Final Thoughts on Friendship

I name'm Jenn Fisish, and I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on the office together, and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office lovers podcast Just for you. Each week, we will dive deeper into the world of the offffice with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of VFF stories. We're the Office Lady six point zero He Angela. Hey, good morning. Good morning. We have a really fun friendship episode for you today in honor of Best friendriend's Day coming up. We teamed up with the folks at the podcast The Moth to help us share some stories about the power of friendship. You know last year for Best friendriends Day, we shared our own stories of friendship as well as some of yours. It was such a lovely episode. So I'm excited to dive into the theme of friendship again this year. So big thanks to the Moth. Yeah. But first, let's start with our chit chat suggestion from Sienna in Australia Sienna says, Hi Angela and Jenna, my name is Sienna and I'm an eighteen year old osteopathy student from Australia. I've had a rough couple of years, as I was severely bullied by my so called friends. Found out my mother has a luckily benign, vasive vagal tumor as well as being diagnosed with ADHD all within my final year of schooling I was aiming for a career in medicine and fell short, which was honestly devastating for me, as it felt like I had failed my one and only lifelong dream. Then I found your podcast And having struggled with friendships recently and always being told I was born forty, it was so comforting to find my two new best friends that I could listen to anywhere. The show is honestly just so comforting to me and has helped me to feel supported, less alone, and like I can continue to strive for dreams even after setbacks Your friendship has helped me know what I would like in a friendship and has helped me to build the confidence to make lots of new friends at university with you behind me So I just wanted to say thank you for the comfort that this podcast brings me. It always helps me to calm down and feels like I'm having a chat with old friends Love you guys PS, I've also started a crochet business at at Sienna Rose Crochets and love to make wacky little decorations that are perfect for a podcasting closet, or that's what she shed Oh, Sienna Thank you for your really touching and vulnerable letter. and she included a photo of her with her friends that is just amazing. Just such a lovely group. You know, Sienna, you are a bright spot in the world I loved your letter I also went and checked out your crochet business. You are so talented. And I just wna thank you for writing in. I wantna thank you for sharing your journey with friendships. I'm just sending your big hug I also want to say to Senna and anyone else out there that might be experiencing a rough patch in friendship is that I've had ebbs and flows of friendship bonds in my life too. I had a really tough middle school experience. It was that kind of subtle mean girl energy, but coming from people who were my friends And it was just such a heavy load and I actually ended up leaving that school. I found a wonderful friend group at my new high school But then in college, I had a hard time making really good friends again. Like I had the theater folks, but I didn't have like that really great bond. So like middle school was rough, high school was great, college was met. And I know I've shared this before, but it really wasn't until Angela and I met in my thirties that I experienced that kind of best friendship bond that I had felt with my high school friends So I had droughts too. Yeah. I related to that. There's definitely hills and valleys in the course of your life when it comes to friendships, you know My mom gave me advice years ago. I was in my late twenties and struggling with some friendships. You know, it's hard when you move away or if your life takes you in new directions, I was feeling a little lost and My mom said, Ann, you have so many amazing people in your life I encourage you to invest in those that invest in you That is stuck with me. I remember it like the day she said it and something just clicked for me And I looked around at the people in my life, at my friends at that time, and there were always people that I was chasing after to be my friend And then there were these core people who were there for me no matter what And they offered me this unconditional love and friendship and support. And so I made the decision right then and there, I'm going to choose to invest and this group of people who builds me right back up And that really was a turning point for me in how I look at friendships It's great advice Yeah Well, this is a little bit of a tangent, but I just read the book, The correspondent. Oh, you said you loved it. I loved it It lived up to all the hype. People have been talking about this book. This is like a late to the party moment. Like in the book world, everyone's like, yeah, we read the correspondent already. Yeah. But I just read it. It's great. It's told all through letters So it's just a series of letters. And the main protagonist is this woman. She's in her seventies and you're seeing her right to All kinds of people, and then you see their responses, but I was particularly taken with the letters between her and her best friend It was such a wonderful friendship. Angela, it reminded me of our friendship because there was just this unconditional love between these two women who had known each other for a very, very long time And I just loved it And I think if anyone out there is looking for like a really good example, a great female friendship, you can find it in this book Well, I've got to read it. Oh, it's so good, so good. Well, listen, why don't we take a break? And when we come back, we will hear three wonderful stories from the folks at the Moth. Yeah, the Moth is hosted by Chloe Salmon and it features true stories told live. It's real people, anyone from like an astronaut to an actor A teacher, a truck driver, scientists, singers, people who are getting up on stage and then they tell a story about their own lives in their own words. I love nights like this. I did some of this back in my theater improv days. I did it too. Open mic nights where they'd have a monenologist. Yes, they're so great. Well, the stories featured on the moth are really funny Sometimes enlightening, heartbreaking, sometimes all three at the same time. And we think that if you like the sense of connection and fun that is offffice ladies or that feeling where you're getting a new perspective on someone's life, that the moth has a lot of those same vibes. Absolutely. And the episode we're sharing today, BFFs, is about something we explore quite a bit on Office Ladies, and that is friendship And then later, we will be back with some final thoughts on friendship This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Because we love squarespace. We have been tooling around W officeladies dot comot If you haven't been to our website in a little while, will you please go and see the new stuff we have? We have organization. Some of you guys were like, We want the episodes in folders. seeason one, season two, season three, not just chronologically. I know. We did that. Thanks to Squarespace. That's right. They have cutting edge design tools Are you ready for this? Squarespace also makes it easy to showcase your expertise and engage clients with video content. And you know, to get started, you need a domain. Squarespace domains makes it easy to find the best name for your business at one fair, all inclusive price. No hidden fees or add ons required. So go to squarespace dot com slash office ladies for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code Office ladies to save ten percent off your first purchase of a website or domain. For all the parents out there with teenagers, Cash app is here to help make sure your teenens's money and their spending isn't adding to that craziness. With the Cash app card, available to teens thirteen to seventeen with sponsorship by an eligible parent or guardian, every transaction they make triggers a real time notification and that can empower your teen to practice independence, but also give you peace of mind by tracking their spending. New cash app customers can earn ten dollars if they use code Family ten in their profile at sign upp and send five dollars to a friend within fourteen days. Terms apply Cash app is a financial services platform, not a bank Banking serervices provided by Cash app Bank partartners, prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC, Cash app Visa debit flex cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC and the Bankcorp Bank NA pursuant to a license from VisaUSA Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit Flex card, and Bankcor deebit flex card, savings provided by cash app bra visit cash dot app slash legal slash podcasts for full disclosures. Welcome to the Moth. I'm Chloe Samm There are so many stories about romantic love, which is fair, I guess I take your romantic love and raise you a different relationship onene that can be just as fulfilling, and honestly, sometimes even more so friendship I'm grateful for my friends every day because each and every one of them is a perfect, beautiful angel who supports me fiercely, but is also willing to give me an honest opinion about the new haircut I want to try out Without them, I would be a lonely girl with a bowl cut I thought would look French, probably In this episode, three stories all about friendship, from how they can be there for you during challenging times to a friend's unconditional love to the gummy bears Don't worry, we'll get there. First up is Lauren Kch, who told this story at a mainstage in Dayton, Ohio, where the theme was more than meets the eye Here's Lauren. F with them off. So a couple years ago, I started to notice that people were sounding quieter to me, which did not track with world events. Only when I was on the phone and only when I had the phone to the right side of my head. And it wasn't like just that. I also noticed like I would get dizzy sometimes and sometimes I kind of felt like my head was underwater So I held off, but eventually I made an appointment with like an ear nose and throat specialist and got my hearing tested. And I found out exactly what I did not wna know, which was that at like thirty two, I was losing my hearing, but only on one side And he sort of my doctor started going through a list of like other tests I could try and possible diagnoses. and I interrupted him and said D I tell my dad has Mener's disease And you look to me, like how you do when you're looking at the answer to