What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Today’s story takes place off the coast of Somalia, a country in Africa.If you look at Africa on a map, you’ll see Somalia on the east coast, right on the water of the Indian Ocean. In fact, of all the countries in Africa, Somalia is the one with the longest coastline. And for the Americans listening, to give you an idea of how big it is, Somalia is almost the same size as the US state of Texas.But here’s the thing about Somalia. It’s considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. I mean, here in Florida, we have homeless people. Some of you know, I work with a group here to help the homeless population get the things they need. But in Somalia, literally half of the people in that country don’t have a home or any kind of permanent residence. This means there are millions of people who are desperate, and hungry, and they’re vulnerable to abuse.And just on the north side of Somalia is the Gulf of Aden. This is a very popular water route for large ships carrying lots of cargo, headed either to or from the Suez Canal. In fact, each year there are around 20,000 of these ships passing by. That’s more than 50 ships every single day.So there’s a certain sector of the Somali population who sees all this valuable cargo going by each day, and they see an opportunity to make money. These are modern day pirates. They see many of these big ships as easy targets. I mean if there’s a large cargo ship carrying manufactured goods, they just want to get from point A to point B. They typically aren’t equipped to fight off or defend their ship from being hijacked and held for ransom. But today we’re going to hear a story from Robert. There was a time he was on one of those big ships, off the coast of Somalia. The pirates saw it as easy money. What they didn’t see was that Robert’s ship, the one being attacked, was a warship in the US Navy.This episode sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS.Reach more prospects by being a guest on podcasts! The Monetize the Mic conference, August 10-11, 2021, will teach you how to do that. Get your tickets at this affiliate link: WhatWasThatLike.com/conference Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I remember the first time I was ever exposed to domestic violence. My home life growing up was very much non-violent. I was the oldest of 3 boys, and of course we fought sometimes just like all brothers do. But really it was more arguing than fighting. We never got violent with each other. And my parents? I could never imagine either of them even thinking about hitting the other. It’s just not something that would ever be considered. They had been married for 56 years when my dad passed away in 2016. So I guess you could say I grew up pretty sheltered from that kind of thing. I just never saw it. But there was a time when I had a regular job, working in an office with probably 30 or 40 other people. This was quite a few years ago, and it was here in Florida, in downtown Tampa. I went in to work one day, and that morning I was surprised to see one of my co-workers, a young lady probably around 25 or so, had come to work with a bad black eye. Actually it was more than her eye – much of one side of her face was bruised and swollen.  And when I saw her, in my sheltered little world I actually wondered what had happened. I didn’t ask her about it, because we weren’t what you would call “close” friends, and it was really none of my business anyway. But later on as I heard others discussing it, I realized that she had been beaten by her boyfriend. And at first I was really surprised – like why would anyone do that? She’s such a nice girl, always smiling, always friendly. Didn’t make sense. Then I got angry. I imagined what it would be like if someone did that to my wife, or one of my kids.  So that was my first exposure to the results of domestic violence. But the reality is that it’s very, very common. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, more than 1 out of 3 women and 1 out of 4 men in the US will experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner. That’s the situation that Shareen found herself in. She was in constant fear of Jerome’s anger and his violence. And she didn’t think there was any way out for her. Finally, she confided in a co-worker – and neither of them had any idea of the terrifying experience they were in for that day. If you’re in an abusive or violent relationship, please tell someone. If you don’t have a person in your life you can talk to directly, here in the US you can get in touch with the National Domestic Violence Hotline. You can call them at 800-799-7233, or you can text the word START to 88788, or you can chat live with someone on their website at THEHOTLINE.ORG. If you need website hosting, the company I use and recommend is Siteground (affiliate link). For jewelry that’s beautiful AND earth friendly, go to AnaLuisa.com/WHAT and use the promo code WHAT for 10% off any item.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a perfect world, a child should be able to trust an adult. Children are dependent on adults for healthy food, medical attention, an education, and a safe environment. Children should be able to expect their parents to love them and protect them from any harm. But we don’t live in a perfect world. For my guest today, Michael, he and his siblings lived in a small home in Tampa, Florida. They desperately needed protection from harm.  But the harm was coming from their parents.  It was mostly his mother, Jamie Hicks. And because they were all home schooled, the abuse went undetected.  In our conversation, Michael described some of the things he and the other children experienced from their abusive mother. And their father who did almost nothing to stop it from happening. There was a time when Child Protective Services was called out and investigated the family, but they weren’t able to put the pieces together enough to figure out what was going on in that house. So Michael and the other older children decided to come up with a plan to escape. Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence against children. Listener discretion is advised.This episode is sponsored by Felix Gray – for the best blue light filtering glasses on the market today, go to FelixGrayGlasses.com/WHAT.This episode is sponsored by HelloFresh, America’s #1 Meal Kit. To get up to 14 free meals and free shipping, go to HelloFresh.com/WWTL14 and use promo code WWTL14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DNA technology is pretty amazing, and it’s gone mainstream. I recently submitted a DNA kit with one of the companies called 23andme. I got the results back, and they gave me a list of 1500 people who were all “somewhere” in my family tree. And I’ve even gotten in touch with some of them.  Here’s an example. When I was a kid, we lived in Ohio but we had a lot of family in Virginia because that’s where my dad was from. I had a great uncle who lived in Virginia, and he was in the market for a dog. Well, it turns out our dog had just had a litter of puppies and we had a dog available. This puppy was a mixed breed but probably mostly black lab, and he was all black except for a little bit of white right on the tip of his tail. So we named him Tippy. I’m a real animal lover and I loved Tippy. This was when I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. We drove to Virginia and brought him with us, because he was of course going to live with my uncle. I remember the day we were leaving, and the last time I saw Tippy. I was really sad. Okay, now fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I got the results back from the DNA test. I got in touch with a young lady who was actually the granddaughter of my uncle in Virginia. I mentioned to her the story about Tippy (mainly because it’s one of the stories that stands out from my childhood). Later that day, she emailed me a picture of my uncle – and there was Tippy, in that picture. She said she remembered my great uncle, her grandfather, having that dog and what great companions they were. So I thought that was pretty cool. But that’s nothing compared to the story you’re about to hear from today’s guest, Monica. She’s 40 years old, she lives in the Midwest, and she has gone through her whole life, in a lot of ways, just like lots of other people. She grew up in a typical family environment, with her mom and her dad, so of course she knew who her family was. But then she discovered that what she thought was true for 40 years, wasn’t actually the truth at all. Links: 23andme.comAncestry.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember that Seinfeld episode where George is at his girlfriend’s mother’s house, and he sees a partially eaten éclair in the kitchen trash can, and he picks it up and takes a bite? Of course, someone sees him do it, and he tries to explain, and all sorts of hijinks ensue because that’s the world of TV sitcoms. My guest on today’s episode, in a way, plays that role in real life. He’s well-educated, fully employed, married, and is certainly able to afford buying groceries. But he doesn’t spend any money on food, since he’s able to get his food for free. And his freezers and pantry are full.  Ricky’s food doesn’t come from inside the grocery story, but rather from the large bin behind the store. Want to learn more about the unusual subculture and community of dumpster divers, and see what kinds of things they find each day? Check out their subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DumpsterDiving/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you travel internationally, do you ever get nervous when you come back to your own country and have to go through all the questions about where you’ve been, your reason for travel, and what you’re bringing back into the country? This is stressful for a lot of people, even those who have not done anything wrong. My guest in this episode is Emily. She lives in Toronto, and a few years ago she spent some time in the Caribbean. She flew back into her home airport, and had to go through that process of being asked all the questions. Like a lot of people, this really stressed her out.  But in Emily’s case, she had good reason to be nervous. Under her dress was roughly $150,000 in cocaine. That was a bad day for Emily. She told me the whole story, including how that experience led her to what she’s doing today. Follow Emily, and try some of her amazing popcorn: website: comebacksnacks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comebacksnacks/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/comebacksnacks YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoBFKhNnSi2dA_WXTDaRP2w This episode is sponsored by BetterHELP – professional counseling, done securely online. Get 10% off your first month by using this link: BetterHELP.com/WHATWAS This episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa – timeless, earth-friendly jewelry starting at just $39. Get 10% off by using this link: AnaLuisa.com/WHAT and use the promo code WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peekskill, New York. Angela Correa was 15 years old. She was a student at Peekskill High School, with an interest in photography as a hobby and perhaps eventually a career. On November 15, 1989, she went missing, and an area-wide search was conducted. Two days later, Angela’s body was found. She had been beaten, raped, and strangled to death. Police began an investigation, and questioned some of the other students at Angela’s school. Based on some tips, they began to question one of her fellow students, 16 year old Jeff Deskovic. After a long session with a polygraph examiner, Deskovic confessed to the murder. He was charged and convicted, and sentenced. He was in prison for 16 years. Just one problem with this story: he didn’t do it. Jeff Deskovic is my guest on the show today, and we talked about a lot of things, including why he would confess to a murder that he didn’t commit, and what it was like to be a sensitive, 17 year old boy living in prison next to violent criminals. And best of all, what he’s been able to do since he got out. Deskovic Foundation: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejeffreydeskovicfoundation/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/deskovicfoundation/featured Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeskovicFDN Jeff’s TedX talk: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/deskovic-tedx-talk Documentary “Convicted” on Amazon Prime: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/deskovic-tedx-talkThis episode sponsored by Felix Gray blue-light glasses and HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit. Music credit: Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200044 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monica was divorced, and now a single mom with two little kids. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. Kevin was a nice guy, and he’d never been married. When they first met, there was a chemistry between them, but Monica was reluctant. Fortunately, Kevin was persistent. This is their story, and it’s a good reminder for all of us – when you have someone you love, be sure to appreciate the time you have with them now. Because sometimes the unexpected can change everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was a kid and even as a young adult, I had no fear of heights. I was always climbing trees, climbing all over the roof of our house, never had a second thought or any fear about it. Then, when I was 30, something happened that changed that. I fell off a ladder. You can get the full story by listening to the podcast. The thing is, what happened to me wasn’t even that bad. But imagine you’re walking along a trail, and there’s no guardrail next to it, and the other side of that trail is a 100 foot drop, which is about 30 meters, and the bottom of that is rocks. And suddenly you get too close to the edge, and you start to lose your footing. That’s what happened to Gil. This episode is sponsored in part by BetterHELP – professional counseling done online. As a What Was That Like listener, you can visit https://betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.  Music for this episode: We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re talking about the concept of being alone. Many people all around the world have been recently exposed to some form of loneliness or isolation because of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. This problem started a little over a year ago, but for a lot of people it seems like it’s been longer than that, because they’ve had to stay at home in order to avoid getting infected.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the announcement to residents of the UK, back in March of 2020, that the primary key to mitigating the spread of the virus, and eventually defeating it, was to stay home. These were the most stringent restrictions in Britain since World War 2. Very few people thought we would still be dealing with this a year later.  Being isolated at home, either by yourself or perhaps with some family members, can lead to some mental health issues. And that includes the possibility of depression. At least we have some ways to connect, using Zoom, Facetime, or some other audio/video communication. But it’s just not the same as being with people. Our guest today, Woniya, is actually pretty good at being alone. And we’re not talking about just being stuck at home. She was brought to a remote spot in the Arctic, nowhere near civilization – just a middle-of-nowhere place, and she was left there to fend for herself. She had to build her own shelter, find her own food, and somehow stay warm in the unbelievably cold Arctic winter. Woniya was a contestant on the reality show called Alone. This was Alone season 6, and it was called Alone in the Arctic. Right now, which is March of 2021, that whole season is available on Netflix. I highly recommend that you watch it, before listening to this episode. What we talk about here will make a lot more sense when you’ve seen what Woniya had to go through, and how she handled herself out there – for 73 days. I think you’ll agree with me that she’s pretty amazing. And if you want to learn some of the skills that she used to survive, click the link below for the Spring Online Gathering, and use the promo code WWTL15 for a discount off the enrollment fee (promo code expires April 1, 2021). Spring online gathering: https://academy.buckskinrevolution.com/springbrog website: www.buckskinrevolution.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeQWXKz7vpLnu8Sde7Xrg Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/buckskin_revolution/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Buckskin-Revolution-276888169854940/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/woniyabuckskinrevolution Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices