1251 – Tiki Transistor Hut | Multiplex Ep5
Everything is coming together as smooth as a velvet painting that glows with comforting colors in the deep dark night.
-
Multiplex
Smartphone Haptics
https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-are-haptics
https://www.androidcentral.com/haptic-feedback-most-important-smartphone-feature-no-one-talks-about
Evening Primrose
https://www.npr.org/2010/10/26/130811886/primrose-44-years-later-still-sharp-as-thumbtacks
Spencer Gifts
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/504249/history-spencer-gifts
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-spirt-halloween-retail-apocalypse-photos-history-2021-10
https://www.metv.com/lists/12-fantastic-christmas-gifts-we-found-in-a-1963-spencer-gifts-catalog
Blacklight
https://daily.jstor.org/the-forgotten-radicalism-of-black-light-posters/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trippy-blacklight-posters-from-the-psychedelic-heyday
https://teecraze.com/groovy-glow-the-psychedelic-history-of-black-light-posters/
DOWN TO BUSINESS
I was trying to think of something to say but then I got mixed up
Deep Dark Night United
Susie (Zocdoc)
PLUGS
NYC Mesh; Sean Casey Animal Rescue; Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
SPONSORS
Helix Sleep; Polysleep; Odoo; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
INTRO
You could be traveling or have guests
Or you work a 3rd shift (or even higher)
“You don’t know me”
Dreams have been waking me up lately
My dreams have decided to become hard work lately
The leaning-in equivalent of being in bed
My voice is friendly to some people
I’m here to be your BBFF
This podcast doesn’t click for people, it unclicks
Getting Unclicked
I’m home, my strange sleepy podcast home
I think it’s ep 5 of Multiplex coming up
Some people listen when they wake up
I’m not looking forward to bed right now
It can be baffling at times
STORY
4 friends adventuring in a shopping mall
It’s a pleasure to listen to someone else narrate the show
If I have a wish tonight, it’s that Antonio will announce the show
Stay comfortable, Antonio, just don’t move at all
He’s the only person who works for SWM that doesn’t get paid
But he just laughs when I bring up payment
It would almost be better if we had a contract so that you had to follow my rules, Antonio
I’ve got a Host Mentality
I don’t think Antonio is a Doc Rivers persona
I’m honored to be here and to have him here
We’re gonna play some Wandering Towers later
Wyatt checking in
A Tale of the Road to Average
It’s not quite N-O-R-M-A-L
Before this journey, we all were aspiring to greatness
This adventure taught us to think twice
I’ve recently taken a couple steps back
I used to have a niche public access TV show
Santos, Josie, myself
And Boyd aka The Corn Cob Kid
My path forward had changed
We were playing mini golf when Boyd interrupted us
Through a culvert to the mall
Julius J Juice Concentrate
Orange Juice-Based Enjoyment Drink (OJBED)
Boyd wanted to sell leftover concentrate online
Someone from the World of Cutlery needed our help
Immersive Theatre in a Room of Getting Out Of
Immersive Mall Mystery Theatre
We met someone swaddled in paper
You know, like … Mommies
We were helping her get back into her film
Something was unreal about this whole thing
Then the film became an ad for breakfast cereal
Then we took a nap, I think
We woke up and started having some strong disagreements
What time is it, even?
No Fooling On The First Day of April
An adventure for the whole weekend
We’d sent a large portion of concentrate with the Mommy
But we need more
San and Josie want to go home
We try the theatre backdoors
Those doors weren’t operable
Then we heard an alert thing go off
A Nice Calming Robotic Voice
The mall is closing for the evening
Gates are going down
We can’t get back to our old section
We just keep trying gates
The gate to Spence’s Gifts
Everyone that worked there was named Spence
That gate was still open
The gate was open to Spence’s
We’d spent a lot of time at Spence’s
Novelties, Gifts, and More
We’d go there for posters and goofy stuff
Posters that would make us blush and sweat
2 back sections to the store
1 back section was for adults
The other back section was all blacklight posters
Psychedelic Type Stuff (PTS)
We planned to exit through the back door
It wasn’t possible to get through, it was just so dark
We devised a system to hold the thick black curtains open so light could get through
But the back of the store had no light
We tried to do a Marco Polo thing
We’re trying to find each other in the dark
Spence’s also sold gags
Googly Eyes Detective Kit
We saw some googly eyes in the darkness
“Welcome to Spence’s, my dudes”
We were like petrified wood
They lit a lighter
They were the most Spence of Spences
This was like a metalhead dude
He seemed like he was in his 40s, but he was probably in his 20s
Calm and cool and dominant
A calm look of concern and caring
Gallons of Metal Testosterone
Like the great metal drummer JJ
Some of us had little bits of broken fluorescent bulb on our pants
We brushed that off
We just want this performance to be done
Spence has no idea what we’re talking about
Feel free to break character, Spence
Maybe it was gravitas
Or maybe he was just kind of a father figure
He was intractable in a good way
They can help each other
Spence has keys to the back
There was no way we were going to sway Spence
Just go down to the Tiki Transistor Hut
Somebody came in and busted all the blacklights
Grab some blacklights from the TTH
Spence needs to be able to display these posters
I guess we’re just in this without an option
We heard a voice
The voice needs customer service
We recognize this as a quest to complete
A person dressed up in an elaborate costume
An amalgamation of people put together
A friend of Victor
A Female Frankie
I thought Boyd was in it to win it, but he wanted to just leave now
We have to distract the Frankie
Her name is Fran
Josie had used to work at TTH, so she was right at home
A very cringe-y hang ten sign
Working at TTH was not cool
Working at Spence’s was cool
Fran had clearly been crawling around in broken blacklights
Frannie had a long story
The amalgamation of ultimate companions of the world
But no one wants her as their ultimate companion
Not that kind of companion, Wyatt
Samuel Clemens’ forearm
The key didn’t work to escape from here
Boyd and San try to get the door open
Josie, me, and Frannie
Frannie needs to get back to the Maiden of Iron
Oh, that’s the posters!
Frannie is pointing at the lava lamps and plasma balls
Frannie needs to become the Maiden of Iron so that people will like her
We can relate to wanting to be liked
Who doesn’t want to be a Spence?
We had read the Victor book so we were familiar with her vibe
What’s up with this Victor dude?
Frankie and Victor: My Story by Victor
Boyd and San got the door open
Josie is in work mode
Should we finish this quest?
We have to stick to our obligations
Obligated To Be Obliged
I was taught to keep my promises
But the others just wanted to go
I got caught up and didn’t finish helping Frannie
We left Frannie and tried to head out
Of course, we’d forgotten about the alert
There were security doors that we couldn’t open
We were embarrassed that we’d done something wrong
So we took a break
SWM+ THANKS
Rachel, John, Karen, Eve, Paul, James, Desiree, Christian, Indigo, Lynn, Marty, Michael, Judy, Daniel, Jared, Andy, Jason, Betsy, Mark, Astrid, Morgan, PJ, Rosemary, Kate, Tyler, Ian, Craig, William, Christina
SUMMARY:
Episode: 1251
Title: Tiki Transistor Hut | Multiplex Ep5
Deep Dark Night United: Susie (Zocdoc)
Plugs: NYC Mesh; Sean Casey Animal Rescue; Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Polysleep; Odoo; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
SWM+ Thanks: Rachel, John, Karen, Eve, Paul, James, Desiree, Christian, Indigo, Lynn, Marty, Michael, Judy, Daniel, Jared, Andy, Jason, Betsy, Mark, Astrid, Morgan, PJ, Rosemary, Kate, Tyler, Ian, Craig, William, Christina
Notable Language:
- BBFF (Bore Bestie Friend Forever)
- My Strange Sleepy Podcast Home
- Baffling
- N-O-R-M-A-L
- Culvert
- Orange Juice-Based Enjoyment Drink (OJBED)
- Animatronic Mommy
- A Nice Calming Robotic Voice
- Psychedelic Type Stuff (PTS)
- Googly Eyes Detective Kit
- “Welcome to Spence’s, my dudes”
- Gallons of Metal Testosterone
- Tiki Transistor Hut
- Obligated To Be Obliged
Notable Culture:
- Multiplex
- Antonio Banderas
- Doc Rivers
- Wandering Towers board game
- No Fooling On The First Day of April
- Spencer’s Gifts
- Marco Polo
- Tiki Transistor Hut
- Frankenstein
- Mel Brooks / Young Frankenstein
- Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain
- Iron Maiden
- Frankie and Victor: My Story by Victor
Notable Talking Points:
- You could be traveling or have guests
- Or you work a 3rd shift (or even higher)
- “You don’t know me”
- Dreams have been waking me up lately
- My dreams have decided to become hard work lately
- The leaning-in equivalent of being in bed
- My voice is friendly to some people
- I’m here to be your BBFF
- This podcast doesn’t click for people, it unclicks
- Getting Unclicked
- I’m home, my strange sleepy podcast home
- I think it’s ep 5 of Multiplex coming up
- Some people listen when they wake up
- I’m not looking forward to bed right now
- It can be baffling at times
- 4 friends adventuring in a shopping mall
- It’s a pleasure to listen to someone else narrate the show
- If I have a wish tonight, it’s that Antonio will announce the show
- Stay comfortable, Antonio, just don’t move at all
- He’s the only person who works for SWM that doesn’t get paid
- But he just laughs when I bring up payment
- It would almost be better if we had a contract so that you had to follow my rules, Antonio
- I’ve got a Host Mentality
- I don’t think Antonio is a Doc Rivers persona
- I’m honored to be here and to have him here
- We’re gonna play some Wandering Towers later
- Wyatt checking in
- A Tale of the Road to Average
- It’s not quite N-O-R-M-A-L
- Before this journey, we all were aspiring to greatness
- This adventure taught us to think twice
- I’ve recently taken a couple steps back
- I used to have a niche public access TV show
- Santos, Josie, myself
- And Boyd aka The Corn Cob Kid
- My path forward had changed
- We were playing mini golf when Boyd interrupted us
- Through a culvert to the mall
- Julius J Juice Concentrate
- Orange Juice-Based Enjoyment Drink (OJBED)
- Boyd wanted to sell leftover concentrate online
- Someone from the World of Cutlery needed our help
- Immersive Theatre in a Room of Getting Out Of
- Immersive Mall Mystery Theatre
- We met someone swaddled in paper
- You know, like … Mommies
- We were helping her get back into her film
- Something was unreal about this whole thing
- Then the film became an ad for breakfast cereal
- Then we took a nap, I think
- We woke up and started having some strong disagreements
- What time is it, even?
- No Fooling On The First Day of April
- An adventure for the whole weekend
- We’d sent a large portion of concentrate with the Mommy
- But we need more
- San and Josie want to go home
- We try the theatre backdoors
- Those doors weren’t operable
- Then we heard an alert thing go off
- A Nice Calming Robotic Voice
- The mall is closing for the evening
- Gates are going down
- We can’t get back to our old section
- We just keep trying gates
- The gate to Spence’s Gifts
- Everyone that worked there was named Spence
- That gate was still open
- The gate was open to Spence’s
- We’d spent a lot of time at Spence’s
- Novelties, Gifts, and More
- We’d go there for posters and goofy stuff
- Posters that would make us blush and sweat
- 2 back sections to the store
- 1 back section was for adults
- The other back section was all blacklight posters
- Psychedelic Type Stuff (PTS)
- We planned to exit through the back door
- It wasn’t possible to get through, it was just so dark
- We devised a system to hold the thick black curtains open so light could get through
- But the back of the store had no light
- We tried to do a Marco Polo thing
- We’re trying to find each other in the dark
- Spence’s also sold gags
- Googly Eyes Detective Kit
- We saw some googly eyes in the darkness
- “Welcome to Spence’s, my dudes”
- We were like petrified wood
- They lit a lighter
- They were the most Spence of Spences
- This was like a metalhead dude
- He seemed like he was in his 40s, but he was probably in his 20s
- Calm and cool and dominant
- A calm look of concern and caring
- Gallons of Metal Testosterone
- Like the great metal drummer JJ
- Some of us had little bits of broken fluorescent bulb on our pants
- We brushed that off
- We just want this performance to be done
- Spence has no idea what we’re talking about
- Feel free to break character, Spence
- Maybe it was gravitas
- Or maybe he was just kind of a father figure
- He was intractable in a good way
- They can help each other
- Spence has keys to the back
- There was no way we were going to sway Spence
- Just go down to the Tiki Transistor Hut
- Somebody came in and busted all the blacklights
- Grab some blacklights from the TTH
- Spence needs to be able to display these posters
- I guess we’re just in this without an option
- We heard a voice
- The voice needs customer service
- We recognize this as a quest to complete
- A person dressed up in an elaborate costume
- An amalgamation of people put together
- A friend of Victor
- A Female Frankie
- I thought Boyd was in it to win it, but he wanted to just leave now
- We have to distract the Frankie
- Her name is Fran
- Josie had used to work at TTH, so she was right at home
- A very cringe-y hang ten sign
- Working at TTH was not cool
- Working at Spence’s was cool
- Fran had clearly been crawling around in broken blacklights
- Frannie had a long story
- The amalgamation of ultimate companions of the world
- But no one wants her as their ultimate companion
- Not that kind of companion, Wyatt
- Samuel Clemens’ forearm
- The key didn’t work to escape from here
- Boyd and San try to get the door open
- Josie, me, and Frannie
- Frannie needs to get back to the Maiden of Iron
- Oh, that’s the posters!
- Frannie is pointing at the lava lamps and plasma balls
- Frannie needs to become the Maiden of Iron so that people will like her
- We can relate to wanting to be liked
- Who doesn’t want to be a Spence?
- We had read the Victor book so we were familiar with her vibe
- What’s up with this Victor dude?
- Frankie and Victor: My Story by Victor
- Boyd and San got the door open
- Josie is in work mode
- Should we finish this quest?
- We have to stick to our obligations
- Obligated To Be Obliged
- I was taught to keep my promises
- But the others just wanted to go
- I got caught up and didn’t finish helping Frannie
- We left Frannie and tried to head out
- Of course, we’d forgotten about the alert
- There were security doors that we couldn’t open
- We were embarrassed that we’d done something wrong
- So we took a break
-
Episode 1251 – Tiki Transistor Hut | Multiplex Ep5
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time for the podcaster who’s here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff. I’m here to miss…barely…I was gonna say something, then I got mixed up. I was trying to think of something that captures the essence of Sleep With Me, and then I accidentally did, 'cause this is the podcast that goes off topic, gets mixed up, I forget what I’m talking about. I don't make a whole lot of sense. Sleep With Me is a bedtime story podcast for adults that always takes forever to never get started, but it’s always going, 'cause I’m here to be your bore-bud, your bore-friend, like somebody you’d call in the deep, dark night and say, hey, just talk to me and keep my mind off of stuff or take my mind off of stuff. Keep me company. Ramble. Eventually tell me a story. I say, that’s what Sleep With Me is.
It does take some getting used to. That’s what most regular listeners say, and structurally what we got coming up…a lot of people like to listen to this ad-supported show linearly, so we’ll have the support, then a long, meandering intro separate from the support that’s meant to ease you into bedtime, and then later on we’ll have a bedtime story from our episodically modular series, Multiplex. All told, I’ll be here about an hour. There’s 601 episodes in this free, ad-supported feed ready to go. You could make playlists, listen to them in order, listen all night, whatever works for you. See how it goes. I’m so glad you’re here and, yeah, I hope this show can help you out. See how it goes. Welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. Thanks for making it possible, my bore-friends.
INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake.
It could be thoughts, things on your mind about the past, the present, the future, just thinking thoughts, it could be feelings, anything emotionally coming up for you related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, it could be physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be going through something, getting over something, you could be traveling, you could have guests, you could work one of those extra…third shift, different shifts…yeah, you…whatever it is. The reason I start to go through some of that stuff is to let you know you’re not alone. I know that’s strange with a podcast that’s digital or whatever that you just download and listen to. You’re like, you can't…you don’t know me.
You can't…believe me, I’ve said…if you could count the number of times I’ve said in my head to someone, you don’t know me and you don’t get it…so, I don't presume to totally get what you’re going through, but the reason I want you to know is I know how…I may know how it feels. I might not know exactly what you’re going through, but there’s a chance I could relate to how it feels; tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep. Those are all things I’ve dealt with and, yeah, lately trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep has been…and my dreams have been waking me up even though…I don't know, I’m back in one of those times when my dreams have decided to become hard work and doing some rote tasks. Not super-restful.
I don't know, maybe you don’t know how it is, but maybe you know how it feels. Even when my daughter’s in the next room or I was staying with my parents or my dog’s in the room with me, it feels lonely and frustrating and a bunch of other things. But the thing is, even if you can't relate to what I’m saying or you’re like, you know what? I’m going through something really…this is what I’m dealing with, there is…there’s enough people listening that there is someone perking up in bed right now and they have a soft smile on their face. They’re lean…they’re doing the leaning in…if they’re in bed comfortable, a leaning-in equivalent, because they’ve been through something very similar. So, they know how you feel and they are glad you’re here and they really hope this podcast can help you out. So, that’s one thing.
The other thing is you deserve a good night's sleep. I feel that way and that other person out there listening who’s nodding right now, they believe you deserve a good night's sleep, a place you could rest, a place you could get the sleep you need and you deserve so your life is more manageable tomorrow, and maybe you could start getting the sleep you need on a regular basis and you could be out there flourishing. That’s the hope, at least. Just see how it goes. So, what I’m gonna do here is I’m gonna send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents.
So, that means I’m gonna go off-topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, then I’ll forget what I was talking about, then I’ll double back, then I’ll get mixed up, then I’ll repeat myself, then I’ll think of something else that’s distracting me. So, that’s pointless meanders and superfluous tangents. Creaky, dulcet tones means my voice is not traditionally soothing. It’s a friendly voice to some people. The thing about this show is it’s probably different than what you expected. That’s what most people say. When you were…however you discovered the show, maybe someone let you know about it or maybe you were searching bedtime stories for adults, maybe you were trying to find something…however you discovered the show, right, you probably had some idea…oh, I think this…I wonder what this will be like.
This is different because, one, this is a podcast you just barely listen to. That’s one thing that’s different about the show. You just kinda bare…it’s like a out-of-focus picture like a TV on in the other room. You just kinda barely listen to it. It’s background noise that you could optionally listen to, and it’s also…so, it’s a podcast you don’t really listen to. I also am not here to put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, which is a bit different, right? I’m here to distract you from whatever’s keeping you awake, to kinda tell you a story in a little while and go off topic and just be here present for you as your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your neigh-bore, your bores, your Borbie, your bore-bruh, your bore-bestie, your bff, bbff.
I’m here to be your friend in the deep, dark night, but there’s no pressure to fall asleep. This show…that’s why the shows are over an hour, so you don’t have to worry about falling asleep. I’m gonna be here. That’s why there’s 601 shows ready to go for you. The thing is there’s people listening who can't sleep at all. They’re either going through something or they have a kind of insomnia or they’re taking a break during the day. So, I’ll be here to the very end to keep you company whether you’re awake or asleep, whether you’re listening to me or not. So, those are a couple of things to know. The other thing is…to go back; when you first get here, you might be skeptical, you might be doubtful, you might be frustrated. Not only is this show different than what you expected, it’s kinda meandering.
It doesn't really get straight to the point. I’m here to ease you into bedtime, right? Alls I can tell you is two things. Most people, they say give it two or three tries. Those are people that support the podcast, have listened for years and years and years. They didn’t like the show when they first got here. I guess that’s a ringing endorsement, in some sense. They said, well, yeah…I mean, I’ve talked about this before, but I…there’s a e-mail I get probably once a month that says, four years ago I listened to your podcast. I loathed it. Somebody mentioned it or I saw it on a list somewhere, and then two weeks ago this came up in my life and I…someone else mentioned it and I tried it again. At first I was like, I don't know, and then it…this is the podcast that doesn't click. It un-clicks.
So, you say, it un-clicked and I realized, oh, this podcast really is always going nowhere. It’s almost…it’s always never getting started, and now I listen…it’s helped me through this time, or I listen every night or I listen all night long. You’ve had a positive impact on my life. Now, that isn’t the case for everybody, right? So, give it two or three tries and see how it goes. Now, if you already know you don’t like me and you don’t want to give it two or three tries, that’s okay, too. Or if you give it two or three tries and you realize, no, it didn’t help, or you’ve been listening for a few years and you want to try some…sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou has other sleep podcasts and sleepy audio on there.
So, you could check it out because you still deserve a good night's sleep whether this…hopefully something else can help you get that sleep you need. So, that’s the other thing. So, it’s a podcast you don’t listen to, it doesn't put you to sleep, really hard to like at first, you’re an acquired taste. What else do we need to know? Okay, the other thing that throws people off is the structure of the show. It may have already thrown you off already, so I’ll explain it to you. There’s ways to customize the show, but our structure’s very intentional and it’s just how a lot of people listen, but you can, again, adjust and see what works for you. So, most people listen to this ad-supported feed, this podcast, linearly. They just start playing it and then they’ll kinda go through the stages as they’re listening linearly.
If you’re looking for something without ads or something with just intros or just stories, you probably already heard me talk about ways to do that, but there are ways to do that, and there’s ways you could do it…you could pay or you could do it…there’s ways you can do that for free. But structurally, the show starts out with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and I say something. That way if you’re new or a regular listener, you feel like, oh, okay, I’m welcome here. I feel seen. I feel welcomed in. Yeah, if you listen a lot, you say, I’m home, this strange, sleepy podcast home. So, that’s the greeting, then there’s support again 'cause most people enjoy the ad support…they enjoy listening to it for free with the ad support. Then after that is a long, meandering intro.
Now, the intro is about fifteen to twenty minutes long. It’s meant to ease you into bedtime, not to put you to sleep. I’ve been hearing from more and more people what they do during their wind-down time, because that’s just what’s been shown to work, is having a transition time. So, there’s a small percentage of people that fall asleep during the intro, and some of them support the show. It’s a little bit more conducive to that, or there’s people that listen all night long. But for most people, the intro is a time they’re either in bed getting comfortable or they’re doing some…they’re getting ready for bed or they’re doing some sort of other chill activity as they’re easing into bedtime. You could kinda see what works for you, right?
But yeah, do something chill to have a buffer from the day, and the intro kinda goes along with that where I inefficiently try to explain what the podcast is and ease you into bedtime. Or you could skip ahead and start the show at twenty or thirty minutes if you think you could fall asleep, but the intro’s just kind of like a leading you in and winding you down. Then again there’s support between the intro and the story, and then tonight will be our story. It’s a episodically modular series, meaning you can listen to it in any order. I think this is Episode 5 coming up. So, you could always pretend those other episodes are prequels. It’s about some friends at a mall. Oh boy, is it…I think they’re gonna visit a couple stores and they help people out. So, yeah, that’ll be a nice little story to ease you into bedtime.
There’s always more layers to it because, again, some part of your brain may be listening and that helps you unwind, or if you need a break during the day and you need to listen…some people wake up and they start listening to the show. I’m here to take your mind off of stuff and keep you company. Yeah, then the show ends with thank-yous 'cause it’s from the support of people that support the show that I’m able to do this and all the other people that work on the show. So, I’m glad for that. I’m trying to think of anything else. I’m just really glad you’re here. I mean, I really…honestly, I really hope this podcast can help you or you find something else that can. Particularly right now, I really know what it’s like.
It’s like I’m going through a little bit of a time where I’m not looking forward to bed because I don't know how it’s gonna go exactly. A week or two ago I was sleeping great, so it can be baffling at times. But what I return to is the stuff I talk about in the intro. I have…I try to have my bedtime routine. Maybe I could be a little bit more consistent about a couple things and have a way to ease into bedtime and have something to look forward to. So, I don't know, I hope this show can be a part of that for you. I’m really glad you’re here. I really appreciate you coming by and checking this out, and I really hope we can help you fall asleep. Thanks again for coming by, and here’s a couple ways we’re able to do it for you for free twice a week.
Hey everybody, it’s Scoots here. It’s time for our episodically modular series, Multiplex. It’s a series about four friends in a shopping mall together having an adventure, and they’ll fill you in on everything else. One of the friends is named Wyatt, and Wyatt’s also…has the pleasure of narrating…or the pleasure for me to listen to another narrator. That’s Wyatt, and we also…oh, and what does episodically modular mean? This may be considered Episode 5, but really, you could listen to these in any order. That way you could…1 through 4 could be prequels. They’re episodically modular. The main character will fill you in on everything you need to know. Yeah, so you can just kick back, relax, and get comfortable.
If you decide you want to listen to them in order, you could, and that’s one of the reasons we keep over 600…we keep 601 free episodes, ad-supported episodes…or subscribers have access to tons of different stuff. That way you could pick what works for you. But for…try it out. If this is your first time doing something episodically modular, let’s just see how it goes if you wish. But if you wish to not, that’s fine, too. But you know what I wish if I have a wish tonight? Wish you may, wish your might, is have Antonio Banderas come and announce the podcaster and find a word that…I could have found a word that rhymes with ‘might’ or…‘tight’ would work, but his clothing…who keeps his clothing not too loose and not too tight for…who…and please tread oh, so light, 'cause I do ask him to be incredibly comfort…quiet.
Stay comfortable, Antonio. Just don’t move when I’m recording. But he drive…he has such a love for all you listeners and your sleep and your comfort…and he’s the only person, actually, that works directly on the podcast that doesn't get comp…he says…he just laughs. I say, honestly, I’m uncomfortable with this…I mean, I am perfectly comfortable with it, but from…I say, well, no, no, it only works…the podcast has to be sustainable, so you have to get compensated for your work. He just laughs hysterically, almost like some part of me…he realizes something that I don't realize myself. He says it’s its own compensation. I’m doing just fine. I say, well, the thing is…what we did do…this is a little behind-the-scenes; we did enter into a contract because I said, well, the thing is if you’re not compensated, then I can’t create these wonderful boundaries I need you to follow.
I mean, I could, but then it’s optional, right? You could just show up when you wanted. You could drive to Los Angeles and it could take you six hours. It could take you twelve hours. Then you just show up when you show up. Maybe your clothes are too tight or too loose, so they’re more noisy. He wasn’t aware of…he says, thank you for teaching me these things. I had no idea if my clothes were too tight they would make a sound undetectable to the human ear except when you’re recording a podcast…or the swishing of my clothes being too loose, 'cause he did try to make these adjustments. I said, it’s just not working. He said, what if my…? I said, no, no, no, I can’t have you walking around in your…angels would be weeping with joy and other things if you’re walking around in…birthday-style in my place.
Not to mention the fact that…not sure that…whatever. Then I have to keep the place at a temperature…so, we entered into a contractual agreement where he is compensated by his joy…the joy…and we do…I do…I say, is there a way to measure that joy? But it’s measured in his smile. He even says his gratitude for being able to do this, which I agree with him mostly. I’m also grateful that he is willing to sit in his car and nod at…and then wait until I let him come in and then go through all the procedure…quiet protocols. Then he says…sometimes he will point out some of the silliness. He says, I noticed your clothes are…and I say, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, I know…I’m the host, man. I got host mentality. So, yeah, he’s…this is a dated…I don't think he’s a Doc…oh, no, Doc Rivers is a coach.
There was an…that was a music person. He’s like…I don't know. ‘Cause the shows have…there’s one announcer on a show who never sits next to the host on those talk shows. I don't know. But I’m just honored to be here. I’m honored to be here, to have him here, our Hollywood announcer, Mr. Antonio Banderas. The friends beyond the binary, the ladies, the gentlemen, the boys, the girls, it’s time to go click, click, click to the theatre. It’s time for Multiplex. Yeah. Wow. Spectacular as always. That’s Mr. Antonio Banderas, who will be…now remain silent. We’re gonna play some Wandering Towers and wa-wa-wonder why you couldn’t remain perfectly still for — we’re just laughing at each other — a hour and fifteen minutes or more or less. But that was Mr. Antonio Banderas. This is Multiplex.
Good evening, everyone. This is Wyatt here and I’m recording these audios. I don't know how they’ll be distributed, but it’s to tell a tale that hasn’t been…that I feel hasn’t been told before, a tale of the road to average, three high-flying students, friends, and a fourth friend who was not…who was different than that but an essential part of our story. We set off on an adventure that was an adventure. It’s traditionally…can be considered pretty adventurous. But what that adventure led us to was not exciting. It was…I hesitate to use that word, N-O-R-M-A-L, 'cause that’s not the right word, but to be people among people, to live a life where…you say, well, what does that mean to be spectacular?
What I mean is when we entered…before we started this journey, all three of us were on separate paths aspiring to greatness and aspiring to an unlimited potential. What this adventure taught us, which I don't think a lot do, is how to say, huh, what’s up with that? Maybe not. Because it’s just…even though this adventure itself might stick out…and what happened for me was that that’s changed recently and that I felt the need to explain it because I also took a few steps back. I had a public access television show — which a lot of people might not know — years and years ago, and it was small and it was very niche, as you’d say now, or niche, for people that like to…it was a particular kind of movie and it wasn’t really unique.
There was people doing it on television channels around the world, and we would interview people. But what caught the attention now in the digital era is that a lot of my interviews were very…felt more real and authentic. This is kind of…I said, well, I need to explain that that’s…those weren’t interviews, or they weren’t performances. But that led me to tell this tale about…so, what do you need to know coming into this? Well, there’s three of us that were really close friends; San, Santos, Josie, Jos, and myself, Wyatt. Then there was Boyd, the Corncob Kid, not a friend of ours, but we were friendly with Boyd. Boyd was a…Boyd’s a character and was a character around school.
Recently we were heading towards graduation from high school and my path forward had changed because of different things with my family and expecting to get this scholarship that would bring me onto my next phase, and for the first time being unable to perform, really, with the interview and part of the process. I didn’t get that scholarship and I was at a loss of how I was gonna go onto the next part of my journey. We were playing mini-golf, just the three of us, to kinda relieve some of the tension and process it and imagine if this mini-golf game came with a scholarship.
But it did not, but it came with a interruption right at the end from Boyd, the Corncob Kid, who had gone through a culvert by this mini-golf course to a shopping mall that had been closed for some time, but not so long that it had totally…it had just been slowly forgotten. People had moved on to a larger shopping mall, of all things. But this thing was not small. Boyd said…basically I’m trying to give you the short version. Boyd said, hey, there’s Julius J Juice concentrate, which at the malls used to be popular, where…I don't know. I never had one. Orange juice and…it was a orange-juice-based enjoyment drink. I guess it wasn’t from fresh-squeezed oranges. It was from concentrate.
Boyd said, Julius J Juice went out of business, the mall went out of business, but this…the former Julius J Juice mall store is full of Julius J Juice concentrate. Boyd had a way to sell it on the bulletin boards of what you would now call the internet, in the groups…use groups or whatever. Boyd said, I just need some help getting it out of the mall. We went back and forth, right? Is this a good idea? Will we get in trouble? Is this…? But Boyd…it was pretty profitable since the cost of goods was zero and there was a lot of it. So, we went along with it. At some point San and Josie changed their minds 'cause the mall was blocked by a bunch of fences that seemed newer than the mall itself.
Then we got in the mall and we were planning on getting the juice, but along the way we met somebody at The World of Cutlery who needed a hand finding a store item. Then we found ourselves in what we believed was what you would call now immersive theatre in a room of getting out of, but on a much larger scale, like a mystery…immersive mystery theatre within a mall. We met what we thought was a character or animatronic from this adventure who was kind of wrapped in swaddling…is a way to…but an adult made from decorative…anatomical decorative things and wrappings from the phase of the past movies, the fictional phase of Egypt and adventures in Egypt, but only the non-historical version; famous films like mommies and stuff like that.
So, we were helping this animatronic mommy gather some things and get back into the Multiplex and back into their film. Her film; it ended up she had been a sorceress in the film. Maybe you’re familiar with it, maybe not. Then this is when things…there was something unreal about this whole thing. I mean, from the start…or now looking back telling the tale, it’s obvious. But to us it was still a slight question mark, 'cause somehow we got the mommy back into an actual film. The last thing I remember is that as we helped her on her quest, then the film became more of a advertisement for breakfast cereal. Then I think we took a nap or something 'cause we had kinda lost track of time, and because in the mall it’s a artificial environment. Particularly, we were in a movie theatre at this point.
We sat down…or maybe something else, but we came out of it. We had all been sleeping. I think we…at this point we had a better gauge of time, because then…the short version is we started having some…as we all woke up, we started having some pretty strong disagreements, right? What time…is it really the morning now? Should we check in at home? We gotta get outta here. Let’s get something to eat. There’s still old…there was still stuff in the snack bar. Not everything, but…even if…what is…we were kinda shouting to the people we thought were running this thing. Was this really an interactive theatre performance? Now the only way I could explain it is this is some kind of long weekend. Now, the thing was there was a popular movie at the time about that day…first day of…it was called The First Day of April.
No Fooling On the First Day of April, it was called. I believe the movie’s been remade some times. We had seen that…when we had sleepovers, we would watch that movie. So, that’s another part of it, is that movie made us think…'cause you say, Boyd or Wyatt or Josie or San, how do you not know? Well, that whole movie was based on a similar presence; we’ll bring people to this place and we’ll have an adventure for the whole weekend. So, that’s why the door was still open, and of course, the Julius J Juice…now, we had sent a large portion of the Julius J Juice with the mommy 'cause she had said she needed things of great value. But there was still more in the store. I was kinda on the fence at this point, and San and Josie definitely wanted to go home.
Boyd, the Corncob Kid, was pretty quiet and trying to hear everybody’s sides. We weren’t getting a response to whoever may have been running this interactive attraction…experience. Again, this was quite a bit of time ago, right? In the eighties, so it was…or was it the nineties? I don't even know anymore, but it doesn't matter. So, we went back and forth, deciding we should just leave. We should just get out of the mall. We should…I said, well, let’s the juice first. No, let’s just go. We tried the back doors to the theatre which had been adjusted over the years because the doors…you say, hey, if you need to get out of the theatre, use these doors. But what had happened was people had let their friends in through those doors to movies back when the mall was open.
So, they had added these hallways on to make it…so, that didn’t work. Those doors were not operable anymore since the mall had closed. Then, again, just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I said, okay, well, we’ll just go back to where we started. Okay, but then we gotta pass Julius J Juice. We might as well get some juice. We could still probably exit through Julius J Juice unless I’m forgetting something, but I don't know. It was just…it was confusing. We’re already confused. Then all of a sudden we heard an alert thing go off, like once we had left the Multiplex back into the mall. This was an alert that made us again think it was…it had a nice, calming robotic voice and it said that the mall was closing for the evening, even though it was not the evening, and that we had a short amount of time.
All employees…this is the new…I don't know. So…but unfortunately what that meant was a lot of the…we didn’t even realize this 'cause we had never been in the mall after it was closed…was that…so, the stores had their own gates which were…some of which were open, and they were going down. But there was also other gates that were going down, and as we started to move, we realized, one, we can't get to…back to The World of Cutlery and that way. So, we were kind of like…we had left the section where the Multiplex is and we moved into another section, but then we couldn’t…we were in…we were…the mall was gonna shut down for the night. So, I don't know, I guess this is so people couldn’t just hang out in there and have fun, and maybe so they didn’t really have to pay anybody to walk around and keep an eye on stuff?
I don't know. But so, it ended up we were stuck. Believe it or not, there was movies about this, too, about how important it was to keep the mall secure after the evening. So, we couldn’t get back to Julius J Juice. We couldn’t get back to The World of Cutlery. Now we were really irritated with one another, shaking the gates…we’re now in a section in the mall we hadn’t been in before, or we had just passed through between…whatever. The layout doesn't…super important, but…and all of our…the pits in our stomachs were not feeling good and, whatever, we were going back and forth. Then we tried a couple of stores and we said, okay, well, we’ll try…once we calmed down, it became just…okay, we’ll keep trying gates.
