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Hosts Beck and Dash riff on colorful high school teachers, language classes, impressions, and how improv “yes, and” parallels teaching and bias, then discuss anti-racism frameworks including the film “White Like Me” with Tim Wise and the idea of white participation in protest. They decide to simplify a recurring segment format and swap in broader advice and stories, including side hustles, rewards programs (Kroger points, Upside, cash-back cards, Facebook tasks, Google Rewards), and flipping household items for quick cash. They share recent “household expansions”: Beck adopts Rue, a rescued 5-year-old Maltese, and Dash buys a Ram 1500 Warlock using strategic car-lot research and a salesperson relationship. Other topics include tobacco nostalgia and quitting, family health/genetics, Appalachia poverty statistics, prom and after-prom party memories, and an Appalachian “noun” spotlight on Steve Harvey’s coal-country West Virginia origins and the diversity of Appalachia. They announce next week’s “Kinky Boots” review and recommend watching via Hoopla or Pluto.

00:00 Welcome to Queernecks

00:15 Wild Teacher Stories

01:53 Language Learning Mishaps

03:51 Comedy and Improv Lessons

07:26 Teaching Bias and Bad Faith

09:38 White Like Me and Privilege

14:37 New Additions Dog and Truck

16:13 Car Buying Strategy

20:56 Rewards Programs and Cashback

23:54 Quitting Smoking Nostalgia

25:41 Genetics and Family Ties

27:58 Poorest Counties Rabbit Hole

30:55 Weather Check and Wrap

31:17 Rainy Day Mishaps

32:58 Creating Change Politics

35:21 Prom Season Sponsor Bit

38:33 After Prom Memories

41:08 Minimum Wage Talk

44:07 Appalachian Noun Steve Harvey

48:10 Orientalism of Appalachia

51:16 Next Week Kinky Boots

54:25 Pride Safety and Courts

56:16 Contracts Jobs and Snacks

58:43 Truck Deal and Taco Cravings

01:00:06 Wrap Up and Watch Along

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Welcome to Queernecks, the podcast that

2

puts the Yee Hall in y'all means hall.

3

I'm your host, Beck,

4

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

and I'm your host.

5

Dash.

6

Welcome to today's episode.

7

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

in high school.

8

I had a teacher that if

somebody would burp, you'd say

9

save the big chunks for me.

10

And that's what I still think.

11

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: awful.

12

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

My high school teachers

13

were very colorful.

14

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

One of my teachers, we

16

called him the shore.

17

He was the French teacher

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Mm-hmm.

19

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

and that was the valley pronunciation

20

of He was like five two maybe,

and like as that wide as well.

21

He was a very round man.

22

He would bring a two liter to work

with him every day, and he drove

23

over an hour to come to work.

24

Uh, usually Mountain

Dew, but sometimes Pepsi.

25

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I was

about to say probably Mountain Dew.

26

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

27

Yeah.

28

He drove over an hour just to come

to work every day because he lived in

29

Huntington and we were out in Ville.

30

So, but he tried his damnedest to teach

us French, and then at some point he just

31

gave up and taught us the least amount.

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Though I did end up they do something

called scholarship tests in Ohio.

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I don't know if they still do them.

34

But you take tests on different, like

a couple of people from each school,

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take different tests and you get ranked

and I be, I was 14th in the district in

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French, and I know like three words, so

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

What was the competition like?

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, exactly.

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What did they know?

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I swear I got it because I

got the word for mustard.

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Right.

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Which is motard, which is

just objectively funny.

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You know what I mean?

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Like, that's just a fun word to say.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

gonna remember that forever, so.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

exactly.

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And then we learned things.

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He taught us things like,

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I feel like chicken tonight.

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Like chicken tonight.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah, I took,

uh, I didn't take French ever, but I

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took Spanish and Latin in high school.

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I do remember some Spanish, of course.

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I've also done, I've

taken Spanish since then.

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And like I, I took Spanish in college

and do those like Duolingo things

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every so often, uh, just to brush up,

especially when I was doing recruitment

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in like the Lexington area of Kentucky.

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of Spanish speaking parents so I,

I got to where I could nominally

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communicate with them, but I am.

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I don't even know what the stages are,

but I'm nowhere near like conversational

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or fluent or anything like that.

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I'm like, could help you get

out of a burning building

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level of like, we'll get there.

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It won't be pretty.

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But my pronunciation is really good.

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And so I have had some really awkward

moments where I've had to like, sort

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of let people down be like, no, I

don't actually know what I'm say.

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I mean, I'm like, I can,

I'm a really good mimic.

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Right?

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Just because I can sound like not

like you, because that's silly, right?

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No, we're not, you're never gonna sound

like a native speaker no matter how

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you get at like the language itself.

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But like, I can mimic you really well.

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The same thing happened with,

there was a woman, uh, a Chinese

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woman who came to the a CS program.

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A few years after I was still there.

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And, uh, so she introduced

herself and I just repeated her

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name back to her like you do.

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And she's like, wow, your

pronunciation is incredible.

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Do you know Chinese?

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And I was like, no, I'm just

good at mimicking people.

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So good that I don't think I

even have my own aesthetic.

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Uh, when I was like a singer,

I could mimic anybody, but I

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couldn't tell you what I sounded

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I used

to be able to do impressions really

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good, but not since I transitioned.

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My voice is different now.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

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I have no talents like that.

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My stupid human trick is that

I can cross one eye at a time.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't know.

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I don't, I guess impressions

are, I just love people who

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are really good at impressions.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

me too.

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Standup comedy and comedy itself was

really a big formative thing if, when

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I was growing up, I watched a lot

of Saturday Night Live growing up.

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And I read a lot of comedy books.

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Like there was this one book

that I tracked down years later

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called the something like the Big

American Book of Humor or something.

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And there was lots of jokes in it and it

kind of, I learned a lot from that book.

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And it was just contemporary

American humor in written form.

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Like there were skits and then there

were jokes and there were comics and,

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sketches and short stories and all

kinds of little things like that.

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It was a really good book.

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But all of that's really been, and

then when I got X XM radio, I got it.

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I was one of the first

million subscribers.

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Like I was early in on xm.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

is big in the comedy.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, I listened.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: that was

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

all I listened to was

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the Comedying channels.

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I really enjoy, I have,

I'm very particular when it

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comes to standup comedians.

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I don't like, I don't like comedians

that go straight for a dick joke.

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Like, that's my least favorite.

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Like, you know, that's

the lowest rung of humor.

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And if that's all you got,

then you probably suck.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't

know much about standup, really.

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Like I enjoy it, of course.

122

And there's a handful of, uh, comics

that I appreciate and can name and can

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reference specific things, but they're

probably ones that anybody could name.

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You know, I don't have any like deep cuts.

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but I love all kinds of humor though.

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And some, one of my favorite

things is improv, not like.

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Improv troops and stuff.

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That's cool.

129

I don't think I could do that, but

I did fuck around with it some,

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because randomly in high school for

like one year we got a drama teacher.

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I don't think we ever

had one before or since.

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And shouldn't have stayed.

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She was a very inappropriate person,

but she did know she was educated.

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She knew a lot about drama and

acting and stuff like that.

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And so I took that course and then

was the year I was really active

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in the plays that we would do.

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Like, I don't think I was in a play

any other, well, maybe we didn't

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have 'em anymore after she left, but

that was how I learned about like,

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yes, anding and the generosity of

being in a comedy duo or ensemble.

