What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Quite a few of the episodes here on What Was That Like involve emergencies. Today we’re talking about a different kind of emergency.   If you’re new to the podcast, this is definitely not a typical episode. You might want to look through some of the past episode titles and pick one out that looks interesting.   But today is a little different. I’m in Dallas this week, hanging out with a bunch of my podcasting friends, so for this episode we’re kind of taking a break from the normal interview format.   A little bit of background. About 10 years ago, I was creating and hosting a different podcast. It was called Ultrafinishers. Each episode, I would interview a runner who had just finished their first ultramarathon. An ultramarathon is any race longer than a marathon, which is 26.2 miles. So an ultra usually ranges from 50k, which is a little more than 30 miles, up to 100 miles. Some are even longer than that.   But for one of those episodes, I asked people to call in and tell their story of the nightmare that just about every runner has had to deal with – you’re out on a run, and you have to poop, and there’s no bathroom in sight. It’s not a fun thing when it’s happening – but as it turns out, it’s pretty entertaining to hear about when it happens to other people.   So you’re about to hear a bunch of my ultra running friends from 10 years ago, telling their poop stories. And all of these were called in on a phone line, so the audio quality is not quite what you’d expect on a modern podcast. But it’s listenable.   And don’t worry – I have lots of crazy What Was That Like stories in the pipeline, and I’m looking forward to bringing those to you in the near future.   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: Who was your celebrity crush when you were young?   Links for this episode:   How Deep Will You Go card game: https://howdeepwillyougo.com/   Jonathan Taylor Thomas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Taylor_Thomas   Valerie Bertinelli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Bertinelli   MacGyver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGyver   Get Smart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Smart   Don Adams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Adams   Andy Gibb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gibb   Princess Diana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales   Anthony Bourdain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain   Robin Williams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Williams   Selena https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena   Jack Lemmon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lemmon   Jason Priestley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Priestley   Jayna Marie https://www.hellojayna.com/   Justin Timberlake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Timberlake   James Taylor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Taylor   Jim Carrey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey   Jaws https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/   Tom Hanks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hanks   Duck Duck Go https://duckduckgo.com/   LibreOffice https://www.libreoffice.org/     Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert: https://MeredithForReal.com   To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.     Sponsor deals:   If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes, you see a phone call coming in and you just know that something bad has happened.   I remember back several years ago, when my dad was still alive. He was in pretty poor health. He could still walk around, sort of, but it was with a walker, and it was very slowly. I’m the oldest of three sons, and of the three, I live the closest. It’s only about a 5 or 6 minute drive for me to get to my parents’ place, so if something happened, I’d be the one to get that call. Lots of times my phone would ring, and it would be my mom calling, quite upset and worried, because my dad had fallen and she couldn’t get him up.   And you know, when a call comes in the middle of the night, it’s almost never going to be good news. We’ve had a few of those as well.   For my guest today, Bill, life was good. He and his wife had two children – David, in high school, and Kristin, who had just graduated from college and was about to start a career.   But then, Bill got a phone call. It was from a woman who identified herself as a police detective. And she was calling with news about Bill’s daughter.   Bill told this story on the podcast a little over 3 years ago, and it’s one of the episodes that had a big impact on people. Some of the elements of this story are just incredible. And you’ll also hear a recent conversation I had with Bill, about what’s happened since then.   If you’d like to contact Bill, you can do that through his website: https://www.whendatinghurts.com/   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/226   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My favorite author is Jack London. His style of writing paints a very vivid picture in my mind. As I read his stories, it feels like I’m right there in the middle of it. One of his most well-known works is titled To Build A Fire. This is the opening paragraph of that story.   Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail. He climbed the high earth-bank where a little-traveled trail led east through the pine forest. It was a high bank, and he paused to breathe at the top. He excused the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o’clock in the morning. There was no sun or promise of sun, although there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day. However, there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things. That was because the sun was absent from the sky. This fact did not worry the man. He was not alarmed by the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun.   There’s something about the quiet, dark, biting cold of northern Canada that really fascinates me. I’ve lived in cold climates, but nothing like that. When the outside temperature gets to be well below zero, the constant thought is just what you have to do in order to survive.   My guest today is David. He and his partner in this adventure, Scott, dreamed of spending time in those conditions. But what they encountered just in the first few days had them - from one hour to the next – wondering, what else could go wrong?   Video of David and Scott returning to cabin site in 2014: https://youtu.be/NOuuCS0oAYU   Website about David and Scott's experience: https://paradisecreekcabin.com   David’s book, Paradise Creek: A True Story of Adventure and Survival – https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Creek-Adventure-Canadian-Wilderness-ebook/dp/B08KTXZ4S6/ref=sr_1_1   David’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrscott/   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/225   Scott’s podcast:  https://notrealart.com/   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: Describe one of your most memorable birthdays   Links for this episode:   Big thanks to Kiona for filling in for Meredith on this episode! Kiona’s podcast is Birth As We Know It, and you can get all of her information here: https://BirthAsWeKnowItPodcast.com   Airtags: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MX532LL-A-AirTag/dp/B0CWXNS552/ref=sr_1_3_pp   Bike bell designed to hide an airtag: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZD2V7JJ?th=1   Postpartum Support International: https://postpartum.net/   Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert: https://MeredithForReal.com   To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.     Sponsor deals:   If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marlene answered the door, and there was a clown holding a gun.   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you have children, you’ve probably thought at some point, “Am I a good parent?”   It’s natural to question our own abilities sometimes. Do I spend enough time with my kids? Do they feel safe? Do they feel loved? Are they comfortable talking with me about anything that’s going on in their life?   My kids are adults now. When I think back to when they were growing up, there are things I would have done differently if I knew back then what I know now. But that’s not really fair though. I know I did the best I could at the time. And they still turned out to be great adults and I’m really proud of them.   My guest today is Naseem. She has 3 kids. And there was a time when she found herself wondering about how she was doing as a parent. Wondering if her children knew how much she loved them.   It’s interesting the thoughts that come into your head, when you’re being run over by a car.   Naseem’s book, The Unexpected Benefits of Being Run Over: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW3LK86X/   If you’d like to contact Nassem, you can do that through her website: https://LifeUnbreakable.com   Naseem’s Instagram: https://Instagram.com/nasrocs   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/224   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What crazy thing have you seen happen at a wedding?   Links for this episode:   Purchasing an AED from the Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/organizations/purchase-aeds   AED on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Defibrillator-Portable-Automatic-Emergency-Companies/dp/B0DZTPSLYF/ref=sr_1_6   Table fan to repel flies: https://www.amazon.com/Tables-Repellent-Outdoor-Spinner-Holographic/dp/B0B6R358LV?th=1   Pavlok Shock Clock: https://www.amazon.com/Pavlok-Shock-Clock-Customizable-App-Controlled/dp/B0BGYY45DY/ref=sr_1_4   Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert: https://MeredithForReal.com   To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.     Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an ideal world, children should be able to trust their parents. After all, it’s the grown-ups in the family who are responsible for the kids. No child should ever have to worry about safety when mom and dad are around for protection - in an ideal world.   That’s the world Ross thought he was living in when he was 8 years old, with his older brother Ryan, who was 10. They were happy kids with no reason to be afraid. Until one night at their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, when his mother told his father she wanted a divorce. That’s when something snapped in Ross’s dad’s mind, and he got a gun, and forever changed the history of their family.   This is a Flashback episode. Ross was 21 when we first had this conversation, and he’s permanently blind. At the time, he was training to swim in the Summer 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.   Now he’s 27, and I spoke with him again recently, so you’ll be able to learn what’s happened in his life since he originally appeared on the podcast, and what his plans are for the future. Ross is a pretty amazing young man and I think you’ll enjoy this episode.   If you’d like to contact Ross: Instagram: @RossMinorOfficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlindRossMinor Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/rossminor   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/223   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As human beings, we are often very protective of our own sense of personal justice – and injustice.   When I was a child, I had a teacher who – to me – seemed very unfair. If one of the kids in the class did something like write a bad word on the chalkboard, she would ask the entire class who did it. She really did her best to find the culprit, and carry out punishment.   But sometimes she just couldn’t figure it out. No one would admit it, and there wasn’t enough evidence to pin it on any specific student.   So her solution was – the whole class loses recess for the whole day. Definitely not fair! It always bugged me when that happened – I was being punished even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.   My guest today, Scott, was also a victim of injustice, but on a much larger scale. He was charged with a crime that he didn’t commit, and was held in a foreign jail for far too long. This is one of those stories where you just can’t predict what’s coming next.   And if you’re an American, it might just make you think twice before traveling outside the US.     If you’d like to contact Scott:  thescottmcmahonstory@outlook.com   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/222   Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.   Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: Head to http://Lumen.me/WWTL for 20% off your purchase.   Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.   Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!   Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices