Honey Nuggets and DQ

48:41 Boomer Meaning Debate

50:54 JK Rowling Amnesty Row

52:42 Hungary Voting Shock

54:51 Next Week Show and Tell

56:29 Wrap Up and Goodbye

#queer #appalachia #storytelling

Welcome to Queernecks, the podcast that puts the

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"yehaw" in y'all means all.

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I'm your host, Beck,

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Speaker 2: and I'm your host.

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Dash.

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Welcome to today's episode.

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Dash: We ha- so the Kentucky gays have a

theory that is looking like it might be

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correct, that Trixie Mattel is dating from

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Beck: Kentucky or England?

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Dash: Kentucky.

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Beck: Gotcha.

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Dash: So she has always

had a thing for Kentucky.

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She, she loves, she always

makes a, the- performs there.

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She's always, like, randomly there, and

she mentions this on the podcast a lot.

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and then, like, we'll see her with

T-shirts or hats or things that are from

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local businesses on her main channel

where she does makeup tutorials and

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stuff, which I watch for some reason.

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I don't know.

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I, I just like that people

can do that, you know?

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Beck: Yeah

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Dash: So we just started seeing more

and more and, and my friends message me

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and they're like, "Are you seeing this?"

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And it's, it's becoming…

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There's a lot of evidence now.

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Anyway, on their most recent

episode, she said, uh, that she was

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gonna go to the Chicken Festival.

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And I was like Why would you tell us that?

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The chicken festival's about

to be slamming this year.

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It's about to be gay as hell.

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Beck: Today is one month till my birthday

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Dash: That's right.

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You have the same birthday

as my friend Elise, I think.

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Yeah

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Beck: I ha- so I have this

tradition with my mom.

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When I was 15 turning 16, we were on

our way to Ver- Myrtle Beach one summer,

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and it was one month till I turned 16,

and I walked around the, the hotel room

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going, " One month till my birthday.

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One month till my birthday."

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And that just became a thing

for the next 30, 40 years.

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Uh, well, 30 years it's

been since I turned 16.

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And I always called Mom and I

said that, so that's, that's one

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of the things I miss about her is

the, "One month till my birthday."

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Dash: Now you can sing it to us

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Beck: Yeah

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look at Rue's hair.

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Sh- sh- Rue needs a

haircut, but it's really…

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She has an appointment the 11th.

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It's, it's really hard to get in here.

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Guess how much it cost at the lowest cost

groomer we could find, just for a regular,

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not even a nail trim, just a, just a groom

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Dash: $85

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Beck: $65, which I still

think is way too much.

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There was ano- there was another one

that was $100 with not a nail trim.

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It was like, Jesus.

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Yeah.

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And she's gonna need this,

like, every eight weeks?

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Like, Shanna's gonna need to

learn how to be a g- dog groomer.

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Add that to her list of skills.

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yeah, she used to groom our poodles, so.

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And Wenda, God love her never went

to a groomer in her life 'cause I was

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afraid that she would just be so scared

'cause she was a shy little girl and

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I didn't wanna be apart from her, so

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Dash: It's

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Beck: I learned about my own hair.

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I don't, I don't play with my hair.

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I go to a girl who's excellent.

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She charges me $40, and I

give her an $8 tip every five

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weeks, and it, it works out.

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I like my hair in pictures,

and so it, it works out

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Dash: It, it definitely was a process.

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It took me years to learn how to produce

something that looks like a real haircut.

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It takes

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Beck: Yehaw

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Dash: it takes a lot of practice

to learn how to fade, especially

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Beck: Yehaw

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Dash: I was learning before

you could really Google things.

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And I had to learn just from

watching people, like being around

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people who knew how to do it and

just practicing over and over.

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Beck: Yehaw

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Dash: Once the, once the internet

and especially YouTube came along,

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I, I kind of refined my art, but I

could still only give myself like

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maybe three different haircuts.

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That's it

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Beck: Yehaw I go in, she's like,

"What do you wanna do your hair?"

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I'm like, "Whatever you wanna do with it.

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Fuck it up."

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And she does what she wants to do with it.

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Dash: That's

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Beck: It's always very short, yeah.

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And she is gorgeous.

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The girl that does my hair,

she is absolutely, and queer.

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She was married to a woman

when we started going to her.

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She's disappointed in herself, but

she's dating a man right now, so

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Dash: Why?

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Why does she don't…

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I mean,

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Beck: It's a, that's a joke.

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Yeah, yeah, So

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Dash: is too real, so like it's easy to,

to think somebody's serious about that

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Beck: No, she was teasing She

had a nose job not too long ago.

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She's one of those people that

tells everybody everything

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about, she's like an open book.

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I went in and I was getting my

hair cut like, I don't know, three,

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four months ago, and she was like,

"So I had an abortion yesterday."

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And I was like, "Okay,

let's talk about that."

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Dash: All right.

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How was that for you?

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Beck: Yeah.

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Uh, I, she took the pill as far as I know

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The abortion pill.

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That's 90% of abortions at this

point are done by the pill.

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Dash: Yehaw I went some of the,

faculty from my department yesterday,

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Beck: Nice.

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Dash: we got

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Beck: How was that?

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Dash: They're really sweet people and

they're really, you know, fun and excited.

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It's cool to be able to talk

about pedagogy and, and, you know,

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research and stuff like that.

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But it- there was a

moment where, like, we…

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me and this one woman started

talking about, like, our battle

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scars basically, 'cause she's

having some health issues too.

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And I was like, "This is my first

experience of, of this here," like this,

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this bonding experience where you talk

about what part of you's falling apart.

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Like, that felt

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Beck: Right

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Dash: nostalgic to me.

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And I could tell that the other folks

thought it was kind of odd, so we, we

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stopped, but it was, know, I don't…

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nobody was upset, but

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Beck: Yehaw

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Dash: you know, whatever."

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Well, we…

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So the wheel of what have you told

us to, well, it wasn't very specific.

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It said anecdote.

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when I put that on there, I had this

grand idea that I was gonna create a

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follow-up that would give us a little

more guidance, and I just never did.

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So now we're stuck with the

consequences of my actions.

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I, we, we talked a little bit off air

about it, but, like, I, I found the

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process a bit odd, you know, considering,

one, it's over a year now of us telling

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every damn thing we can think of about

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Beck: Yehaw

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Dash: and our past.

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Not that it's ever possible

to run out of stories, but

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Beck: Isn't it though?

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Dash: No.

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Beck: feel like I have, I, I

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Dash: Think about, like, we would have

to sit here and relive 44 years at least

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Beck: Yeah.

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Dash: storytelling is an art for a reason,

because understanding what is interesting

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to people about the, what feels quotidian

to you the craft of storytelling.

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So we've told plenty of stories that to

us is just sort of like, "Well, th- that

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was a Tuesday," and then it sounds batshit

to somebody who's not from, you know.

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And the, the same would go for,

you know, us hearing stories

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about other folks' experiences.

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So once I got over that, I started

to, like, come up with all kinds

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of ideas, and then it became,

like, how do I trim this down?

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It went from, like, " I'm out of stories.

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There's nothing interesting about me.

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There's nothing left to tell,"

to, like, flooding my mind with

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some legitimately crazy shit.

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So then it was like, what

is appropriate to tell?

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Beck: Right?

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I have a story that I wanna tell, but I'm

afraid that it will tarnish the reputation

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of the, the main person in the story.

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But on the other hand, they have passed

away at this point, and I think that they

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would be amused that this story came out.

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So I have decided, I think I

am gonna tell that story, so.

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Dash: We would

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Beck: Can we do things a little

bit in reverse order this week

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and maybe do the noun first?

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That way,

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we can set some, some,

some groundwork for it

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Dash: a great idea, yes,

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give us a noun of Appalachian interest

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Beck: All right, guys.

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This week's, Noun of Appalachian Interest

is one that is particularly personal

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to me and, and to the Scioto County

area, the, the Southern Ohio area.

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This week's Noun of Appalachian

interest is Emily Cobb Thomas.

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Who, you say?

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Emily was a good friend of mine.

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She was my dad's boss for a long time.

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And as you'll hear in a few minutes,

she was an icon of anti-racist

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work in the Southern Ohio area and

someone that I looked up to dearly.

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Emily passed away on July 24th at the

age of 82, and I have been trying to

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figure out how to fit more than 25 years

of friendships into just a few minutes.

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I'm not sure that's possible,

but she deserves for me to try.

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I met Emily in 1998, and somewhere

along the way, she stopped being

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only my friend and became family.

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We shared good times and difficult times.

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We laughed more than I could ever

count, and s- we spent more than

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20 years together calling bingo.

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We were the two callers side

by side, watching cards and

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keeping the game moving.

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Bingo may not sound like the

foundation for a lifelong friendship,

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but then again, you probably

never worked bingo with Emily.

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She was one of the funniest

people I have ever known.

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She was also one of the

kindest people that I knew.

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Emily knew how to make people feel

seen, and she understood how hard

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I was working when other people

did not always understand it.

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She often told me that she was proud of

me, and I hope she knew how much I carried

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those words with me, because hearing them

from her mattered more than I can explain.

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Emily spent her life working for the

people of Portsmouth and Scioto County.

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She began working for the Community Action

Organization in nineteen sixty-six and

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stayed for forty-three years, eventually

becoming the director of social services.

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She helped provide meals for older

people, worked to improve housing in

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the area, and created opportunities

for people who had been denied them.

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Emily fought against discrimination

in housing and employment.

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She helped reorganize the local NAACP

chapter and later served as its president.

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When she saw that minority applicants

were being left out of jobs at the

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Southern Ohio Correctional Facility,

she helped create a program to recruit

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and prepare them for the hiring process.

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She spent her career opening doors

and then holding those doors open so

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other people could walk through them.

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That work tells you a great

deal about Emily, but it

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does not tell you everything.

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An obituary can list the boards

someone served on or the positions they

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held, but it cannot hold every laugh.

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It cannot explain the look someone gave

you across the bingo hall when both of you

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knew exactly what the other was thinking.

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It cannot capture all of the

conversations, the private

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jokes, and the years of knowing

that someone is in your corner.

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I am proud of everything Emily

accomplished, but more than that,

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I am proud to call her my friend.

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I am grateful for every year we

had together, and I am grateful

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for every laugh and every time she

reminded me that she believed in me.

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Emily spent her life helping people

feel that they belonged and that

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they deserved a chance, and she

did the same thing in friendship.

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She made room for people,

and she made room for me.

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I will miss her more than I will say,

but I will always be thankful that Emily

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Cobb Thomas became part of my family.

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Farewell, my friend.

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I love you

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Dash: Wow.

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Thank you so much for sharing that

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Beck: She was wonderful

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Dash: Yeah, sounds like it.

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Beck: Yehaw.

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Dash: sounds

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y- you need to write a full article

about all of the work she did.

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love to hear more about that

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Beck: She did a lot of

good around the area.

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She was, She married a

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Emily was white, and she married a

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kids by him which in southern Ohio

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So she was an early pioneer of, of, of

anti-racist work just because of the,

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the nature of who she married and who

her kids were and things like that.

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And she is well, uh, she was well

enmeshed in the, in the Black community.

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Everybody knew Miss Emily.

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But she was also known in other parts

because she was over the heap the, the,

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that helped people get the, the gas

and the electricity for the winters.

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She oversaw a program where I worked

there this, my first summer out of

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college, I worked there supervising.

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They hire kids for every…

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We have, like, 13 school districts

in the county, and they hire the kids

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that go there, like five or six of

them, to help paint lockers or paint

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rooms or clean floors or whatever.

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And there's a liaison from Community

Action that goes out and takes out

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the paychecks and checks on them and

does, does all that kind of stuff.

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I worked for that program

before I, like, I even knew her.

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That was in 1997, so that

was even before I knew her.

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She oversaw…

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My sister, when she was in, in…

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She, my sister is a medical lab

technologist she had to wear

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scrubs, and Community Action helped

her get her scrubs and her books.

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They, she did Meals on Wheels.

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She did the bingo.

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That's, that's how we ended up…

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The, the bingo that my dad

ran was for Community Action.

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So,

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Dash: Oh, I didn't know that

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Beck: yeah.

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So Emily, the, the bingo caller, or

Em- Em- Emily was the, the liaison

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between Community Action and the bingo.

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She helped get it all set

up, and she was there.

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That's why she was the other caller.

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She was, she was my dad's boss.

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So she did a lot, and I'm, I'm

very proud to have known her

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Dash: Yeah.

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Beck: And she had a master's

degree, and she's the only person

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I knew in my life from down

there that had a master's degree.

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And so I felt like she kn- like honestly,

I'm, I'm not trying to be funny there.

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Like, that's just the, the

way it was, and people…

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Education isn't such a thing down there.

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You know, people don't…

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It's not a, a goal.

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And she understood what I

was doing, and when I…

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She was big on Portsmouth history,

and I remember one afternoon, uh,

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my master's thesis was about the

lost Black history of Scioto County.

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And so I had questions, and she lived

a lot of it, so I called and asked her.

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She ended up in my thesis, but I

remember sitting, I was in the Polly

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Ice parking lot in BG and I sat there

for, like, two hours, and we just talked

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about Portsmouth history and the Black

history in the area and all that kind

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of stuff, and it was the one of the

most wonderful conversations that I

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had about home that wasn't about, you

know, poverty or, or anything like that.

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It was about my research.

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You know?

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It was, it was great

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Dash: able to connect to knowledge

making about your hometown,

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that would be really cool.

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I never, in Jellico I had never

met anybody that had even gone to

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college that wasn't a cousin of mine.

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I had an older cousin, had older

cousins that went to college

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Beck: Yeah.

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There were some people in my

extended family that had gone to

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school um, that'd gone to college.

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My dad's older brother, uh, Mark's older

brother, went to, uh, col- he, on the

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GI Bill, and he became a teacher and

then a principal at the local school.

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I, I never had a conversation with that

man in my whole life, so I never knew him.

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Uh, my dad and his brother didn't

get along, but there was education

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on that side of the family.

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Dash: Well, and there's

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between the experience of going

to college and coming back.

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Beck: Right

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Dash: Like, if somebody who's just

a year or two older than you goes

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to college, they're not gonna be

able to give you the secrets of, of

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Beck: Yeah, no, I was the

first one to go to college.

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I was the first one to live in the dorms.

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I was the first one to

move away from home.

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I was the first one to do all

of those things, you know?

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And I was the youngest in my family.

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My, e- everybody dropped

out until it got to me, so.

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My mom, in, in my mom's true fashion,

when she was a sophomore in high school,

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she got into a fight over a boy, and

she would tell you all about the fight.

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She was so proud of it.

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But she got suspended, and she just

never went back to school afterwards.

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That's how she quit school,

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Dash: Uh, was it she said?

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You told me this, this story once.

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She said something about Br- about how

she got her ass kicked or something.

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Beck: No, she kicked the ass of the woman.

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Like she, she was wearing a big,

she got her boyfriend's ring.

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It was like a big class ring.

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Dash: She

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Beck: Yeah, and she got, yeah, she

got the girl by the hair and she

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said, "I felt bad punching her,

but I just kept punching her."

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Dash: It's hard to stop

once you're in motion.

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That is

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Beck: Yehaw.

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Dash: weapon, by the way.

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Beck: It was the '60s.

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It was a different time

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Dash: The, the number of people from

back home who should be in prison,

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Beck: Yeah

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Dash: Well, do you, do you wanna

take a little break and then…

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Or do you wanna tell us

your story about Emily,

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Beck: Okay, yes.

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So my, uh, I'll, I'll go

ahead and tell you my story

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'cause it's a pretty good one.

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So now you have been introduced to Emily,

so now I would like to tell you a story

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that I have never told publicly before.

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All right, so in what could not have

been Emily's idea in my opinion so

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to set the, set the stage for the

story, Larry the Cable Guy came

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to w- Charleston, West Virginia.

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Oh, it was before we left, so

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2004, somewhere in that area.

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No, it would've been 2005, 2006,

somewhere in that timeframe.

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And so we had a caravan.

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There were three cars of us going.

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One car had my mom and dad,

Emily and her husband Bruce.