140

Right.

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Like how.

142

How building comedy from

scratch among people works.

143

And you can kind of, I saw, uh,

there's a podcast called Race

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Chaser with Willem Belli and 5,000.

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They are two former

RuPaul Drag Race queens.

146

And they recap the

seasons they're critical.

147

Willem hates RuPaul.

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It's hysterical.

149

But she pointed out something like there's

a subtle kind of rigging and sabotage

150

that goes on that Ru does, especially when

she inserts herself into the challenges.

151

And they had an improv challenge and

there was a queen that was eliminated.

152

And Willem's perspective was that

Ru sabotaged her by being a bad

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improv partner, intentionally.

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instead of Yes, anding.

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The scene was something

like, check into a hotel.

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Right.

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Classic improv scene.

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And so the queen was like, do

you have any rooms or whatever?

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And Ru just kept saying no, no.

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And it's like, okay, that's not, how

is she supposed to work with that?

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If you make a joke, they're

supposed to build on it.

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If you're not building on whatever the

joke was, you're sabotaging you're,

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intentionally stomping on the humor.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't

care if you don't like that person or

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what you're there to do a job and if

the job is to be funny or entertaining

167

and that's all you got, fuck off.

168

Like you really gotta try to show up.

169

I think teaching is similar.

170

I mean anything like we really

have to be so conscious of our

171

biases when it comes to dealing

with people that we just don't like

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Mm-hmm.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: working with.

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People you don't like is Hard

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

It really is,

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

Founding Kitchen,

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

especially when you're doing a performance

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of it, you know, which is what teaching

is a hundred percent a performance.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: yeah.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

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And so when you've got that one annoying

kid that you really hate or somebody

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asks a question that is, I don't know,

stupid, and you know, like, you know,

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sometimes there are stupid questions.

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I don't care what they say.

185

Sometimes there are stupid questions

when they aren't listening or

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they, they get their news from

a dubious source or something.

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Sometimes there are some,

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

They're just bad faith,

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

yeah.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: like,

you're not asking that because

191

you want me to inform you, you

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: something

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Like when Mr.

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Solved racism in my class a couple

of weeks ago when we did the model

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minority myth he went on about

how it's not such a bad thing.

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And I'm like, well, that's part of the

allure of the model, minority myth, right?

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It's the, you know, the, this

is a good thing, so why can't

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other minorities do it as well?

200

Or you know, and what about, what if

you're an Asian person who's really bad

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at math, how are you supposed to feel?

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: like math.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

Yeah I've done that too.

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Uh, in my trainings.

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I'll ask like.

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Is there any such thing

as a positive stereotype?

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Because white people, white middle

class people love to allege that

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some stereotypes are positive and

it's a misunderstanding of what the

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words positive and negative mean.

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If what we were saying was can and

can't, then maybe, but the a all

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Asians are good at math, one comes

up, or, uh, people from Mexico are

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hard workers or like, okay, we have

to dig into what you think that means.

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And then, you know, you're standing

there knowing like, I'm doing

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all of this labor and this person

is not going to give a fuck.

216

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

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Yeah.

218

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Like, man

I've had, there was sometimes I've

219

been like this, wow, this is some of

my best work and it is wasted on you.

220

I.

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Been there too.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: there too.

223

And every time you do

something, you get better at it.

224

But still,

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I showed the film White Like Me yesterday

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in both of my ethnic studies classes.

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dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

uh, what's that one?

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beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Have Tim Wise?

229

the educator's name, his name is

Tim Wise, and it's really kind

230

of just a framework at looking

at racism through a white focus.

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And he talks about how when he

was a kid, his parents put him

232

in a pre-K an elementary school

program that was mostly black.

233

It was predominantly black.

234

And here he was this little redheaded

white kid and he said that gave

235

him an early appreciation for black

authority figures and things like that.

236

And that's how he's come to see things.

237

And it gives you a really good

framework for thinking about what you

238

can do at, on a personal level because

you didn't create racism, right?

239

And so you can't take, you can't

take ownership of it or whatever,

240

but you do have to acknowledge the

system and that you benefit from it.

241

And that's a big thing that people don't

wanna acknowledge is that as a white

242

person, I have benefited from racism.

243

And once you understand that and realize

that nobody's pointing a finger, they're

244

just saying that's the way it is, then

you can open up to a lot of other ideology

245

that, you know, to do anti-racist work.

246

'Cause he is like, wouldn't it

be wonderful that if we, uh,

247

learned about some of these

people that were anti-racist?

248

And he lists like maybe 20 people.

249

15 to 20 people who were agitators and

got arrested and sat with people during

250

the sit-ins and walked with people when

they went into the s desegregated schools

251

and, you know, and he talked about

the white people that did that stuff.

252

He was like, how much easier would it be

if we talked about that there has been

253

white involvement in this kind of thing?

254

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Has to be,

255

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

yeah.

256

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I saw a

woman and a granny was at a protest

257

and you know, one of those like talkers

or YouTubers or whoever goes out

258

with a microphone to the protest and

just barrages people with questions.

259

And somebody thought they got

her, they were like, I've noticed

260

that all the people out here,

uh, protesting are white people.

261

And she was like, and

that's the way it should be.

262

She was like, I'm, uh, an old white

woman what are they gonna do to me?

263

You know, she's like, I don't risk as

much as any given person of color when

264

it comes to civic action or whatever.

265

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah,

266

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

forgot what I was gonna say.

267

Oh well.

268

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I've got a lot of old lady white

269

privilege, white old lady privilege.

270

Like the last time I got pulled

over, knock on wood, I hope it

271

doesn't happen anytime soon.

272

But the last time I got pulled over

not only did I not get a ticket, I got

273

a survey to rate the cop's performance

274

and I was speeding in a school zone.

275

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

How's my policing?

276

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

277

I don't know if I just looked like

somebody that would be giving a good

278

grade or whatever, uh, but I was like,

yes, sir, I'll do that for you, but

279

you better believe I did not put my

name anywhere near that bullshit.

280

So I just kind of tucked it

away and went about my day.

281

Thank you.

282

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Uh.

283

Anyway, so we talk, we talked off

the air about maybe like the wheel,

284

what have you, and how, one of the

reasons we haven't been doing it is

285

because it is a shit load of work

286

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

287

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: up with like

topics that we haven't done before.

288

And then on the spot, think of, you

know, like we're both old with a DHD

289

and Haven't led entirely sober lives.

290

So, so it'd be like days later

and I'll think like, oh shit,

291

I should have said this or that

292

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yep.

293

Yep.

294

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: So, I've

been thinking, and what I think we'll

295

do instead is like, keep the same

categories, keep them more general

296

spin it and then we can just like it so

that it, they come up regularly we can,

297

instead of trying to come up with new

stories about them I thought we could

298

just bullshit about giving advice or

joking about them or something like that.

299

What got me thinking about it was doing

the camel Cash last week and thinking

300

about like how many rewards programs

keep me going right now or just how

301

much like, bullshit financial things I

do I know people, for instance, here.

302

I was talking about Red

Necking to a friend.

303

I was like, Hey, I gotta go

to Fargo and sell some shit.

304

Anybody can wanna go Red Necking.

305

And he's like, is Red necking?

306

I was like, well this is kind of like a

legal version, but I've just got a bunch

307

of stuff I don't use and I'm gonna go

see if I can get some money out of it.

308

And we were talking and I've

realized that he has no idea of

309

what, of how to even do that.

310

Like what would that say?

311

I needed $20 or $50.

312

I could easily do that.

313

Right.

314

I could.

315

There's something in here that's

worth $20 to somebody somewhere.

316

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

317

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It's

very easy to turn the garbage you

318

have around your house into quick

cash if you absolutely need to.

319

I just haven't needed to for a long time.

320

And I have a bunch of it accumulated.

321

Like right now I'm looking at

a bunch of keyboards that I

322

built, mechanical keyboards.

323

know I could get some dollars

out of those if I needed to.

324

And so I'm.

325

Preparing to maybe move or at

least like downsize some stuff.

326

So I'm like, well, I'm just gonna

go make some quick cash, go over to

327

Fargo where they actually have things.

328

So anyway, I was thinking like we could

talk about just random shit like that.

329

'cause I know that you have your

side hustles and things that you do

330

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Mm-hmm.

331

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: So the

first thing I wanna do is tell this

332

insane story of how, uh, we, well, we

both recently expanded our households.

333

You adopted a new baby

334

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yes.

335

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't

think the listeners know about yet.

336

We'll get you a picture,

uh, in the newsletter this

337

week.

338

You wanna tell us about it?

339

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

We, uh, we have a new

340

addition to our family.

341

Her name is Ru.

342

She's a five-year-old Maltese.

343

She was a dumped breeding dog that

came out of Indiana, and she is

344

the sweetest, cutest little thing.

345

Her name Roo came from the fact that

little white dogs like that often

346

have tears like tear stains, and

hers look like rouge on her cheeks.

347

So it comes from the rouge of

that, and also like McClanahan.

348

Like Blanche Devereux we just thought

it, it really fits her, her, when we,

349

when we got her name was Lily but we

were like, no, she's more of a ru so

350

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah, for sure.

351

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

my niece said we should call her Rhubarb.

352

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I'm sure

she'll have plenty of nicknames

353

as her personality emerges.

354

That's a good one though.

355

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

356

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Well, and I

357

liter Hemi engine.

358

But I wanted to do this with, I

needed to improve my finances and not.

359

So I needed a truck.

360

I need something that can tow things.

361

A trailer.

362

I needed something that

can handle some payload.

363

I love my Subaru.

364

I would've kept both if I

could have afforded it, but

365

Subaru was worth its weight.

366

Gold, if you like.

367

It's those things are indestructible.

368

And so out here, trucks are really cheap.

369

I was having to go over to Fargo

a lot to go to the hospital.

370

I started looking around.

371

There's a ton of, it's like a

hub for wholesale over there.

372

So if you are a cheapskate, and I

learned some of this from my dad

373

too, who is also a cheapskate.

374

But the first thing you do if

you know you're gonna be looking

375

for a vehicle is case the joint.

376

Become intimately familiar with

the inventory at every car lot

377

in a driving drivable period.

378

This takes

379

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

380

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: way,

I have spent weeks doing this.

381

I did it.

382

I used Autotrader and cars.com.

383

I built a query of my price range,

what characteristics I wanted.

384

And then as I saw vehicles that

I liked, I would then go to that

385

Car Lot's website then take a

look at everything else they have.

386

I would watch for whether their

prices adjusted or something.

387

Some you like, want to know if one is

a negotiating car lot or if they do

388

like that best price thing where they

absolutely will not negotiate with you.

389

So, you know, that's kind of normal, but

you know, it, it takes a lot of effort.

390

But the next level is you

invest in a sales person.

391

So on cars.com.

392

Their pictures are there.

393

It'll say like, contact this salesperson.

394

And they think they're getting, and

they are, they are getting access to us.

395

If anybody ever has done sales

or marketing or anything, you

396

know, that like their websites are

most likely run by Spark pages.

397

And if you interact with them, like

say you send an email or something

398

through it, it creates a record.

399

You be of an inquiry, you get

assigned directly to that salesperson.

400

So the one you pick, a

strategic point as well.

401

So I was like, okay, men my age

think I'm much younger than I am.

402

Oh, and they're all men.

403

There are no women salespeople.

404

So they don't really respect me.

405

They feel, uh, we, we never meet

in the middle because they think

406

they're in charge and they don't

realize they're not until too late.

407

And so I was like, okay, I'm

gonna, I'm gonna pick a young one.

408

there's this kid, he's like.

409

Wore glasses real clearly, young,

really skinny, long straggly hair.

410

And I was like, this is a snowboarder.

411

He is in it for the quick cash.

412

And he has expensive hobbies.

413

And his name is fucking Blake.

414

So I was like, all right,

you're my guy Blake.

415

So I sent him a message.

416

When you get the automated

message, it means that you've

417

been, the record has been created.

418

You've been put into their like, uh,

query base, but then they'll send

419

you one that is, you can tell that

they've written it themselves 'cause

420

it'll have poor grammar misspellings.

421

He didn't capitalize the B in his name.

422

And so that number is the one you can

always talk directly to them from.

423

So I'm like becoming friends with Blake.

424

And then I stopped by and I was like.

425

Hey, here's what I'm looking for.

426

And I drove a bunch of stuff.

427

I knew I wasn't gonna buy, basically,

just so I could spend the day with him.

428

I knew I was gonna buy from him,

so I wasn't wasting his time, but

429

I was investing in him as a person.

430

this all sounds so fucking

sociopathic, but it's not.

431

I'm not a sociopath.

432

So like the day after I bought the truck,

I was like, I wonder what Blake's doing,

433

but like, if you, for wholesalers,

it's all, they don't get new inventory.

434

Everything they sell is used

and they're just doing trade.

435

So you can get a great deal from

them, but they have to spend.

436

or $5,000 on them between the point

they get them on trade and then they,

437

to get them professionally detailed

to get their professional headshots.

438

so I was like, if you get one

of these in this project for it

439

meets these categories, call me.

440

I want it before you do all that

to it, because that bumps the

441

price up by several thousand.

442

So, and then here's what

I have, appraise it now.

443

Let me know what you wanna

give it, give me for it.

444

so I, I I got a really good deal on

this fucking truck just because I'm,

445

the time, I guess, to mount of salt.

446

Although gas is expensive now,

it's not a good time for that.

447

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, for real.

448

We, we didn't go through all

that when we got our car.

449

We searched, carvana a lot

and looked at different area.

450

We knew the kind of car we wanted,

so that narrowed it down quite a bit.

451

Uh, we knew we wanted to get an Equinox so

we looked at all the different places and

452

we found a place that had a good one with

good mileage at a good price, and we went

453

up and we were like, we want that one.

454

And we bought it and left.

455

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah.

456

Like you don't wanna be in

a position to have to haggle

457

because they always win on that.

458

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

459

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: you're once,

by the time you're there looking at

460

it, talking about buying it, whatever

the vehicle is, you're locked in.

461

You're not gonna get the a, you're

not gonna improve your deal.

462

It's not to say you can't get a good deal.

463

Like it's the legwork you do.

464

Up until that point, I also started

with Carvana to see what they would

465

offer me on the car, which was good.

466

They'll give you a different, uh,

trade-in amount than Kelly Blue Book.

467

Well, what's your, do you have any

rewards programs that you like right now?

468

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Kroger is a good one.

469

I always get my gas at a discounted price.

470

yeah, if you get your groceries on

Fridays, they usually have a coupon

471

where you get four times the points.

472

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: what?

473

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Uh, yeah.

474

And then you can get, use those towards

your, and then they started a thing

475

where it's not as good, but if you

get a hundred points, you can trade

476

it in for a dollar off your order.

477

Instead of doing the 20 cents

off of gas or whatever it is.

478

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Oh

479

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I'd rather have it off my gas though.

480

'cause gas is so expensive.

481

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: yeah.

482

Well, and it's per gallon.

483

So say you have like a large tank,

484

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

485

Mine's a 14 gallon tank.

486

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

use the upside thing for gas.

487

You connect your card to it, you select

whatever gas station you're going to,

488

and it'll tell you how many it is.

489

Like, say you get cash back

for whatever uh, gas you buy.

490

So if it's cents.

491

per gallon and you have a gallon

tank or something, then what is that?

492

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

$2.

493

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: $2?

494

Yeah, so you got $2 for

filling up gas that day.

495

And so like, and it just collects in a

thing, and then you cash out like a PayPal

496

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Nice.

497

What was it called?

498

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: upside.

499

And it's just, you know, it's a they

get paid through some sort of thing,

500

like a relationship with the the gas

station, the company that does that.

501

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

502

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: and then I

used my credit card that has 2% cash

503

back, so I linked that to the upside,

so I'm getting like double cash back

504

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Oh nice.

505

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

and then you collect points.

506

So I'm just like hoarding

points for a rainy day.

507

That's my, uh.

508

Safety net is the points

I have on my credit card.

509

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I also do these two on my phone.

510

One is through Facebook.

511

It's like an invite only thing,

and mostly they just wanna see

512

your data, which I don't care.

513

But sometimes I'll send you a task to do,

like, they'll be like say these a hundred

514

phrases and you record yourself saying a

hundred different, very random phrases.

515

Um, I guess you're training their

ai and they'll give you five bucks.

516

It takes you 10 minutes to do and

they give you five bucks for doing it.

517

And I've made several

hundred dollars doing that.

518

And then the Google Rewards.

519

I think a lot of people

know about Google Rewards.

520

I've made several

hundred dollars doing it.

521

I don't know if it works on iPhones,

but I know that it works on Androids.

522

Basically if you go, like, I searched

the Reds because I wanna know

523

what time the game is or whatever.

524

It'll say, which one of these pages

would you have liked better, you know,

525

to give you version A or version B.

526

And you say, which one you would've rather

have had to give you the results that,

527

that you needed, that kind of thing.

528

Or it'll ask you if you have a receipt,

say you go to Bob Evans, it'll be

529

like, do you have your receipt?

530

And then you just put, take a picture of

it and it'll ask you a couple of questions

531

and you'll get 35 cents or whatever it is.

532

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Oh, Yeah,

I've seen, I was like trying to look

533

at jobs and stuff on the job boards.

534

The only thing out here is survey taker

535

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

536

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: and I, so

much, well, the last time I tried to do

537

that was 2007 though, so it was such a

pain in the ass and I wound up not doing

538

it enough to actually make any money.

539

and I have the Casey's rewards.

540

Now that I don't smoke, I'm not really

racking up Casey's rewards like I used to.

541

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Talking to about the camel cash the

542

other day made me look up the cigarettes.

543

My mom smoked and like my heart

fluttered a little when I saw that

544

pack of cigarettes that I haven't

seen in like, I don't know, 30 years.

545

There was like such a

part of my childhood.

546

And then, uh, there was a picture

of the back of the pack and it

547

was the coupons that came with it

and like it took my breath away.

548

Like Shannon said that she found

some of those going through mom's

549

stuff, like they were everywhere.

550

Like those two coupons

got into everything.

551

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

Oh yeah, I see 'em.

552

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

The blue golden white pack.

553

Yeah.

554

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Wow.

555

People collect these old cigarettes

556

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

557

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

cigarette packs and stuff.

558

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

If I had disposable income like that,

559

I probably would buy a pack just to

have 'em for the memories, but I'm not

560

trying to spend money on that right now.

561

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Uh, I've

got the other day, like I had this

562

urge to smoke my pipe that I have

just 'cause I like the smell of it.

563

One of my favorite smells from my

childhood was my Uncle Jerry's pipe.

564

He smoked, uh, cherry tobacco.

565

And I have a pretty nice pipe

and some tobacco, but like,

566

that's just a gateway drug.

567

That's how you start smoking

568

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

569

That's how cloves were

570

for me.

571

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: think like this

572

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I,

573

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

just, it's gotta be all or

574

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

yeah.

575

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: You just

don't get to have tobacco again.

576

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yep.

577

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

And at this point I am not

578

fucking with my health anymore.

579

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah,

580

I feel that too.

581

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

is so ridiculous.

582

Were you ever that kid who said like,

well, I'm gonna die young anyway and

583

just continue to make terrible decisions?

584

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, pretty much.

585

None of my aunts made it outta

their fifties except for my Aunt

586

Jenny, and she's like almost 80.

587

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I met with

a geneticist yesterday and you know,

588

you can tell when a doctor or some

professional who's kind of studying you,

589

for lack of a better word, is about to

say something fucked up because they'll

590

go like, I have to ask everybody this.

591

And she goes, is it possible

your parents are related?

592

And I said, has anybody

ever said yes to that?

593

Because the answer's yes for me.

594

She said, no, most people say no.

595

And I was like, well, they're not like

siblings or first cousins, but yeah,

596

here's a little bit about where I'm from.

597

And she was like, okay that's

gonna change things a little.

598

I was like, great.

599

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I am related.

600

I'm my own cousin by marriage.

601

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah.

602

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

603

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah.

604

I was like, do you probably don't really

talk to many people like me, like, for

605

whom that is actually a factor in their,

uh, genetic health that they know of.

606

You know, I mean, we're all,

you know, if you, we could

607

re on a long enough timeline.

608

We're all cousins

609

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

610

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: but not

like in recent history that we know of.

611

And that's like, I have a cousin

who has traced the genealogy

612

of my mom's side of the family.

613

Shockingly, not a ton of.

614

Visible in breeding, but there's some

like, you know, cousins, but then on

615

dad's side of the family, there's no

gen, like the, all the, you don't get

616

to know that unless you're one of them.

617

They're very secretive about it.

618

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

619

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: So

that's gonna die with grandmother.

620

Like, I don't know shit about

that side of the family.

621

I kind of want to like, I wasn't cur and

I remember listening to them all talk.

622

They would get together at the holidays

and talk about all the ones that,

623

well this one was related to that

one and is this one still living?

624

And which one was that one now?

625

'cause they had so many names,

like the same name that like, that

626

each generation would have, they

would just switch the names around.

627

So like, I had like three ions two NOLAs.

628

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

It was the liens and my family,

629

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah

630

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Eileen Annaline, Starling Ethylene.

631

I'm kidding on that last one.

632

I'm surprised I didn't do that one though.

633

And my grandfather was Virgil.

634

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

Virgil's pretty good.

635

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, my ma and papa

636

were Virgil in our lane.

637

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Wow.

638

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

639

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: That is country

640

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yep.

641

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

was looking at land for sale and

642

there's some, uh, acres down there

in Portsmouth for a pretty cheap,

643

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

644

'cause nobody wants to live there,

645

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

yeah, that's kind of it.

646

Like, and I had the

filter set so fucking low.

647

Like I was like this, I know

exactly what this is gonna

648

give me for this price range.

649

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

right?

650

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

And it was that.

651

And Booneville, Kentucky,

652

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

653

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: which

is in Ousley County, which.

654

It all is always one of the top five

poorest counties in the country.

655

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Oh wow.

656

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: The and

it changed, it shifts subtly just

657

because the economy does and people

move around and stuff like that.

658

But there was a solid 10 year period

where the top 10 poorest counties in the

659

country were at least 50% in Kentucky.

660

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Oh wow.

661

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Like that

part of Appalachia is the poorest,

662

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I'm surprised

663

CIO County isn't near there.

664

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

I don't remember seeing it.

665

Uh, let's, I wanna see where,

let's see what it's at now.

666

Let's get morbid.

667

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

We do a pretty girl.

668

I am already obsessed with this dog.

669

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

Well, wow, things have changed.

670

So many of these have not been

updated since Trump became president.

671

That is interesting.

672

' cause they just, they don't,

they're not counting anymore.

673

Wow.

674

The most recent one I can find, and

I'm not familiar with this source,

675

so let me see what their metrics are.

676

This is 24 7 Wall Street.

677

Then site, oh, it's the very first

one is Slee County, Kentucky.

678

But they're, no, this is

counting down backwards.

679

Okay.

680

So that's 25.

681

So they've really, they're

not even top 10 anymore.

682

Alabama.

683

Alabama, South Dakota, Tennessee,

Louisiana, McGuffin County, Kentucky.

684

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

where all of my family's from.

685

That's the county that did

the genealogy of my family.

686

The goin County Historical Society.

687

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

that's the 19th poorest county

688

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

689

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: country.

690

And there was some land in Saville,

691

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

That's the town that my

692

family is the founding family

693

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Mississippi.

694

A lot more further south.

695

Okay.

696

Lee County, Kentucky.

697

Where is, oh, that's Beville.

698

Yep.

699

There was a lot of land for sale there.

700

Yeah.

701

It's more of like the true south now

than it was Appalachia at the time.

702

Georgia, Mississippi.

703

Louisiana.

704

Texas.

705

Texas, Mississippi, Wolf County, Kentucky.

706

I don't know.

707

Wolf County.

708

Where's that?

709

Uh, Campton.

710

I don't.

711

Or listeners, if you're from

Wolf County list, know where yet?

712

Uh, McDowell County, West Virginia.

713

So this is the top five.

714

County, West Virginia.

715

Ditt County, Texas.

716

Jackson County, South Dakota,

Randolph County, Georgia.

717

Uh.

718

Queen of county, Mississippi.

719

Wow.

720

So Mississippi has really gone to shit.

721

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

722

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

So yeah, Kentucky's not even

723

in the top five anymore.

724

I mean, the highest we are is six.

725

That's interesting.

726

Wonder if it's something to do with that

727

Couldn't be.

728

Couldn't be that dude.

729

It's snowed yesterday

and it's sunny today.

730

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

It was 71 degrees here yesterday.

731

It was wonderful.

732

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

think it's gonna be warm today.

733

It's 50 already.

734

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

That's what it's supposed

735

to be in the fifties today.

736

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

shiny and beautiful.

737

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

3 81 degree days coming

738

in the next 15 days here.

739

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

It's about fucking time.

740

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

741

Right.

742

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Although

I'm, watch me pull up in this 10 day

743

forecast and it's gonna be some snow.

744

Uh, yeah, it won't be much, but

745

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Did it ever melt?

746

Do you guys have ground again?

747

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

yeah, it's gone now.

748

It's just muddy,

749

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

750

Year two.

751

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: nasty shit.

752

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

It's been raining a lot.

753

Here.

754

I'll take rain over snow any day though.

755

I got drenched the other day.

756

I bought a brand new, uh, umbrella

and didn't test it out and went

757

to open it and it was broken.

758

It did not work.

759

And I got drenched walking

from Central Hall over to my

760

car, like sopping wet, like

761

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

They kind of have one job.

762

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

yeah.

763

I even had two students try to fix it

for me and they couldn't do it either.

764

So finally I just gave up and

took my punishment and at least

765

my backpack was mostly waterproof.

766

Like one of the I always put all

my shit in big envelopes, like

767

for different classes, that way

they don't get mixed up in my bag.

768

And the top of one of the

envelopes was slightly damp,

769

but everything else was good.

770

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I've never

been able to, I own some umbrellas.

771

I never know where they are.

772

They're never with me when it's raining.

773

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

774

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: If it's

not a raincoat, it is no good to

775

me, it's not going to do anything.

776

So.

777

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Well, we bought another one.

778

So I do have another umbrella, but

it was too late for the other day.

779

It's been a long time since I got

caught out in a rainstorm like that.

780

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

remember it used to pour down there.

781

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

782

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It

doesn't really hear like it'll

783

rain, but it doesn't storm.

784

Not that I recall anyway.

785

I'm deaf now though, so it could

be like thunderstorming and

786

I wouldn't even know, see my

787

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Small man.

788

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

decided to change things up.

789

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

It's a neat statue.

790

It's really big.

791

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Change,

uh, the conference on Creating Change,

792

used to be what used to be the gay and

lesbian Task Force is in Louisville

793

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Huh?

794

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It's, uh, it's

795

If I'm anywhere nearby,

I might go over there.

796

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Sounds like a good time.

797

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It's

usually really informative.

798

Like for ins they're really

ahead of the curve on stuff.

799

The first time I learned about or

started to learn about, uh, like the

800

Palestine, the genocide and stuff,

like, essentially like the war machine

801

that is Israel was at a Creating Change

conference over 10 years ago, I was

802

like, yeah I'm pretty plugged in.

803

And I really didn't know of

what, you know, organizing

804

what's looked like in like other

countries that aren't Palestine.

805

You know, for instance, like

what people are doing in the us.

806

because it's, you know, queer people

are kind of like that, you know,

807

they're plugged into everything.

808

Some would say that we

are busy bodies, but

809

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I think it's more that we

810

don't lead single issue lives.

811

You know, like Audrey Lord said

issues of genocide and Palestine are

812

my problem because there are, for

example, gay and lesbian people there.

813

So there therefore it

becomes my problem, you know?

814

And I think you get to be more sensitive

to things when you realize how much

815

more alike we are than we are different.

816

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: yeah.

817

And how, contagious oppression is.

818

I don't think people are consciously

going, like, everything that

819

happens to anybody else is fine, as

long as it's not happening to me.

820

Like, I don't think that we would be

able to live with ourselves if we were

821

phrasing it that way in our minds,

but through whatever process that is

822

kind of how we operate in general as

most of the mo most people anyway,

823

majority culture are like outta sight,

outta mind with like oppression, uh,

824

genocide, all that kind of stuff.

825

But the likelihood that if it's

happening to anyone, that it

826

would happen to you one day.

827

It's pretty high.

828

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right,

829

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't

understand how that can't be.

830

I mean, especially with as

selfish as we are as people.

831

Why isn't that your first thought?

832

Like, good God, if that can happen

to them, it could happen to me.

833

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

right.

834

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I don't know.

835

Well, let's hear from this week's sponsor.

836

I saw on TikTok that it's prom season.

837

There's a lot of con, there's a

quite a few, uh, accounts that

838

post Facebook prom season stuff.

839

I don't know.

840

I didn't know this, but apparently

prom is a very big deal.

841

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

did you go to prom in high school?

842

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I went twice.

843

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah, me too.

844

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: And it,

it was definitely like a thing,

845

it was rite of passage, but like,

not to what these people are

846

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

847

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: kids are

like renting Bugatti and, getting their

848

dresses made by these designers and stuff.

849

and it's clearly fun and I'm, I

hope they're having fun, right?

850

Because they should be, but that

is not what my prom was like,

851

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Some of them are getting photo shoots,

852

like they're getting married, they

look exactly like the photo shoots

853

I would do for somebody getting

married and they're prom pictures,

854

and that's just awkward to me.

855

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It

reminds me of like debutante balls

856

and stuff, like kind of that.

857

And then there's also this performative

social media piece of how it's

858

actually, and this is of course,

parents who are doing this because a

859

kid doesn't have the resources for it.

860

So.

861

The parents also have to have

this, like, they have to believe

862

that it's this important.

863

Just be not a good parent because I would

be like, this shit is not important.

864

I'm sorry.

865

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

866

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: But

this week's episode of Queernecks

867

is sponsored by after prom party,

868

the second weirder and queerer act

of prom, where the shoes come off,

869

the truth comes out, and nobody's

parents know where anybody is.

870

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Amen.

871

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: it'll start

in a driveway or a field, or a house

872

that belongs to somebody's cousin.

873

They said it was fine.

874

are hitched up and ties

are already loosened.

875

Carefully constructed looks are

one wrong step away from becoming

876

a story for the following day.

877

pull in slow headlights sweeping

over people who suddenly don't

878

look like they did an hour ago.

879

The weight of posturing gives way

to freedom and impending revelry.

880

Nobody is entirely certain what's in the

cooler or who brought it, but it has a

881

kind of authority to sanction the evening.

882

Music comes from a speaker that

works harder than it should.

883

A playlist bounces between

sincerity and chaos.

884

Like it can't decide what

kind of night this is.

885

Somebody is laughing too

hard, somebody is very quiet.

886

Somebody is having the best night of their

life and they don't even know it yet.

887

Somebody else is realizing gently and all

at once that things are about to change.

888

There's a smaller circle with their

jackets on the ground, conversations

889

that won't make it to Monday.

890

This is where the real prom happens,

where people say what they meant

891

to say all year or almost say

it or say something sideways.

892

That still lands.

893

The after prom party holds

everything all at once.

894

relief in the nerves, a little

bit of performance, still

895

hanging on, but slipping.

896

You can feel the edge of summer in it.

897

You can feel the edge of leaving point.

898

Shoes are abandoned completely.

899

Somebody checks the time and regrets it.

900

Someone else decides that it doesn't

matter what time, it's by the time

901

the sky starts thinking about morning,

the group is smaller, quieter.

902

The music is lower.

903

People sit closer without

making a big deal out of it.

904

There's a sense soft but real that

the exact combination of people won't

905

happen again quite the same way.

906

The engines start and the doors

close and the night folds up.

907

My after prom party was in a field.

908

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

The first after prom party was with

909

my boyfriend, and we won't talk

about that, but the second after

910

prom party was with all my friends

and we were at a bowling alley.

911

They stayed open all night,

and that was, then we ended

912

up out at a girl's, uh, house.

913

Her parents were there, the whole thing.

914

We weren't that wild in high school.

915

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: We

occasionally, like once or twice we

916

were, we would have parties and so

the after junior year, after prom

917

party was one of the best like nights

like of partying in high school,

918

like special event type of thing.

919

And it was my friend Ben, he

lived out on this, on B Creek and.

920

Across from his parents.

921

Like falling down house was a giant

field, and we, we drank like high

922

school type drinks and we weren't

like hard partying or anything.

923

We had like some wine coolers

924

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Zima.

925

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: just put

blankets out on the sort of damp

926

ground and literally we pulled his

Ford escort up and turned this,

927

the, his radio up really loud.

928

The only expensive thing in that fucking

car was the stereo listened to like,

929

you know, really bizarre mixture of

music, I think until the sun came up.

930

I think the, like that

was when we went home.

931

We had to forge permission

slips and then lie it.

932

That was like the scariest part was

there was an actual after prom party

933

that we were supposed to go to.

934

You could get a permission slip from your

parents to go to the after prom party that

935

was hosted by the church or something.

936

we did that, we didn't go and

we, we just went somewhere else.

937

I don't know.

938

We should have been in so much

shit because I feel certain

939

that they knew what we did.

940

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

941

My parents didn't ask a lot of

questions, but I was the first one

942

in my family to make it to prom.

943

So, you know,

944

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

You know, my mom was, they,

945

she was pretty rigid with me.

946

So that was one of the few times where I

didn't have to suffer intense consequences

947

for doing something that I wanted to do.

948

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

my mom was pretty lax and then

949

she hated my biological father.

950

And he got in some trouble and had to

start paying arrears on child support.

951

So he was, we were getting a bigger

check than we were used to, and she would

952

just give me the whole thing and that

would be my allowance for the month.

953

So I was going around with like $400 a

month, like to do whatever I wanted with

954

that was like a lot of money, you know?

955

And then she.

956

Yeah.

957

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: lot of money.

958

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

And now she's, she was concerned that

959

I wasn't good with money because you

didn't teach me to go be good with money.

960

You taught me, here's

some money, go spend it.

961

You know?

962

And I got good at that.

963

I can spend some money now.

964

I,

965

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: What was,

do you remember the, like, uh, your

966

first job, how much money you made?

967

What was minimum wage?

968

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

was like 7 25 an hour.

969

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: What

970

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I think it might've been,

971

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: was four?

972

25.

973

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

That sounds about right back when.

974

'cause my first job was in 1994.

975

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yep.

976

It was $4 back then

for, I think it was 4 25

977

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Well, I was working food service,

978

so it was even lower than that.

979

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Yeah.

980

At Pizza Hut it was $2 and 13 cents an

981

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Yeah.

982

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546:

And then if you made tips, you

983

were supposed to report them.

984

But we would just multiply the amount

of hours that we worked by 3.15

985

then say, that was how many tips we made.

986

'cause that would've at the, by

that time, minimum wage is 5 25,

987

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Right.

988

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: It went up

from four something to 5 25 in or six.

989

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

I did remember that.

990

I thought I, I didn't remember it

being that low, but I'm sure it

991

was 'cause I worked shitty jobs.

992

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: I

think it's still 7 25 in Ohio.

993

beck-a-roonie-guest999_36_04-10-2026_140546:

Maybe that's where I got the number.

994

dash_35_04-10-2026_130546: Ohio's

minimum wage, it went up this year.

995

As of January 1st, 2026.

996

Ohio's minimum wage is $11 an

hour for non tipped employees,

997

and five 50 for tipped employees.

998

For smaller businesses, the

minimum wage is 7 25 per hour.

999

What, how does that work?

00:42:29,969 --> 00:42:34,859

This rate of, oh, the $11 per hour

applies to employers with annual

00:42:34,859 --> 00:42:37,739

gross receipts over 405,000.

00:42:38,139 --> 00:42:42,284

Okay, so if you work for like a big

corporation, you make $11 an hour,

00:42:42,684 --> 00:42:44,604

but for a small business it's 7 25.

00:42:45,004 --> 00:42:46,354

That doesn't make any sense.

00:42:46,414 --> 00:42:47,974

I mean, it does for the business, but.

00:42:48,374 --> 00:42:51,674

is still 7 25 across the board.

00:42:52,074 --> 00:42:54,354

I was working at the bowling

alley when it went up to that.

00:42:54,754 --> 00:42:55,234

Wow.

00:42:55,294 --> 00:42:56,734

You were rolling in it then, huh?

00:42:57,004 --> 00:42:57,904

No pun intended.

00:42:57,904 --> 00:42:58,354

Rolling.

00:42:58,414 --> 00:42:59,134

Get it rolling.

00:42:59,134 --> 00:42:59,914

Like a bowling ball.

00:43:00,314 --> 00:43:03,564

Yeah, I was, so that was 2009.

00:43:03,564 --> 00:43:09,964

I started at the bowling alley

00:43:09,964 --> 00:43:12,004

So minimum wage went up to 7 25.

00:43:12,404 --> 00:43:16,549

And, I think I, that was when I went to

day shift, so I went up to 10 the most

00:43:16,549 --> 00:43:21,941

money I made hourly before going on

to like a, real, a job, you know, like

00:43:21,941 --> 00:43:24,131

this, a white collar job was 10 50 an

00:43:24,561 --> 00:43:25,976

I worked for Amazon and made good money.

00:43:26,181 --> 00:43:28,611

It was like 13 an hour

or something like that.

00:43:29,091 --> 00:43:30,021

It was enough to pay our bills.

00:43:30,421 --> 00:43:33,421

With Amazon, the best part

of the pay was the benefits.

00:43:33,521 --> 00:43:34,691

We had really good insurance.

00:43:34,691 --> 00:43:37,931

But then you got, uh, vested

company stock at the same time

00:43:38,297 --> 00:43:40,358

such an, old person thing to say,

00:43:40,358 --> 00:43:41,858

but I was thinking the same thing.

00:43:41,888 --> 00:43:48,760

Like those things that are as good, if

not better money, like health insurance

00:43:48,820 --> 00:43:51,530

or whatever, they're a really big deal.

00:43:52,299 --> 00:43:53,709

well every six months or so you got

00:43:53,709 --> 00:43:58,189

stock in the company for free, you know,

and Amazon stock was worth some money.

00:43:58,459 --> 00:43:58,969

So

00:43:59,074 --> 00:43:59,434

00:43:59,509 --> 00:44:00,289

I know some people that

00:44:00,289 --> 00:44:01,699

retired off their stock.

00:44:02,099 --> 00:44:02,819

00:44:03,219 --> 00:44:04,989

People that were there for 20 years.

00:44:05,389 --> 00:44:06,349

I don't know if I can do it.

00:44:06,484 --> 00:44:07,354

Yeah, me neither.

00:44:07,754 --> 00:44:09,324

did you bring a down of Appalachian

00:44:09,634 --> 00:44:10,714

I did, I bought it.

00:44:10,714 --> 00:44:12,694

Brought a surprising one this week.

00:44:13,094 --> 00:44:13,314

00:44:14,096 --> 00:44:14,546

All right.

00:44:14,546 --> 00:44:15,326

Let's see here.

00:44:15,726 --> 00:44:16,836

Lemme get my glasses.

00:44:17,236 --> 00:44:21,406

All right, so today's Appalachian noun

of interest is a person that doesn't

00:44:21,406 --> 00:44:23,686

give off Appalachian energy immediately.

00:44:24,086 --> 00:44:25,016

Steve Harvey.

00:44:25,416 --> 00:44:26,136

Yeah, I know.

00:44:26,136 --> 00:44:27,906

It's not the first name

that comes to mind.

00:44:27,906 --> 00:44:30,036

As we've covered in earlier noun segments.

00:44:30,276 --> 00:44:33,486

You're probably thinking of a

banjo, a front porch, or maybe even

00:44:33,486 --> 00:44:38,136

someone like Dolly Parton, not a

six foot tall black man in a $3,000

00:44:38,136 --> 00:44:41,646

suit telling somebody their answer

is wrong on national television.

00:44:41,886 --> 00:44:42,636

But stay with me.

00:44:43,036 --> 00:44:46,426

Steve Harvey was born in Welch,

West Virginia coal country.

00:44:46,636 --> 00:44:48,016

His dad was a coal miner.

00:44:48,136 --> 00:44:49,726

Like this is not a metaphor.

00:44:49,726 --> 00:44:51,616

This is not a country aesthetic.

00:44:51,616 --> 00:44:52,906

This is the real deal.

00:44:53,146 --> 00:44:54,886

Dirt under your nails, long shifts.

00:44:54,943 --> 00:44:56,673

A hard life kind of place.

00:44:56,823 --> 00:44:59,223

And that's what gets me, because

somewhere along the way, we

00:44:59,223 --> 00:45:00,693

just stopped claiming him.

00:45:00,993 --> 00:45:03,213

Nobody ever says, do you

know who's Appalachian?

00:45:03,213 --> 00:45:03,993

Steve Harvey?

00:45:04,383 --> 00:45:07,743

We act like a, he just appeared

fully formed in a shiny suit.

00:45:07,743 --> 00:45:12,393

Already disappointed in somebody's answer,

but no, that man came from the mountains.

00:45:12,393 --> 00:45:15,933

Now his family moved to Cleveland when

he was a kid, which if you know anything

00:45:15,933 --> 00:45:18,033

about Appalachian makes perfect sense.

00:45:18,273 --> 00:45:20,463

That's part of the story

too, that people leave.

00:45:20,793 --> 00:45:23,403

They go where the work is, but

they don't leave empty handed.

00:45:23,403 --> 00:45:26,883

They take the stories, the humor,

the way of talking, all of it.

00:45:27,183 --> 00:45:29,283

And if you listen close,

you can still hear it.

00:45:29,613 --> 00:45:32,343

Not in his accent maybe, but

in the way he tells a story.

00:45:32,583 --> 00:45:36,363

The timing, the side eye, the I

know exactly what kind of mess

00:45:36,393 --> 00:45:38,523

this is energy that feels familiar.

00:45:38,923 --> 00:45:42,463

I think part of why we don't think of

him as Appalachian is because we've

00:45:42,463 --> 00:45:46,393

got this very narrow picture in our

heads that through stereotypes we've

00:45:46,393 --> 00:45:49,753

come to expect a certain voice, a

certain look, a certain kind of life.

00:45:49,813 --> 00:45:52,243

And usually that doesn't

include people of color.

00:45:52,543 --> 00:45:55,903

But if I know anything about Appalachia,

I know it isn't just one thing.

00:45:55,933 --> 00:45:57,043

We are no monolith.

00:45:57,433 --> 00:45:59,833

Appalachia is cold towns

and church dinners.

00:45:59,833 --> 00:46:01,663

It's people leaving and people staying.

00:46:01,963 --> 00:46:05,683

It's struggle, it's hustle, and I,

it's knowing how to read a room and

00:46:05,683 --> 00:46:07,423

knowing when something ain't right.

00:46:07,453 --> 00:46:10,423

It's every color, every creed,

every kind of person there is.

00:46:10,483 --> 00:46:12,823

And there's no one way

to be an Appalachian.

00:46:13,243 --> 00:46:16,423

If you've ever watched Steve Harvey,

pause stare at someone and just

00:46:16,423 --> 00:46:20,263

let the silence do the work, that's

Appalachian communication right there.

00:46:20,293 --> 00:46:21,373

No extra words.

00:46:21,553 --> 00:46:23,173

Just a look that says everything.

00:46:23,473 --> 00:46:27,433

So yeah, Steve Harvey from Welt West

Virginia to Family Feud and somehow

00:46:27,433 --> 00:46:30,343

still carrying a little bit of that

mountain energy with him, even if it's

00:46:30,343 --> 00:46:31,993

dressed in a whole lot fancier now.

00:46:32,495 --> 00:46:33,695

Uh, it's so true.

00:46:33,755 --> 00:46:34,685

I did not know that.

00:46:34,685 --> 00:46:35,765

Thank you so much,

00:46:36,165 --> 00:46:37,155

Yeah, I have a friend who's

00:46:37,155 --> 00:46:38,175

from Welch, and it's pro.

00:46:38,205 --> 00:46:41,265

It's apparently a very

backwoods country kind of place.

00:46:41,505 --> 00:46:44,085

If you're from Welch listeners and

that's not the truth, let us know,

00:46:44,085 --> 00:46:45,825

but that's my understanding of it.

00:46:46,225 --> 00:46:47,275

It's Southern West Virginia.

00:46:47,339 --> 00:46:49,156

Well, and let us know if you

00:46:49,156 --> 00:46:51,196

knew that, you know, how cool.

00:46:51,596 --> 00:46:54,476

It makes total sense though

if you just look at his affect

00:46:54,866 --> 00:46:56,456

and how he is with people.

00:46:56,546 --> 00:47:02,989

You know, there's a really funny episode,

or maybe more than one episode of Family

00:47:02,989 --> 00:47:07,349

Feud that is, think they did it for Pride

Month and maybe for, they'll do some of

00:47:07,349 --> 00:47:09,329

them for charity, like celebrity versions.

00:47:09,729 --> 00:47:10,959

And it was all drag queens.

00:47:11,359 --> 00:47:13,639

My God, did they have a time with him?

00:47:14,039 --> 00:47:20,069

and you know, he played it he did

like his job basically as the straight

00:47:20,219 --> 00:47:24,186

cis host is to play the straight man,

to be the person who's sort of like,

00:47:24,186 --> 00:47:27,156

oh, I don't know what I've gotten

myself into here, because obviously

00:47:27,156 --> 00:47:28,536

the drag queens are gonna cut up.

00:47:28,936 --> 00:47:32,706

But I watched it and I was like,

oh God, what's this gonna be like?

00:47:33,186 --> 00:47:36,066

And it wasn't like, ew, disgusting.

00:47:36,066 --> 00:47:40,386

he actually was playing this kind of like

ingenue, they were flirting with him.

00:47:40,546 --> 00:47:41,956

It was kind of sweet.

00:47:42,356 --> 00:47:45,446

I'm pretty sure, I think RuPaul was

the captain of one of the teams.

00:47:45,816 --> 00:47:47,556

I watch a lot of compilations of things.

00:47:47,556 --> 00:47:49,416

I watch a lot of YouTube on my tv.

00:47:49,906 --> 00:47:55,773

And I am appreciative of news bloopers,

compilations in particular, and

00:47:55,773 --> 00:47:58,773

sometimes the Steve Harvey compilations

come with those, like, if you like

00:47:58,773 --> 00:48:00,063

this, well then you'll like that.

00:48:00,483 --> 00:48:02,283

And so I've seen quite a few of those.

00:48:02,283 --> 00:48:05,853

I don't actually watch Family Feud, but

I see a lot of those compilations, and

00:48:05,853 --> 00:48:09,453

I think I've seen RuPaul on there, but

I haven't seen that whole episode, so,

00:48:09,853 --> 00:48:10,843

Yeah, I haven't seen it either.

00:48:10,843 --> 00:48:14,053

I'm pretty sure I saw a comp, a

compilation on TikTok or something,

00:48:14,453 --> 00:48:18,023

but it's so true, like the point

about how we really whitewash

00:48:18,113 --> 00:48:20,523

Appalachia, even those of us from

00:48:20,753 --> 00:48:21,043

yeah.

00:48:21,123 --> 00:48:24,133

I don't, I'm not sure how that happens.

00:48:24,133 --> 00:48:27,883

Are we influenced by majority

culture's view of us?

00:48:27,883 --> 00:48:31,153

Because I remember distinctly all

the people of color I grew up with,

00:48:31,433 --> 00:48:31,783

Right.

00:48:32,183 --> 00:48:34,669

when I put pressure on it, when I look

00:48:34,669 --> 00:48:39,539

closely at it, I can see it I can, I see

like how the ways that they were kind of

00:48:39,539 --> 00:48:41,429

different but also not different from us.

00:48:41,829 --> 00:48:45,189

And those ways are

surprising because it's not.

00:48:45,589 --> 00:48:49,909

It's not as simple as like they were

called a different kind of names

00:48:49,909 --> 00:48:56,049

because I don't know, they were kind

of, uh, exotic I think to people.

00:48:56,239 --> 00:48:58,139

Maybe, the word for that?

00:48:58,139 --> 00:49:03,879

There's a word for how majority culture,

fetish sizes minoritized people.

00:49:04,279 --> 00:49:04,609

I don't know.

00:49:04,609 --> 00:49:08,069

It's a kind of Orientalism, but the thing

is like they weren't different than us

00:49:08,069 --> 00:49:09,569

because they literally grew up there too.

00:49:09,969 --> 00:49:10,359

Right.

00:49:10,759 --> 00:49:14,449

And like my goddaughters, they were

mixed race, you know, and we don't think

00:49:14,449 --> 00:49:17,869

of we just don't think of people from

West Virginia and the Appalachian region

00:49:17,869 --> 00:49:19,909

as being a person of color whatsoever.

00:49:20,390 --> 00:49:20,720

Um,

00:49:21,095 --> 00:49:22,115

Have black cousins

00:49:22,385 --> 00:49:22,675

yeah.

00:49:24,357 --> 00:49:24,647

Yeah.

00:49:25,047 --> 00:49:26,935

I kind of forget about 'em.

00:49:27,335 --> 00:49:28,655

And I think you'll find that all through

00:49:28,655 --> 00:49:32,375

the Appalachian region that, you know,

and that a lot of people do that.

00:49:32,425 --> 00:49:32,845

I don't know.

00:49:32,845 --> 00:49:35,395

I think you hit it right on the nail

when whatever that word you're trying

00:49:35,395 --> 00:49:38,185

to come up with, or if there isn't a

word for it, you should invent one.

00:49:38,585 --> 00:49:40,550

The Orientalism of Appalachia.

00:49:40,950 --> 00:49:41,240

00:49:46,641 --> 00:49:51,466

I, you know, when I wrote my

prelims there, uh, I did that.

00:49:51,556 --> 00:49:54,826

I applied it was a

post-colonial framework.

00:49:54,896 --> 00:49:57,166

I used Saeed and Spivak.

00:49:57,606 --> 00:50:00,336

To write about Appalachia,

to write about white trash.

00:50:00,426 --> 00:50:05,276

This was before Nancy Eisenberg's

book came out, so I didn't, I looked

00:50:05,276 --> 00:50:08,306

and couldn't find any references

that had done that specifically,

00:50:08,306 --> 00:50:09,476

and that's not really what she did.

00:50:09,476 --> 00:50:11,036

She was a, his, she's a historian.

00:50:11,436 --> 00:50:15,456

but the person who was the chair

of a CS at the time, you know

00:50:15,456 --> 00:50:17,826

how they also have a grade on it?

00:50:17,826 --> 00:50:18,816

He was angry.