a trivia question My dad lost his hearing completely within like ten years of being diagnosed. So I knew that if I had the same deal, like the same thing could happen to me. You know, I'd probably lose the rest of my hearing on my right side and maybe both ears within a few years or sooner or later, or not at all And usually I'm not like the kind of person who's like, oh, I gott to know what's going to happen. because I'm not picking the restaurant Okay, I'm not like a type A person. I do not have what the teens call main character energy. But In this moment, like I wish that I did, because there's not really a treatment for Menars. So you can take symptom stuff. so I could do like short term steroids to worard off the vertigo And my doctor told me to avoid caffeine and salt, which are like my two favorite food groups So That weekend, I visited my parents And it's never like nice to start a conversation with, what if I end up like you? But that's basically what I did to my dad And he told me know a few things. He was like, there's all this assistive technology and like supportive community for people with hearing loss U and frankly, it's not a huge tragedy, not here everybody all the time in this economy My dad's a very like Zen, very like believes in a higher path kind of person So that kind of brought me out of my basement of depression But a few months later, I was back at the same doctor's office because I kept getting these episodes of like room spinning vertigo and my hearing was worse. So they retested me and I was up to eighty decibels of loss in my right ear, which they have the little like dumb layman's term chart in the soundproof booth. So that means that on my right side I can hear things that are louder than quote, a lawnmower at close range, which is awesome And so I went home and I got on Reddit like you do when you're looking up rare diseases. I found this interview with an artist who also had Menir's disease, and the interviewer had asked him, I thought it was such a good question, What sound do you miss the most? And he was like a poet or something. So he said, I most miss the soft sound of a cat laughing water because it sounds so satisfying for the cat So I found myself then sitting on my living room floor sort of like sloshing a water bowl towards my increasingly disgruntled cat and Pterodactyl, that's my cat's name. She She was not satisfied. She just looked at me like, I don't get paid enough for this. The question had given me kind of an idea of something I could do to feel a little bit more in control. I thought, I should make a list of everything I want to hear before I go deaf in case I go deaf. like a playlist bucket list, right Like yeah, I probably can't afford to go to the Amazon rainforest right now, but I could leave the window open when it rains Like I didn't want the last thing I heard to be like a spam call or like myself repeating gossip, you know and So when I saw a few days later that my favorite band was going to be in Cincinnati, I bought tickets right away. I did not think about who I was going to take with me Um, But then I happened to go to Warehouse fourour my favorite coffee shop later And yeah And my friend Stacy was working, and Stacy is like the kind of person who is up for anything Plus it was really swamped in there, so it was the perfect time to entrap her with an invitation And she agreed to go. And like, yeah, were we a little old to be at Bogarts under like the no mshing sign So were the Mountain Gats, my favorite band from two thousand five And Stacey used to be a youth choir director. So in exchange for me taking her to see a sad Dad band, went she asked me if I would want to go with her to see a children's production of cats Which yeah, I don't have time to wait for professionals to put on cats for me. And I realized I could knock off a ton of kinds of music if I started going to the free concerts put on by the library and YSO. like jazz in the park, jazz at the culture center, jazz at library. There's a lot of jazz. I got really into it. I accompanied my boyfriend, who was on his own journey of trying to see every Boston sports team play in the Midwest. And I don't really like sports But I did want to hear his accent being used for its intended purpose, which is cursing the Red socks. And I started listening to my mom's favorite true crrime podcast because I wanted to see if I, like her, could learn to discern who was guilty based on the guilt in the murderer's voice. And kind of, yeah Um But the biggest victim in all this was my best friend Katie. I had told her like about my hearing problems, but I didn't her about the playlist because it's insane And The problem is she's like the perfect person, perfect man for the job. Because she is a theater person. We actually know each other from the theater because we cameose we became close in our rural High schoolchools production of the Soul musical The Whiz. And Which is because it was fromil the four times. And so we hadd always kind of dreamed of like aging into being those like costume jewelry ladies who like have season tickets to the ballet. So I texted her and I said, rememember how we were going to become theater ladies? Like what if we just do that now? And she just said, I thought you'd never ask. So we went to the opera, we went to all the Dayton Playhouse shows and like the Broadway series when it came town, the poetry slam. We went and saw that band that dresses like vampires You guys, they just got a hearse And It was great. H herer younger coworkers wanted to go see post Malone and I was so into it that I not only got a ticket to Post Malone, I bought us wide leg jeans so we wouldn't stand out among the youths And It was a great time, but I wanted to see this one really artsy play that was out of town. U So like we decided to go to that And what I learned is there's a level of artsiness that I do not get. But that's okay. L I still heard it Um And we had a great hotel that I had booked for a great price because I did notice that it was a mic hotel with bunks. I'm laying in the top bunk And I realized like, I've brought Katie on so many goofy situations now. I have to tell her what I'm thinking. So I leaned over E'm at camp And I said, You're being a really good friend. And I spilled like everything. I told her about how I was worried that I would go deaf and you know maybe I wouldn't be able to communicate with people that I care about. and what about my job? You know, would I still be able to enjoy the things I enjoy now? And at that time, Taylor Swift had only put out the first Taylor's version album And do I look like I want to miss that? And And she said, okay, okay I think you're a lot more resilient than you're giving yourself credit for. Also, I'd like to see you try to get rid of me or any of your friends And then she got deadly serious and said, shouldhould we try to learn ASL? becausecause then we could talk about people in the same room. And I am trying to learn ASL. I have made it through Soda Pop. But a couple weeks later, Katie texted me because her mom had tickets to the Daytonvhille harmonic and like, would I want to go with them? Of course, because the orchestra is classic theater lady, because it's fancy. So we got dressed up. You guys, we went to the spaghetti warehouse Yeah. And we came down and it was at the Sch, Its a beautiful theater, like the whole orchestra. It was so great. But there was this one player in the orchestra, this cello player that I noticed because like if I had to describe him, unfortunately, hunky, like just very tall, very good looking, and he had those protagonist vibes that I've always wanted. Like he wasn't just playing, he was performing. And I pointed him out to Katie and she said, Ohh, he's on the cover of the program. and he was. It wasn't the whole orchestra was just like him and his cello and a fog machine. Like he's the front man for the Dayton Phil Harmonic. I feelm like kind of laughing about this And But the music's like really enthralling. It's really cool. It's a nice experience. and I'm having fun with my two friends. And then it's over. We walk back to to the arts garage where we were all parked and get in our car. Katie's driving. we get to the garage exit, and we're just Ho and Holland about how funny we are, and should we wait by the stage door and all this? and U like the garage like the arm thing lifts and she kind of guns it to pull out of the parking garage and then slams on her brakes because they're in the middle of North Lubblow And we're Beryln right Adam It's the hot cellest. and he's got his cello on his back. he's got his headphones in his ears. He's on his own audio journey, clearly. And Katie's mom points straight through the windshield and screams, donon't hit him And at that moment, I realized like this is something of a universal experience really Whether I go deaf or not, everyone's going to hear their last thing It's so So now I get my hearing tested annually. And the last few times, like, yeah, I am pretty deaf in my write ear But I always ask the tech like, is there any change? And she usually tells me no before the doctor like even comes in, at least the last two times, which is such a relief. So I might still get to hear Reeputation Taylor's version with my own natural ears I learned about it like a new way to connect with people, and I supported the shit out of the arts And I learned that Dayton is like full of these big bold main characters, and there's still time to be one. So thank you guys So That was Lauren Carcharch. Lauren is a writer and local government employee, and she says, yes, it is just like Parks at Rack. in the happiest place on Earth, the Greater Dayton area She tells stories in Dayton and encourages you to check out your local arts scene Also, if you were wondering, the hot cello player who Lauren talked about in her story, heard through the grapevine that he was mentioned on stage We hope you're listening, hotello playler The summer before my last semester of college, I had an internship in New York City I knew it was going to feel very different from my Kansas collllege town, and I was scared Ener Seaan A friend of a friend who had just graduated and was moving to NYC to start a new job We made plans for a polite, lonely desperation meet upp, which turned into us hitting it off in a real way and spending almost every free minute together that summer. We got our bearings, stayed out late bar hopping and eating cheap food and screeched in panic as his toilet overflowed and flooded his tiny studio while I shouted. How do you turn off water at my dad over the phone A real bonding kind of summer Almost fifteen years later, I am no better at troubleshooting plumbing issues and he is still one of my closest friends Our next story is from Valerie Walker, who told it at a story slam where the theme was chemistry Here's Valerie Live at the Moth So on Sunday, I had a reunion with the woman that I went to college with. I hadn't seen her for thirty four years I know I look good And The thing, you're probably wondering after thirty four years, like what do you care? I had actually been carrying her in my heart. for the intervening time And We were an odd pair for sure. We met in college, a very impressionable time. She was from a small town in Arkansas. I still had the grit from New York City in my pockets. She was artful with her makeup Painted on a natural looking face. and smell like beautiful perfume And I smelled like a mix of soap and whatever moisturizer I was using And so looking at us, you would think like, what Do they have in common I wondered that myself, but there was she was so kind. There was such a space that we created that was just joyful and very, very loving and super duper fun And then I came out as a lesbian And one of the ways I processed my internalized homophobia was I was suddenly scared that my really rich friendships with women were gonna be called into question that she would no longer be as affectionate or wonder what was my motive for being affectionate back? And we had such a great relationship like, I don't know that song. I love you, a bushel on a peck, a bushel on pe. I don't know all the words. But one day she wrote that entire lyric on my door Like as a note. Yeah, it was just adorable and very, very dope And we this we had this ritual where like when we would go to dinner, I would go to her room She would change out of her fulous a fabulously stylish outfit. But she was shy. so she wouldd go into her walk in closet, and then we would continue to talk while she changed. And when she was in the closet, her voice would be muffled like this. And then when she came out, it would be really clear And so one day I'm in a room and waiting for her to change and I am playing with the stuff on her dresser. So I'm not really paying attention. Her voice went from muffle, muffle, muffle back to clear. And so I look up Except she had changed the routine and had come out of the closet, not completely dressed. in her sweatpants and bra and She was veryery easy on the eyes Okay. so Now in that moment I'm saying to myself, don't stare. You're staring. Oh my God, look at her eyes. They're higher. And so I'm, you know, having a little bit of gay freakout. And so but we regulated, went to dinner and everything got normal once everybody had their clothes back on So, you know, super cool. And I She was just really just a great person. Our friendship was so enjoyable. and yet that's the casualty of being a lesbian, right? It' the chemistry. Women are so cool and dope Really It's really easy to fall for you guys. It's just the hard part is finding out the appropriate person to fall in love with. And I'm not going lie. I slept with a few varying genders in college, meaning straight women, but she was not one of them. And then after college we lost touch. And recently, she started following me on Instagram and then more recently DMed me that she was coming into to New York and wanted to meet up And I went to the place at the appointed time and I was super curious about how it would feel to see her again I knew She meant so much to me, but I also understand that what means something to you doesn't mean the same to somebody else And then suddenly she was in front of me And then she was in my arms and I was in hers and it was a great hug, long hug, strong hug, one of those hugs where you just rock side to side And then we stopped and we sat down and we caught up and we cried and we laughed and we held hands when it was super hard to say And it was really beautiful Recognize it For what it was A blinding, furious and beautiful love that it was absolutely okay to have, and that was not in any way basase And we're sitting there and I'm telling her how much her friendship has meant to me. and then she flipped it and told me how much my friendship had meant to her and that she's not nostalgic And she doesn't even have any pictures from college, but she has two that she's printed out And one of them is of me Yeah, I know, right? And so It was just so affirming in that moment to know that she was mine and I was hers. And if anyone ever asks me about the great loves of my life She will be one that I talk about Thank That was Valerie Walker. She is an activist, artist, and storyteller whose stories challenge perceptions and build community through shared feelings Survival as triumph and vulnerability as strength are key themes in her work Our final story is from Matthew Ds, who told us at one of our openpen Mic story slams in Boston Here's Matthew, live at the Moth I'm sitting in the break room of a McDonald's restaurant in Milford Massachusetts. I'm eating in egg McMuffin and I am not happy. It is the spring of nineteen eighty seven. I'm sixteen years old and it's not the egg McMuffin that's causing me to be unhappy because an egg McMuffin is The most guaranteed source of joy in my entire day But not on this day I'm upset because I'm about to meet my mortal enemy for the first time and I know it's not going to go well. I've been working at this restaurant for two months now. I actually live three towns away in Blackstone, Massachusetts. But I found out that this place pays four dollars sixty five cents an hour and that's twenty cents more than the White Hen pantry five minutes from my house. And I figured, even though it's a thirty minute drive, the twenty cents will absolutely make up for the time and the gas, which it does not But it changes my life in a really significant way because when I arrive here, I discover the joy of Clean slate I'm growing up in a tiny town, eighty two kids are in my class, They the same eighty two kids I knew in kindergarten. And they remember everything. And so when you want to be something different, or you decide you could be something better, No one lets you because they remember everything They still talk about the time in sixth grade when I expose myself to class becausecause my gym shorts were a little too short and my underwear was a little too big, and it was a little too much man spreading. They talk about it to this day. And they remember the braces and the buck teeth and the bad haircuts and the free and reduced lunches. and all of that has prevented me from becoming something that I think I could be. being trapped in what they think I should be. But I've arrived in this new town, Nobody knows me. and on the first day of work, Erin Duran comes and asks me if I have a girlfriend in the way she's hoping I say no And that's never happened to me before. So this is something It turns out that because they don't know me, I can be the thing I think I can be and suddenly I have more friends than I've ever had in my life And I'm good at my job, shockingly good. In nineteen eighties, the job at the McDonald's that is the hardest is running the bin. I have been a public school teacher for twenty four years and I can tell you. that I have not had a day in my classroom as taxing as a day running the bin at McDonald's during rush hour in nineteen eighty seven. It is coordinating a kitchen full of sixteen year olds and sixty year olds and convincing them all to do work for you at the same time And watching a drive through screen and listening to cash registers and figuring out how much food needs to be here at any moment without causing waste and making sure a profit. It's really hard. And for some reason, I can hold all this information right here. good at it and people respect me for it But as soon as I got good at it, all I heard was one word dungeon You're great, but Benji's better Benj's the best bin person in this restaurant. Actually, he's the best person in this restaurant He is fantastic and everyone loves him and everyone respects him. and I hate Benji. All they do is tell me how great he is and with every single word they say, I hate him more. And then I discover they're telling him about me And they're saying how this guy came in and he might be better than you. They're spreading gossip about me to him. And so we have never met each other, but we hate each other. And so this day we're coming together for the first time, our shifts are crossing and I'm going to meet him And so I go out into the dining room at the end of my break just to see him because he's already working and I see him, there's nothing to this guy. Like he's not that good looking, He's not an athlete. He's got the body of a bass player in a failing high school rock band. He has nothing But I watch in a couple minutes later I realize I'm wrong because He's funny. effffortlessly funny. And he's endearing to everyone. He makes the older customers who are waiting for Big Macs actually happy to be waiting for their Big Mac. and the managers love him. And he's good at the bin Like he is really good at calling Ben. I hate him so much And because he's doing my job, I have to run for drive through today, which is the second hardest job in the restaurant. eighty percent of the orders go through the window. so eighty percent of the food will pass through my hands, but that means I need to work with the bin guy the whole time to coordinate and negotiate and make sure everything runs, which means I have to work with Benji And so for the first hour, we don't talk to each other unless it's about work. And we clearly hate each other. We're not hiding it in any way whatsoever, But unless that has to do with work, I don't say a word And then after an hour, it gets like awkward and I start to think maybe he thinks I'm afraid. to say something to him. So I'm like, No, I'm going to do something here. And so I go up to him and I say Why are you coming in at ten thirty on a Saturday? What's ten thirty And he says, I watch Saturday morning cartoons Which in nineteen eighty six is a thing. All the new cartoons, the smurfs and the snors and super friendriends are all out in the morning and we eat sugar disguised cereal and we watch these things And he says The gummy bears start at nine thirty and they end at ten and then I come to work And he says it without irony or embarrassment. I can't believe it And so I walk over to the drive through, I drop a bag off. and when I come back to the bin, I say, listen to me Dashing and daring. courageous and caring Faithful and friendly with stories to share. And I take some food and I walk back to the drive throughrough And as I come back over, he is singing before I get to the bin. He says, all through the forest, they sing out in chorus marching along as their songs fill the air. And standing next to the bin with Benji, we sing together Gummy bears Bouncing here and there and everywhere High adventure that's beyond compare They are the gami bears. There's a second verse, a bridge and another chorus. I will not share them with you, but we sing them that day Be I watch the Gummy bears too. And to this day I can sing that song. And that's it A single theme song to a cartoon melts all the ice between us thirty seven years later. He is still my best friend. It is the most significant relationship in my life with the exception of my marriage When I get thrown out of my house when I'm seventeen, Benji takes me in and lets me live in his college apartment. And when I'm twenty one and I need a credit card and can't get one, he gives me his extra card and says, just use it and pay me when you can He saves my life again and again and again. And this day, we live in Connecticut two miles from each other And when I think back on that day that I stood at that bin and sang a cartoon song to him. I'm reminded how little it takes. to sort of reach out to someone and like just open the crack of a window. And you just get the window open and then it becomes a door and it becomes a lifetime Thank you That was Matthew Dicks. He's an elementary school teacher and novelist whose books include Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, and Unneexpectedly Milo. He's the founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford based storytelling organization. Matt Lvess ice cream cake, tickling his children, staring at his wife, and not sleeping That brings us to the end of our episode. Thank you to our storytellers for sharing with us and to you for listening We hope that this week and every week, your friends are there for you Chloe Salmon is a director at The Moth. Her favorite moth moments come on showdays when the cardio is done, the house lightights go down, and the magic settles in. Lauren Kararch's story was directed by Sarah Austin Janness This episode of the Moth podcast was produced by Sarah Austin Jenness, Sarah Janeohnson, and me, Mark Sllinger The rest of the Mos's leadership team includes Gina Duncan, Christina Norman, Marina Kluche, Jennifer Hixson, Jordan Cardinale Caledonia Cairns Kate Tellers, Suzanne Rust, and Patricia Urenna The Moth podcast is presented by Odyssey. Special thanks to their executive producer, Leah Reese Dennis All moth stories are true, as remembered by their storytellers. For more about our podcast, information on pitching your own story and everything else, go to our website themoth. orgot I loved all the stories. I know. I thought they were also thought provoking. I mean, they're really great storytellers Yeah, I I love, as you know, getting to know people And I felt like this podcast was just like a window into people's lives. I absolutely love it Well, when I was listening to that first story about the young woman who's losing her hearing, remember when I was talking about that book, The correspondent? Yeah. in that book The main woman is slowly going blind. And she talks all about the things that she wants to see before she can't see anymore. So it's really interesting to me to then hear this story about someomeone who wants to hear all the things that you want to hear before you lose your hearing. Anyway, it resonated with me because I think and you know, as we're getting older And after all my health stuff in recent years I'm very aware of the things that I want to do in my life And like that gal in the story I know, lady, you will be right by my side making sure I check everything off my list. I absolutely will. I know it. And I know there's going to be times where there are things that you're gonna to want to do that aren't with me because that's the nature of life There's gonna be some things on your list that are with Lee or with your kids, or with your mom, your sister, your friends from home, or just a solo adventure, right? But you will make sure I get all those things done.ure it and then I want to hear all about it. I know. I want every detail Well, I loved this episode of The Moth. I loved the stories as well. But wow, Matthew and Bingie really got me bonding over that gummy bear Se song. Come on. And then there was something Matthew said that I just thought was beautiful when he said He was reminded of how little it takes to reach out to someone That just really hit me because you never know where people are at in life And those small moments of kindness have a huge impact And look, now Matthew and Bingjie have been friends for thirty seven years. Yeah Lady, it made me think of that day you sneezed and I reached over with a box of tissues at the of the office This is true. Your allergies plus my proximity to you and to Kleenex Here we are. best friendship. Well, we hope that you enjoyed this episode contribution from the Moth to access a whole bunch of episodes just like it, along with two new episodes a week, subscribe to the Moth wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you have a great week. And happy Best Friend's D. That's right Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jennna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Bieagl, and our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer. Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Dennis. 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