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One car had my sister and her

husband, and then their cop friend

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and his wife, and then the th- the

middle car was me and Shanna, right?

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So I get a … And so this was

before cell phones were really a

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big thing but they had a car phone.

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So my mom never asked me for weed,

never once in my life until this day.

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And I get a phone call and my

mom's like, "You got any weed?"

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And I was like, "Uh, yeah."

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Dash: Is this a trick question?

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Beck: So she was like, "Well, roll us

one up and we'll meet you at the…"

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We were gonna meet at the, They

were all coming from Portsmouth and

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I was already in Huntington, which

is on the way to Charleston, so we

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were gonna meet at the rest stop and

form a caravan and go on from there.

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And she was like, "Bring

it to the rest stop."

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And I was like, "All right."

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So I rolled him a joint and I gave it

to him, and I, uh, between the, the,

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the rest stop where we were by the dog

track and the Charleston Civic Center,

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they s- they Cheech and Chong'd this

thing, Mom, Emily, Bruce, and Mark.

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Half-hour maybe, right?

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Dash: Oh,

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Beck: yeah, when, when they opened the

door, the smoke came rolling out, right?

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It was a total Cheech and Chong moment.

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And so we parked in the wrong

space originally, and you have to

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remember Bruce was probably the only

Black man in all of the, the thing.

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Larry the Cable Guy told a joke

about a shadow being there, and,

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like, everybody looked at Bruce

'cause it was a Black joke.

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So we get there, and we're

trying to figure out where

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to go, and they're all high.

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And Emily's standing by a fountain.

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I'm like, "Y'all all right, Emily?"

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And she says, "Well, those are the

prettiest fucking tulips I've ever seen."

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Dash: Were they at least actually tulips?

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Beck: They were

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I tried to send tulips to her funeral, but

they were out of season, so I couldn't.

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I sent roses instead.

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that's the funniest thing

she ever said to me.

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"Those are the prettiest

fucking tulips I've ever seen."

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Dash: sort of like in her head you had

said, "Those are some ugly ass tulips."

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How dare you, they're beautiful

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Beck: We had a good time at the show.

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We had a whole row of, of our little gang.

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But we literally had a police

officer in our, in our car, and

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that was in our caravan, and

that was before weed was legal.

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Dash: Did

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Beck: Uh, no, I don't think he did.

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He was, he was not cool at all.

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Dash: Oh,

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Beck: They were all, yeah, yeah.

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His name was Jerry, and

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Dash: she got stir crazy in the car.

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Beck: Well, Emily was

always a little bit funny.

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It sh- that's one of the reasons we got

along so well, 'cause she was real funny.

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we would laugh and joke.

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One time I lost a bunch

of weight one summer.

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My best friend and I started walking,

like, three and a half miles a

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day, and if you walk three and a

half miles a day every day for a

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summer, you'll lose some weight.

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And so I had a lot of energy

to burn, 'cause I'm ADHD and I

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was very unmedicated back then.

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And when you're on a, on a s-

in a, a large exercise regimen,

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you get a lot of energy, right?

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So I was standing at the bingo and

she was sitting on the caller stand.

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She was actually calling,

and I was running tips.

422

So I was going back and forth behind the

desk and, you know, th- there was like

423

a, a bar that you'd, like, the, the,

the, you stood behind it and then the

424

customer stood on the other side of it.

425

And there was a big whiteboard where

when you called a tip, you'd write

426

down the number and the winning number.

427

That way if somebody had gone

out to smoke, they could come

428

check their numbers or whatever.

429

And so I'm standing there, and I, I'm

standing by the whiteboard and I said,

430

"Hey, Emily, look what I can do."

431

And I jumped up and I tried to do an

entire twist in one jump, and I fell

432

because I'm not graceful whatsoever.

433

And I fell directly into the

whiteboard, and my face slid

434

down the whiteboard and made that

435

sound.

436

And she almost could not continue calling

bingo because she was laughing so hard

437

Dash: That's personal.

438

Like, like the order, the way that

played out, you know, like first of all,

439

you got humbled by your surroundings

trying to attempt something you weren't

440

capable of to begin with, but you

called attention to yourself first.

441

Couldn't have gone worse

442

Beck: For years I would just be like,

"Hey Emily, look what I can do."

443

Dash: Was that a Mad TV reference?

444

Beck: Yes, it was.

445

Dash: Stuart

446

Beck: we had a lot of fun, me and M.

447

She was there with my brother

when he caused all his madness

448

and all his nonsense because she

was married to an alcoholic and

449

she knew Bruce was an alcoholic.

450

So she knew what that was like,

and we commiserated on that.

451

And she got to know my family very well,

so, you know, we commiserated on that.

452

And she was just a, a

major part of my life

453

Dash: Sounds like she was incredible

to know and based on things you've

454

said, she put a lot into the world and

probably got a lot out of it in return

455

Beck: Yeah.

456

Yep, she sure did

457

Dash: I think that's the best

thing to hope for somebody

458

Beck: When her best friend died,

her best friend gave her her house.

459

Like that's, like that's

how close she was.

460

Like

461

Dash: Well, hopefully that made her,

her life easier after that point too

462

Beck: She had lived in an apartment

for like 30 years, the same apartment,

463

and when she got the house, they moved

into the house and she was finally out.

464

Like, she could have moved out of

that apartment long before but she

465

had a place to go, I guess, in the

real nice little section of town.

466

So she moved there.

467

We also I, I can put the picture

in the newsletter this week, but

468

it would've been 2007 when my,

my dog turned three years old.

469

And at three times seven, it's

21, so it was 21st birthday.

470

And I knew people that had three

other poodles, so we had a poodle

471

party and there were five poodles in

attendance, and two of them were Emily's.

472

And we always bonded over having

poodles because, you know, when, once

473

you have a poodle, you rarely go back.

474

No, there were six poodles.

475

There was my two, and then Bug

Koda's brother and, or his daddy,

476

and, uh, uh, and the little

dog, and then Rosie and Boston.

477

And she made a joke 'cause Boston

was black and the rest of them were

478

white, and she's like, "He's the

only little Black guy over there."

479

But if you guys want, I have

pictures of the poodle party that

480

turned out very good, so I will

post those if anybody is interested.

481

They'll, that'll be in the newsletter

482

Dash: Please do.

483

Thanks for telling us about Emily.

484

Beck: Thanks for listening, y'all

485

Dash: I hope everybody is lucky

enough to have an Emily in their life.

486

Beck: Yeah, for sure

487

Dash: But we know not everyone is, and

so if that's you, you're our friends

488

Beck: I need lots of friends,

489

Dash: You were worried about

telling that because you thought,

490

you know, what about her memory?

491

What about her reputation

among people in Scioto County?

492

And I, you know, for me, I'm like,

that's a relatively tame story.

493

Not that I don't see your perspective,

but that's because of the absolute

494

debauched tale I'm about to tell.

495

Beck: Well, it's the only time

I ever knew that she did any,

496

like she didn't even drink.

497

So it's the only time I knew

of her, uh, having any kind

498

of substance fun whatsoever in

the 30 years that I knew her.

499

So, and I th- even Martha Stewart said,

"Of course I know how to roll a joint."

500

You know?

501

Like,

502

Dash: Mm-hmm.

503

Beck: when you're of a time and,

you know, she came through the '60s,

504

and, you know, she probably has

smoked a joint or two in her life.

505

Dash: have, you

506

well-adjusted people know

507

Beck: retired by the time she did that, so

508

Dash: Yeah.

509

Well, so my, like, process

for choosing a story was I…

510

Have you ever done, like, actual

storytelling, like the performance

511

where you get up on stage and there's a

512

Beck: Mm-mm.

513

Dash: we, we have a, a friend

from grad school who is a

514

professional storyteller, Csenge.

515

She got a degree in it from ETSU,

East Tennessee State University.

516

She got her master's in it, and she

came and did her PhD in cultural

517

studies approaches to tabletop gaming

and storytelling uh, she's got a couple

518

books, awesome, awesome writer, and

really just smart and funny person.

519

she's who I learned, uh, that storytelling

was a, an actual performance art.

520

M- And it wasn't a huge shock,

but it was just sort of like that

521

kinda thing hadn't entered my mind.

522

Beck: Yeah.

523

profile picture and I'm very proud of that

524

Dash: Yeah, it's a good one.

525

When I went to w- back to work

at EKU, I've met a faculty

526

member who just happened to be…

527

Like, I met him because he was

a, an out gay man, and so he was

528

helping me with programs and things.

529

And he, I mentioned

storytelling or something.

530

He's like, "Wait, you

know about storytelling?"

531

And I was like, "Oh,

just through a friend."

532

And he was like, "I just

started learning about it.

533

I started doing some,

some, like, and stuff."

534

And he created a program.

535

It was just a monthly program.

536

He got a microgrant to buy the kids

pizza, and we met at Apollo Pizza

537

in Richmond, I think maybe the,

the third Tuesday of every month.

538

And it was like an open mic, but

was f- a focus on storytelling.

539

I went there one night for a theme or

something, and I told this story about

540

how, about the, the day I, the day I

learned that I had gained male privilege.

541

And it, it's a good story,

but it's not funny all.

542

In fact, it's actually kind

of disturbing and upsetting.

543

So I was l- I thought about that,

but I was like, "Maybe another time."

544

That's, that's, maybe when it's

relevant to something and I can

545

find a way to make it entertaining

instead of just illuminating.

546

Uh, it was the kind of learning

that, like, is necessary for

547

me, and I wish cis men could go

through it, because they don't.

548

It's, it's only trans men who suddenly one

day at the age of 36 have male privilege.

549

So there's something

to be learned from it.

550

But I decided instead to tell the

story of the night I quit mushrooms.

551

Beck: You know those are

legal in Michigan now?

552

Dash: That doesn't surprise me.

553

Beck: You can, you, not that I know

from experience, you can go to this,

554

like, little thrift shop and they

have just type after type after type

555

after type and will sell you, like,

an ounce of this and an ounce of that.

556

Oh, there's … Like, you go on

their website and they have, like, 50

557

different varieties, and this one is

good for creativity, and this one is g-

558

It's like the sativa/indica bullshit.

559

Dash: right,

560

Beck: I agree completely.

561

Yeah

562

Dash: I went through a phase in my, in my

undergrad, there was a couple years there

563

where I had a, a core group of friends

and we were really close, and we partied

564

a lot, and it was a lot of psychedelics.

565

So, I did a lot.

566

This could be a bad idea.

567

I did a lot of acid and

a little bit of shrooms.

568

I d- I, I never loved shrooms.

569

I didn't have a great time, but

it was, like, to get, right?

570

'Cause people could grow them.

571

You could order those kits online

and just grow your own shrooms.

572

So I wound up doing them a couple

times, but this one trip, which

573

actually may have only been, like,

my second or third one, this is…

574

I, I did not make it very far into

doing shrooms before I had had enough.

575

But it, kind of came out

of that time when I was…

576

I was hanging out with my friend

Skip pretty much constantly.

577

his full government nickname was

Skippy, but I called him Skip But I

578

had a, a rough roommate situation.

579

This girl was, like,

weird and inconsiderate.

580

She was always having strange

sex, uh, with people who…

581

There's just no regard at all for

the fact that this was 8 by 10 room.

582

And so my friend Skip, he lived down

on the fourth floor of Clay Hall,

583

which was the par- the party floor.

584

and his roommate dropped out, so

I just started staying in his room

585

for the rest of that school year.

586

So we were together constantly.

587

And it was a…

588

This also kinda coincides with the

beginning of the end, you know, of

589

that magical period where everything

is beautiful, everybody gets along, you

590

have a million friends, and there's a

ton of interesting things to do, and then

591

people start falling out, or couples that

have been together start to break up.

592

And it's just, that's a, that used to…

593

I don't know if it's still a moment

for college kids, but that was, that

594

happens to everybody who went to college

595

In the '90s So that happened.

596

uh, a core couple broke up, and

the guy who lost, you know how

597

somebody always loses the breakup.

598

The guy who lost the breakup needed

help moving and nobody would help him.

599

So me and Skip decided to help him.

600

We, he, it was k- he had to move

back Greensburg, Kentucky, which i-

601

is the only thing I know about it,

it's the place that Dumas Walkers is.

602

It's not called Dumas

603

Beck: Ah.

604

Dash: but yeah, I learned

that on that trip.

605

Beck: Let's all go down to Dooba's Walk.

606

Dash: Yeah.

607

And we ate there.

608

That was cool.

609

But this guy was a mess.

610

so he was doing pills the whole time.

611

So we got to his mom's house, she

also is just a freak, and, uh, had

612

these two people with us who we don't

know what they were doing there.

613

We found out later that it's because Skip

had a crush on Kim, so that's why Kim was

614

there, and Kim's friend Eugene had a crush

on me, so that's why they were there.

615

And so 'cause I was like,

"What are y'all doing here?"

616

It was a weird night already.

617

So Joey is in the laundry room spelling

out his ex's name in Xanax powder

618

and then snorting all the lines.

619

And so Skip is babysitting him,

and then Kim and Eugene have, have

620

taken mushrooms for whatever reason.

621

They took them before we left.

622

They were tripping when we got there.

623

And so they're having a terrible

time, and I'm babysitting them.

624

So we didn't sleep at all that night.

625

Long, long story short on that, we

were both, we both stayed sober, me

626

and Skip did, but we, we were awake for

24 hours then had to drive back home.

627

Instead of going to bed like we should

have- We went to a barn party that

628

night at a, some friend's um, farmhouse.

629

And were, like, frazzled, right?

630

It w- it had not been a good night.

631

It was difficult.

632

And so our friend This, this guy, we

called him Bob the Tomato, I th- which

633

I think is a VeggieTales reference.

634

He sold us these mushrooms,

and you know how dealers have

635

always got their spiel, right?

636

Like, "These are six

637

Beck: Right

638

Dash: stronger than the average…"

639

You know, he said that.

640

He was like, "These are six times

stronger than regular shrooms."

641

And I was like, "Who counted?

642

you count?"

643

What makes you say that?

644

Okay, whatever.

645

So we, we bought them and we, this

was probably like 8:00 PM, and I

646

don't like the taste of shrooms.

647

I can't even do the peanut butter

sandwich method, and they hurt my stomach.

648

And so I to make tea out of them,

which I may have also been part of

649

this issue may, may have also caused

what happened So I made us some tea

650

and we split this eighth of shrooms.

651

It wasn't long at all before

both of us were miserable.

652

We…

653

I, I lost my mind, you know?

654

I was like, I was like, "Where am I?

655

How did I get here?

656

How long have I been here?"

657

And then I look over, and I don't

know how he got roped into this,

658

but he was upside down on the couch

with his head hanging down, like,

659

where your, your calves touch it.

660

He had a towel around the top of his

head some googly eyes on his chin.

661

And so his, his beard was like the hair.

662

And it, it actually broke me, and I

was like, "Wait, what is going on?"

663

mind broke.

664

Next thing I know, my friend

Leah is poking me, and I was

665

curled up under a bush outside.

666

And I was like, "I really

wanna go somewhere.

667

I wanna leave.

668

I wanna go back to the dorm."

669

And it, we were like 10 miles away.

670

So she was like, "Well, try to

find somebody sober," which at that

671

point it's on the honor system if

somebody tells you they're sober.

672

But people's faces were blurred.

673

You know, for, like in an Aphex Twin

video or a Tool video, they'll put

674

that blur effect on the person's face.

675

That's what people

676

Beck: Hey

677

Dash: And I, I was like,

"I have to get out of here.

678

This is awful."

679

And Skip also, he finally…

680

And, and, and I asked him, I

was like, "What are you doing?"

681

He goes, "I don't know.

682

They talked me into it."

683

And I really, it made me

worse, like being upside down.

684

He was like, "I feel

awful, and I'm terrified."

685

And I s- and I had started to have

trouble, like, I was hyperventilating.

686

My chest felt tight.

687

I said, "I'm trying to find

a way to get us out of here."

688

I was like, "Just stay close."

689

And so looking out from the outside, we

had to look insane because we were like,

690

we were arm in arm, like linked at elbows.

691

And we would only go places

together because it was like I

692

felt like I was gonna float away.

693

And so people knew we

weren't having a good time.

694

And so Leah comes back with this guy named

Lucas who was from Williamsburg actually.

695

And he was like, "Yeah,

I'll take you home.

696

I'm sober."

697

I was like, "Okay."

698

And we get into his truck.

699

He's just…

700

It's a nor- I think it was a Ford Ranger.

701

So it's three of us sitting

together in the front seat.

702

And he, in my memory now, which

I don't know if I can trust,

703

was driving like an asshole.

704

He was riding up on the curb.

705

He was, like, intentionally

running stop signs.

706

He was, like, swerving really big.

707

And I was just like, I couldn't

tolerate it anymore, and I

708

opened the door to jump out.

709

and I think we were on, like, Richmond

Road at this point, so we would've been

710

going, like, 50 or 60 miles an hour.

711

And Skip was like, "Shit!"

712

And as he grabbed me and, like, took

the seatbelt and wrapped it around

713

my neck to keep me inside the- And

I, I closed the door again, and I, I

714

remember him, like, turning to Lucas

and going like, "Whatever it is you

715

think you're doing, it is not funny.

716

You have to stop."

717

and so we made it back to Clay Hall.

718

day, I don't know if Luc- Lucas

was fucking with us on purpose.

719

He might have just been drunk and

been lying about being sober, or

720

maybe I imagined it, and poor Lucas

is driving a raving lunatic home who

721

just tried to jump out of his truck

722

But we get back to Clay Hall and

I was like, "Okay, it's over.

723

We can relax."

724

So we go up to Skip's room, put his

tapestries over all the windows, turn

725

on, I think we turned on J- Janis Joplin,

and my friend Josh happened to call

726

and he was like, "What are y'all doing?

727

Are you at the party?"

728

And I was like, "We were.

729

We left.

730

It's awful.

731

We're having a horrible time."

732

And he was like, "Well,

I'm still on campus.

733

Let me come over and smoke you out."

734

Like, oh, that's supposed

to calm you down, I guess.

735

I- it works on acid.

736

I don't think it works on shrooms.

737

I think anybody who says it

works on shrooms is full of shit.

738

Cause it's an additional psychotropic.

739

it, did actually change my mood,

so maybe it did calm me down.

740

I became no less sober.

741

Came over and he was, like,

trying to make us laugh also.

742

He's just a really good guy.

743

I'm still friends with him.

744

and I was, like, really having

trouble breathing, though.

745

My, my lungs were, like…

746

It was like I was,

something was sitting on me.

747

I found out later that if you have asthma

you absolutely should not take mushrooms.

748

and I was terrifying them

'cause I was like, "Hey, guys,

749

don't let me stop breathing."

750

And Skip was like, "Why would you do that?

751

What makes you think you're

gonna stop breathing?

752

What do you mean?"

753

And I was like, "You know, just in case."

754

Like, "What would we do about it?

755

How would we accomplish that?

756

Please be more specific.

757

What's going on?"

758

As, so then I was like, "Okay,

I've gotta go to the bathroom.

759

I'm, I'm feeling calmer.

760

I'll be okay, you know.

761

I can go down there by myself."

762

So I did.

763

I walked down, and it, it was, this was

Clay had just, like, the, the communal

764

bathrooms, you know, on the hall, and I

didn't wanna go up to any of the girls.

765

I was afraid basically that I

left that plane of existence

766

I would become unstable again.

767

So I just went into the,

to the boys' bathroom.

768

It was a weekend.

769

I figured nobody was there.

770

I walked inside, and you know

how, like, that disturbing really

771

pale blue tile that's along the

walls of those kinds of bathrooms?

772

Somebody had taken one of those

mega Sharpies and scrawled unhinged

773

song lyrics all over the walls.

774

And

775

Beck: wow

776

Dash: Yeah, I walked in and

I was like, "Is this real?

777

If it's real, that's worse."

778

Like, "What is this?

779

Why is this here?"

780

And so I got trapped trying to read

those, and I eventually just lost my

781

mind again and ran down the hallway,

like, screaming for Skip and Josh.

782

And I was like, "I don't know why, but I

need to know whether it's real or not."

783

And so they both went in and

they were like, "No, it's really

784

there, and I don't know why.

785

Like, it had never been there before.

786

We don't know what happened."

787

And I, I was like, " I will

never feel this way again.

788

I will guarantee you that."

789

and I never did.

790

I, that was the last time I did mushrooms.

791

rest of the night was spent basically

gasping for air and trying to stay calm

792

Beck: I'm glad you survived, my friend.

793

Dash: Phew

794

Beck: Yeah, I'm with you on that.

795

Don't do shrooms.

796

Nothing good comes from it

797

Dash: People are always

like, "But it's natural."

798

Arsenic's natural, right?

799

Nature

800

Beck: Yeah, exactly.

801

Tornadoes are natural

802

Dash: Yeah.

803

The ocean's natural.

804

I'm not jumping in it either.

805

lysergic acid is water-soluble and

was formulated in a lab, which also

806

doesn't guarantee that it's safer,

but it means it's been studied, and

807

it means it's always the same fucking

thing, and it means it doesn't have

808

Beck: Right?

809

Dash: growing on it do you know

what would happen to me right now

810

though if I just suddenly decided

to get back into psychedelics?

811

Beck: I'm afraid to ask what would happen

812

Dash: Well, I don't know either,

but it wouldn't be good ' Cause now

813

I, being just dead sober, I can't

even, like, dependably smoke weed.

814

It is, it's really a 50/50, maybe

even an 80/20 that I'm gonna

815

just freak out and have a panic

attack and need to be taken to a

816

Beck: Aww

817

Oh, that's sad

818

Dash: I think I turned the

self-medication corner on that somehow.

819

Maybe it was all the They say that stuff

820

Beck: Maybe

821

Dash: I know my pattern recognition

d- changed from taking acid

822

Beck: Yeah.

823

What do you mean?

824

Dash: taking acid.

825

Maybe it was just my frontal lobe finally,

what, doing whatever it does, maturing.

826

So like I, That's when I started

being able to see four-leaf

827

clovers whenever I wanted

828

Beck: That's awesome

829

Dash: a- was around that time.

830

And I didn't know, yeah, I don't know,

I don't remember when it started.

831

I just remember all of a sudden, like,

look at any clover patch and find a

832

four-leaf clover, and I can still do it.

833

whatever it

834

Beck: That's awesome.

835

Dash: Kind of

836

knowing that they're literally everywhere.

837

I don't know.

838

I mean, it still doesn't mean

that you can see them all,

839

and most people can't see them

840

Beck: I can cross one eye at a time

841

Dash: You showed me that

one day and it is…

842

Beck: Yehaw

843

Dash: you see your nose all the time?

844

Like, do you see your nose

845

Beck: I think everybody does,

but you learn to ignore it

846

Dash: Oh, no, I'm looking

at mine all the time.

847

Not only am I looking at it, I'm looking

at four of it, because both eyes sees

848

one side, and your eye, your brain

also knows what each eye is seeing.

849

So my brain is seeing that one

eye is seeing what the other

850

eye sees, if that makes sense

851

Beck: I have an extremely small nose,

so maybe that's why I don't see it.

852

When I went in to get fitted

for a CPAP machine, they had

853

to give me an extra small mask.

854

That's the only thing I've ever

had extra small in my life.

855

But apparently my nose is extra small.

856

When you look at it, there's

just not a lot to it.

857

There's just a boop and that's it.

858

Dash: Yeah.

859

mine was small before I transitioned.

860

It's some of the tissue

you grow from testosterone.

861

Beck: Gotcha.

862

I got a little one.

863

My sister's is more upturned

864

than mine.

865

I'm glad mine didn't go upturned

866

sister

867

Dash: Ooh, shots fired

868

Beck: Yeah.

869

She does the more girly stuff and dolls

herself up and does all that stuff,

870

so technically she would be the, the

fancier one, but when it comes right

871

down to it, I'm prettier than she is

872

Dash: Take that.

873

Beck: Especially because of

my soul versus her ugly ass

874

soul That stuff shines through

875

Dash: Oh.

876

I, it, it definitely can.

877

I mean, I'm, I'm sure that there

are pretty people who are also

878

evil husks, but I think a person,

like, as you begin to learn more

879

about them, they can't hide it for

880

Beck: Yehaw

881

Dash: It's there, you know?

882

th- I think it's part of, like,

our survival instincts, is to

883

be able to kinda detect whether

someone is trustworthy or not

884

Beck: Well, yeah, I think so

885

Dash: I saw one of those, I don't…

886

I think they were a psychologist.

887

I don't think it was, like, one of

those behavioral analysis people.

888

That's a different thing.

889

They were talking about how

psychopaths one of the things that

890

about the way they look, or they

often look, I'm sure it isn't total,

891

that sets us on edge is their eyes.

892

Because the, their facial affect

doesn't work the way a person who is

893

in touch with their feelings works.

894

So, like, we emote based

on what we're feeling.

895

A psychopath doesn't have feelings.

896

And if they do, that…

897

Don't quote me on that, I

just, that's what I read.

898

I'm not a psychologist.

899

But, like, even if they do, they're

not, those feel- their feelings aren't

900

related to what the person they're

communicating with is experiencing.

901

So they're just taking

their best guess at emoting.

902

And so a lot of times what happens

is they wind up making their eyes

903

really big and wide like this.

904

That makes my eyes feel really dry.

905

Beck: Yeah.

906

Shana had a friend that she made in

group therapy, so red flag number one

907

she made the friend in group therapy.

908

Dash: You're not

909

Beck: yeah, this lady's name

was Penny, and she was bonkers.

910

She, she and Shana, like, hung out quite

a bit, and I think the lady, like, was

911

crushing on her or something, because she

was always like, "Well, invite Becky over.

912

Come over."

913

And the, the first time I went over like

five minutes after I got there she was

914

like, "Well, I'm leaving," and, like,

walked out of the house and went to

915

make moon water or some crazy bullshit.

916

She really didn't like me.

917

Uh, but she, but in pictures, in

all of her pictures her eyes are

918

real big like that, she was crazy

919

Dash: I'm not a, I didn't fact-check

it because I'm not able to.

920

I don't have the ex- expertise.

921

But I mean, it, it would make sense that

a person would struggle to emote in a

922

relatable way if they with psychopathy

or something like that, some sort of

923

Beck: Yeah

924

Dash: disturbance,

925

Beck: I think my dad was a sociopath

and, I think my sister takes after him.

926

I, I don't think she has a lot of emotions

about things um, except for jealousy

927

and anger and, and things like that.

928

I think that's why she never liked me.

929

I, I think she thought I had a perfect

relationship with my mom, and who has

930

a perfect relationship with their mom?

931

You know what I mean?

932

Like, everybody has some kinda issue, and

my mom and I had our problems for sure.

933

Yeah, and I treated mom as human,

as fallible, as oh, that's okay.

934

You know?

935

She, she wasn't perfect either,

and that's okay, and my sister, ugh

936

I get heated when I start

thinking about her, so

937

Dash: You're gonna make an appearance?

938

You don't do a lot of podcasting

939

Beck: Hello, kitty, kitty,

kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.

940

With your face so white and black

941

Dash: He's my 14-year-old distinguished

gentleman You're gonna have to

942

decide where you're gonna be though.

943

He still wants to climb on

stuff, but he can't get himself

944

down ' cause he's got arthritis

945

Beck: Yeah.

946

Pete is 13 and she's starting to be

bitey about if you touch her in, in,

947

on her feet or stuff like that, so

948

Dash: Yeah, he doesn't love it.

949

And I got him some stairs and he won't use

them ' cause, uh, he's extremely stubborn.

950

Maybe the most stubborn cat I've ever met.

951

Definitely the most stubborn one

I've ever owned Well, thanks for

952

listening to our stories, everybody.

953

I'm not even sure if that's what I

meant by anecdote when I put that on

954

there at the time, but works for me

955

Beck: Works for me

956

Dash: Well, maybe let's hear

from this week's sponsor.

957

Ba, ba, bow.

958

Oh This week's episode of Queernecks

is brought to you by Local Honey.

959

the proper noun Local Honey, not just

honey, not local honey, but Local Honey.

960

The distinction between it and any

old nationally distributed honey

961

matters to the people who sell

it, and it should matter to you.

962

Here's the lore as it was given to me by a

963

You eat a spoonful of honey made by bees

within a 15-mile radius of your house.

964

Those bees have been rolling

around in the exact pollen

965

that's currently murdering you.

966

ingest a small amount of your

enemy and take away its power.

967

Your body learns and grows stronger

with each dose, and by August,

968

you can walk through a field of

goldenrod like Jesus on the water.

969

Deb said all this seated behind her

card table with a fly swat and a level

970

of eye contact I have not encountered

since, so naturally, I believed her.

971

Treating seasonal allergies is

only the beginning of the wonders

972

local honey can perform, however.

973

Once you're eating it regularly,

apparently, it starts connecting to your

974

natural environment, which in my case is

a coal mining town with two spotlights.

975

I felt connected to it

genuinely zero stars.

976

You can keep it.

977

Once you're connected to the place,

though, I guess it starts repairing

978

you, 'cause the next list of benefits

is straight medical pseudoscience.

979

For instance, if you have a bad

back, rub the honey directly onto

980

the skin, which nobody has ever done.

981

You can't convince me they have,

including the people recommending it.

982

Or how a spoonful before bed is

supposed to put you to sleep, which my

983

grandmother treated as settled science.

984

She also took one before she drove for

alertness, though, which is on brand

985

for her contradictory nature of beliefs.

986

It is allegedly good for your skin if

you apply it directly, which some people

987

do, mostly in winter at night alone,

which is fine, in fact, preferable.

988

Apparently, it works on a cough about as

well as the stuff in the orange bottle,

989

which is either a strong endorsement

for local honey or a weak endorsement

990

for the stuff in the orange bottle.

991

It's also said to be a diabetic aid, which

I pass along without comment because I

992

genuinely cannot tell if that's a dare.

993

Deb told me very casually, like she

was mentioning the weather, that it

994

fixes a marriage that's gone quiet.

995

I don't know what that means.

996

Like, not a bad marriage.

997

You still need either the

sheriff or a shovel for that one.

998

Just a quiet one.

999

You put a jar between you at dinner,

and you eat off the same spoon, and

00:45:53,505 --> 00:45:55,265

eventually, one of you says something.

00:45:55,565 --> 00:45:59,238

I neither asked her nor

hoped she would elaborate.

00:45:59,838 --> 00:46:01,898

I'm aware none of this holds up in court.

00:46:02,193 --> 00:46:06,093

I'm only passing along what I was told

by people who were told it by people who

00:46:06,093 --> 00:46:08,033

are dead and can't be cross-examined.

00:46:08,493 --> 00:46:13,613

What's important is the idea of the

lore and not whether it actually works.

00:46:13,933 --> 00:46:17,343

So that's local honey available

in any peddler's mall parking

00:46:17,343 --> 00:46:19,513

lot from a woman at a card table

00:46:19,801 --> 00:46:20,281

Beck: That's awesome

00:46:20,331 --> 00:46:20,901

I love honey.

00:46:20,901 --> 00:46:22,831

It's my favorite dipping

sauce for chicken nuggets

00:46:23,431 --> 00:46:23,731

Dash: What?

00:46:24,218 --> 00:46:24,429

Beck: Yeah.

00:46:24,518 --> 00:46:24,658

Dash: You

00:46:24,789 --> 00:46:28,329

Beck: If you get chicken nuggets and honey

and the french fries, it's delicious.

00:46:28,589 --> 00:46:32,019

If you get chicken nuggets at McDonald's,

they have honey as a dipping sauce

00:46:32,619 --> 00:46:33,189

Dash: Yeah, they ring.

00:46:33,209 --> 00:46:36,999

I worked at McDonald's and s- like, I

still wouldn't do th- but it does, I

00:46:36,999 --> 00:46:38,959

think I do remember that that's an option.

00:46:39,559 --> 00:46:40,979

Beck: It's the salty and sweet.

00:46:41,099 --> 00:46:41,839

Really good.

00:46:41,869 --> 00:46:43,699

The savory and, and super sweet.

00:46:43,709 --> 00:46:45,229

It's delicious, IMO.

00:46:45,519 --> 00:46:47,269

The fries in it are really good too.

00:46:47,269 --> 00:46:50,019

Even if you don't want chicken nuggets,

the fries dipped in honey are really good

00:46:50,619 --> 00:46:53,979

Dash: Yeah, I could see that

'cause I, I like you know, the

00:46:53,979 --> 00:46:55,959

Wendy's Frosty and french fries.

00:46:56,173 --> 00:46:58,883

Did I tell you that I found a Dairy Queen

00:46:59,427 --> 00:46:59,727

Beck: Ooh

00:47:00,907 --> 00:47:01,507

Dash: Yeah.

00:47:01,977 --> 00:47:07,307

Like, by nearby, you know, 20 minutes,

but the, there's a, a little town down

00:47:07,307 --> 00:47:11,417

by this trail I take my bike to right

on the border of South Dakota, and I was

00:47:11,417 --> 00:47:14,937

coming out the back way of the trail, and

there's a Dairy Queen just sitting there

00:47:15,537 --> 00:47:16,657

Beck: That's awesome

00:47:16,910 --> 00:47:17,340

Dash: Yehaw.

00:47:17,690 --> 00:47:18,790

Like, how did you get here?

00:47:19,390 --> 00:47:21,380

Beck: We, we have a Dairy

Queen about 20 minutes away.

00:47:21,380 --> 00:47:23,750

They're, they're sparsely

populated around here.

00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,430

So if you want actual Dairy Queen, you

have to go about 20 miles to Napoleon.

00:47:27,700 --> 00:47:31,650

But they have ice cream cake

cupcakes there, so you can have

00:47:31,650 --> 00:47:33,610

ice cream cake whenever you want

00:47:34,210 --> 00:47:34,770

Dash: Wow

00:47:34,797 --> 00:47:36,517

Beck: like m- that's amazing to me.

00:47:36,517 --> 00:47:38,917

That's the, the peak of

civilization right there.

00:47:39,187 --> 00:47:39,997

We've made it

00:47:40,597 --> 00:47:43,957

Dash: That's like that meme of

Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear,

00:47:44,557 --> 00:47:47,427

looking at, you know, he's pointing,

he's gesturing to a car and he

00:47:47,437 --> 00:47:52,467

said, "That is America's only known

contribution to advanced civilization."

00:47:54,608 --> 00:47:56,658

He was talking about turning

right on a red light, but

00:47:57,010 --> 00:47:57,480

Beck: Yeah.

00:47:57,870 --> 00:47:59,040

I would think that's ranch.

00:47:59,050 --> 00:48:03,180

Ranch dressing is the American, like,

that's the contribution to the world

00:48:03,390 --> 00:48:06,860

Dash: what the the

World Cup visitors said.

00:48:07,460 --> 00:48:09,140

were just, like, blown away by ranch.

00:48:09,510 --> 00:48:14,190

That really does, that is very, like,

Brit- Britain-coded, ran- ranches

00:48:14,790 --> 00:48:17,310

Beck: I follow this girl that, uh,

she just kept showing up in my feed.

00:48:17,310 --> 00:48:19,770

I don't know if I actually follow her

or not, but she shows up all the time.

00:48:20,060 --> 00:48:23,900

She's, I don't know, maybe 19, 20,

21, somewhere in that age range, and

00:48:23,900 --> 00:48:27,730

she's forever trying American snacks,

and she's British, and she tried

00:48:27,730 --> 00:48:29,790

the ranch and absolutely loved it.

00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:33,190

So yeah, that's, that's

been my experience too.

00:48:33,190 --> 00:48:34,150

They love the ranch

00:48:34,750 --> 00:48:39,600

Dash: I mean, it is flavorful,

and if, if you are into texture

00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,010

like that, you're gonna love it.

00:48:41,610 --> 00:48:44,290

I saw a YouTube headline.

00:48:44,660 --> 00:48:47,717

I posted this on Facebook it was

like 3:00 in the morning, but some

00:48:47,717 --> 00:48:54,207

zygote made a video and called it, " I

played boomer Resident Evil games-

00:48:54,807 --> 00:48:57,388

Boomer What do you think boomer means?

00:48:57,988 --> 00:49:00,158

Do you think boomers are 38 years old?

00:49:00,758 --> 00:49:01,668

Beck: They're just old now.

00:49:01,678 --> 00:49:03,058

That's what I think that's what it means.

00:49:03,658 --> 00:49:04,459

I've been called a boomer

00:49:04,845 --> 00:49:08,355

Dash: Yeah, boomer, boomer just means

out of touch, which is interesting

00:49:08,955 --> 00:49:10,295

Beck: All of my parents were boomers

00:49:10,895 --> 00:49:13,465

Dash: Do you remember

the roast of Ann Coulter?

00:49:14,065 --> 00:49:14,425

This is a

00:49:14,509 --> 00:49:14,889

Beck: No

00:49:15,489 --> 00:49:17,969

Dash: It's not entirely a, a topic shift.

00:49:18,569 --> 00:49:20,799

It was one of the original,

like, Friars Roast ones.

00:49:20,799 --> 00:49:22,259

I think it was on Comedy Central.

00:49:22,859 --> 00:49:25,569

But, uh, something…

00:49:25,959 --> 00:49:27,469

I actually don't know why

I brought up the roast.

00:49:27,469 --> 00:49:28,409

This has nothing to do with it.

00:49:29,009 --> 00:49:29,439

So the…

00:49:29,449 --> 00:49:32,249

When, when people first started saying

boomer, I guess it's just that Ann

00:49:32,249 --> 00:49:38,189

Coulter is largely an irredeemable piece

of shit, but she did something one time

00:49:38,599 --> 00:49:40,699

that I was just like, "What in the hell?

00:49:40,709 --> 00:49:41,859

Did that really come outta her mouth?"

00:49:42,279 --> 00:49:47,591

So this was during the rise of,

"Okay, boomer," and were in their

00:49:47,591 --> 00:49:50,581

feelings about that being a diss.

00:49:51,181 --> 00:49:55,221

And somebody was on her show and

they said, "Yeah, it's becoming

00:49:55,241 --> 00:49:58,441

a slur tantamount to the N-word."

00:50:00,807 --> 00:50:02,287

which first of all,

00:50:02,532 --> 00:50:03,462

it's not a slur.

00:50:04,122 --> 00:50:04,612

an insult.

00:50:04,622 --> 00:50:05,512

There's a difference, right?

00:50:05,512 --> 00:50:05,779

Just because

00:50:06,079 --> 00:50:06,509

Beck: Yeah

00:50:06,809 --> 00:50:07,742

Dash: doesn't make it a slur.

00:50:08,342 --> 00:50:11,572

But she said, that is asinine," right?

00:50:11,572 --> 00:50:13,522

Like, "Nothing is as bad as the N-word.

00:50:13,562 --> 00:50:16,722

Black people in America

experienced Jim Crow, slavery,

00:50:16,932 --> 00:50:19,092

institutionalized racism, red line…"

00:50:19,092 --> 00:50:24,742

She names off all of these things that

of like, institutionalized racism against

00:50:24,742 --> 00:50:28,022

Black people in America specifically,

and just reads this man for filth

00:50:28,252 --> 00:50:29,792

on suggesting something so stupid.

00:50:29,792 --> 00:50:33,211

And I was like, I'm not gonna read too

much into it, but, if you put a gun

00:50:33,211 --> 00:50:36,261

to ma- my head and I had to eulogize

her, that's the story I would tell,

00:50:36,261 --> 00:50:38,711

'cause that's the only decent thing

to my knowledge she's ever done.

00:50:39,457 --> 00:50:39,717

Beck: Yehaw

00:50:39,883 --> 00:50:40,713

Dash: It was random

00:50:41,044 --> 00:50:43,604

Beck: Well, even a stopped clock

is right twice a, twice a day

00:50:44,204 --> 00:50:45,394

Dash: Yehaw Truth.

00:50:45,654 --> 00:50:51,414

It's like Sean Strickland and his

criticism of Trump and that he's still a

00:50:51,414 --> 00:50:54,054

fucking homophobe and massive transphobe.

00:50:54,654 --> 00:50:57,724

Dang did you see that shit about JK

Rowling and Amnesty International?

00:50:58,107 --> 00:50:59,417

Beck: No, I haven't seen that

00:50:59,714 --> 00:51:06,764

Dash: So Amnesty International, uh, post-

or published a report and used a f- the

00:51:06,764 --> 00:51:14,334

phrase anti-rights to describe a handful

of lobbyists, lobbying organizations or

00:51:14,334 --> 00:51:18,192

whatever, that to restrict rights for…

00:51:18,202 --> 00:51:21,552

Like, it was, it was really an accurate

description, and one of them was

00:51:21,572 --> 00:51:26,252

the anti-trans movement, and maybe

they even named her specifically.

00:51:26,252 --> 00:51:27,392

I didn't read their report.

00:51:27,553 --> 00:51:33,843

so she reached into her infinite bag of

money said, "I'll cover the legal fees

00:51:33,853 --> 00:51:38,288

of anybody that wants to sue Amnesty

International for calling transphobes,

00:51:38,328 --> 00:51:44,858

basically, and specifically transphobic,

lobbies anti-rights," which is incredible.

00:51:44,868 --> 00:51:48,158

So, like, uh, just thousands

of people sued them.

00:51:48,758 --> 00:51:50,958

And so they, they walked it back.

00:51:50,968 --> 00:51:54,008

Not only did they, like, walk

it back, they apologized to her.

00:51:54,608 --> 00:51:56,268

Amnesty International.

00:51:56,718 --> 00:52:01,548

Like, we've got the Democrat, Democrat

candidates for, uh, in gubernatorial

00:52:01,548 --> 00:52:10,142

races and Senate races trans girls boys

and refusing to, uh, sign, agreements

00:52:10,142 --> 00:52:12,822

for including trans rights and things.

00:52:13,102 --> 00:52:17,232

Nobody, n- nobody's holding these folks

to it anymore, and so they're just giving

00:52:17,232 --> 00:52:23,464

up ' Cause they've learned, a person

doesn't have to go whole hog and be

00:52:23,464 --> 00:52:27,294

like, "Okay, so Trump's been, Trump and

his idiots are being rewarded for being

00:52:27,294 --> 00:52:32,954

the way they are, which means can not be

that bad and still be technically good."

00:52:33,554 --> 00:52:33,974

Like, we've

00:52:34,294 --> 00:52:34,594

Beck: Right?

00:52:35,194 --> 00:52:37,224

Yeah We absolutely have

00:52:43,192 --> 00:52:46,772

Dash: It reminds me, speaking of

Csenge, when, when I first met her, I

00:52:46,772 --> 00:52:51,292

think Hungary has changed a lot in the

amount of time then, but at the time

00:52:51,332 --> 00:52:55,472

we were talking about voting, the, the,

00:52:55,482 --> 00:52:59,472

thing or whatever, and we, we were

discussing the third party problem.

00:53:00,072 --> 00:53:04,722

And she said, "Yeah," she said something

that, it's still one of my favorite

00:53:04,722 --> 00:53:08,262

things I've ever heard, but repeating

it still shocks me, 'cause she said,

00:53:08,262 --> 00:53:10,482

"Yeah, I, I, uh, I vote Nazi Party."

00:53:10,797 --> 00:53:13,205

And I was like, " Okay.

00:53:13,805 --> 00:53:14,755

Walk me through that."

00:53:15,145 --> 00:53:18,255

And she said, "Well, voting

is compulsory in Hungary.

00:53:18,315 --> 00:53:20,185

Like, you'll go to

prison if you don't vote.

00:53:20,785 --> 00:53:23,575

And they're the leftists.

00:53:23,705 --> 00:53:25,545

The Nazis are the leftists.

00:53:25,975 --> 00:53:28,145

The other party is somehow worse."

00:53:28,185 --> 00:53:31,782

And I was like, "Oh my I'm never

again using the phrase lesser of two

00:53:31,782 --> 00:53:34,192

evils," without really meaning it.

00:53:34,792 --> 00:53:36,892

I can't ima- what would

that do to your brain?

00:53:37,519 --> 00:53:38,089

Beck: Yeah.

00:53:38,363 --> 00:53:39,103

That's crazy

00:53:40,384 --> 00:53:43,824

Dash: used to it, but like one

of the most like progressive,

00:53:43,834 --> 00:53:48,574

sweetest, thoughtful people I've

ever known votes is a registered Nazi

00:53:49,174 --> 00:53:50,164

Beck: That's wild

00:53:50,833 --> 00:53:54,323

Dash: Literal one though, not like the

ideological kind that we have in America.

00:53:54,753 --> 00:53:57,853

And I'm not saying that that's

better, it's just that's what

00:53:57,853 --> 00:53:59,803

compulsory voting can turn into

00:54:00,403 --> 00:54:03,623

Beck: Yeah Do you have to

declare a party then, I guess?

00:54:04,067 --> 00:54:05,047

Dash: That's a good question.

00:54:05,067 --> 00:54:08,227

I didn't clarify that, so maybe you don't.

00:54:08,827 --> 00:54:09,377

Um

00:54:09,409 --> 00:54:12,149

Beck: I, I identify as a

independent for a reason.

00:54:12,149 --> 00:54:15,149

I don't wanna be identified

as either Republican or

00:54:15,179 --> 00:54:18,089

Democratic, so I stay independent

00:54:18,689 --> 00:54:19,219

Dash: And depending on where

00:54:19,769 --> 00:54:20,999

can have consequences too

00:54:21,388 --> 00:54:21,918

Beck: Yeah.

00:54:22,218 --> 00:54:22,938

Yeah, for sure

00:54:23,488 --> 00:54:24,628

Dash: Csenge's a listener now.

00:54:24,628 --> 00:54:28,698

I'm so sorry that I just outed

you When you get to this episode,

00:54:28,698 --> 00:54:30,078

you let me know if you're mad.

00:54:30,974 --> 00:54:31,644

Beck: We love you.

00:54:32,217 --> 00:54:32,888

Dash: We love you.

00:54:33,188 --> 00:54:34,098

Beck: We are big fans

00:54:34,607 --> 00:54:38,417

Dash: and tell us stories I mean,

uh, uh, so, so often the things

00:54:38,417 --> 00:54:39,997

she said were mind-blowing to me.

00:54:40,077 --> 00:54:44,387

It's like, man, you really think you know

how bad it can get because you're in a

00:54:44,387 --> 00:54:49,617

bad spot, and then somebody from Hungary

tells you, "You ain't heard nothing yet."

00:54:50,804 --> 00:54:51,084

Beck: Yehaw

00:54:51,984 --> 00:54:55,214

Dash: Oh, me get my, let me get

the wheel, what have you, up here.

00:54:55,814 --> 00:55:01,193

It always closes Okay, let's see Le-

maybe I should recap what all the

00:55:01,193 --> 00:55:04,313

options are, 'cause I don't think

we've done that since we introduced it.

00:55:04,763 --> 00:55:07,033

We've d- had, we've

had quite a few so far.

00:55:07,713 --> 00:55:16,063

So we have done movie review, book report,

we did word game, we did social media.

00:55:16,663 --> 00:55:18,473

we've done all but one of them.

00:55:18,733 --> 00:55:23,613

We, we did joke thief, we did YouTube

night, and now we've done anecdote.

00:55:24,213 --> 00:55:26,268

we just pick the last one, or should we…

00:55:26,568 --> 00:55:27,198

Beck: Yeah.

00:55:27,558 --> 00:55:27,928

Yeah.

00:55:27,958 --> 00:55:28,628

What's the last one?

00:55:29,233 --> 00:55:30,033

Dash: Show and tell.

00:55:30,633 --> 00:55:36,903

So what I had in mind for this, and it

can, it's open for discussion, was we we

00:55:36,903 --> 00:55:42,913

can bring, each of us brings one or more,

uh, of the weird items we've collected.

00:55:43,262 --> 00:55:43,852

I don't know,

00:55:44,287 --> 00:55:45,447

Beck: the perfect item for this.

00:55:45,788 --> 00:55:46,478

already picked out.