Then as we were trying gates, then we were wondering if we were hearing things 'cause the gates are making noise. Finally, before we even got to the gate, we could see that the gate to Spence’s, Spence’s…Gifts of…Spence's Gifts, like Spence is giving you gifts. It’s a interesting store. Everybody that worked there was known as Spence. Everybody that worked there had a name tag that said they were Spence. It was kind of like…in some sense…this store had also not…was no longer operating. This store was marketed towards…we’ll cover it more, but everybody that worked there was known as Spence. They would even say, hey, Spence. Yo, Spence, do you know where…do we have any of those ashtrays in stock, Spence? Oh yeah, over there, Spence. So, that’s why it was known as Spence's Gifts.
Like, you were going to Spence's to buy gifts that Spence had…you weren’t gifted anything. I think there was a Spence's gift club, but…so, the gate was open to Spence's, halfway. We said, okay, there we go. It must have broke or something, and we had a laugh. Now, Spence's was a place we spent a lot of time, especially…it was a lure and marketing towards people that liked…I don't know. It was different stuff. For people…we hadn’t reached this stage yet, believe it or not, where it was 420 somewhere. But if you liked posters, cars, glow-in-the-dark things, interesting, goofy things…they used to have…this is funny to me now; you could buy over-the-hill toilet paper for somebody when their birthday reached…I mean, maybe fifty. I don't even know, which is hilarious to me at this point.
Just things like unique gifts that were a little bit of a novelty. I think that’s what they would call it; novelties, gifts, and more. But we would go there for the posters and the goofy stuff. Of course, there was posters that were more…that would make us blush and sweat, but there was also…well, we’ll get there. Because when you go into the store, there was a…there was two back sections, right? A back, back section that was for posters and other items that…you were supposed to be an adult to go into that section. That was behind one set of velvet curtains. Then there was another set of velvet curtains before that, and there was a person usually there to say, whoa, whoa, kids. We would try to sneak by them or stuff in high school, I’ll admit it. I admit it. We were curious.
I’ll tell you what; our curiosity was more interesting than what we found, because it was all pretty not that…I mean, I guess…well, but anyway. The section before that…there used to be these posters that were incredibly popular, and they would be combined with glow-in-the-dark and black lights and other items like lava lamps and things. So, this section was the black light section. So, it was the second-to-the-last section of the store, and it had posters for metal bands and other things, psychedelic-type stuff, all in black light. Then there was the rest of the store, the front-half of the store and the checkout and everything like that. So, why is that important?
Well, because we went into the store and…so, when you looked in the store…so, there’s no…there’s less light in the mall because it’s not open, and the store lights were out. So, we went into the front-half of the store under the gate, right? Our plan was to go to the back of the store and go out the door. I’m thinking that Spence's door…I can't remember now, but I think our thought was that Spence's door probably opened right to the outside and not to an interior hallway, and that we’d just go out the door 'cause it was on the same side of the mall as Julius J Juice. Not in the same section, but facing the same direction. It has been some time and I’m just recollecting. So, but then…it was just this natural inclination that…as soon as we went through the first set of black velvet curtains, you could see nothing.
Even kinda holding the curtains open, which we tried to do while one person made it to the other side, it wasn’t possible, right? I don't know. It was also kinda cool because we kinda…when you’re in darkness with friends…dark…I don't know. This just sticks out to me 'cause this is what happened. But whatever, we tried everything we could do, and again, what we had…what…our original plan was to hold…one person hold the first set of black velvet curtains open. Somebody gets to the second set, holds those open, then somebody goes to the third set and finds the back storeroom in the store and holds those open, and then somebody goes all the way through. But then the first person…I think we tried to do that, right? But then it was like, at the back of the store there was no light.
Then the first person let go of the first curtain, and then it was total…then all of us were cloaked in total darkness, right? Then we kinda did a Marco Polo thing and we were trying to find our way to each other. Boyd had held the first curtain open, and Boyd kinda has…when you say a name like Boyd the Corncob Kid, they’ve got a voice that has some resonance, and Boyd was not an authority figure but because Boyd was just a very unique person, they had a sense of self that maybe the rest of us didn’t have wandering around in the darkness. So, Boyd was calling us over and we’re bumping into stuff, going into stuff. Thinking about this in reverse, we should have gone to the back of the store. But again, it was pitch dark and we’re like, Boyd…but whatever. So, we were trying to find one another.
At first it was kind of not the greatest experience, right? You don’t know where you are, you’re bumping into stuff…we’re already heightened in our senses, then we’re…then we start finding each other. First that’s a surprise, and then of course we had one more surprise, which was we found each other, then we were trying to…then somebody said, what? What’s that? Of course we see a pair of glow-in-the-dark comedy…oh, this is another thing they sold there. What is it? Like the stuff…not magic tricks but the other stuff, like smelly powder. This was one…it was the Googly Eyes Detective Kit, I think they would call it. I think Pee-wee Herman even had a pair of these, and maybe it even was in a Pee-wee Herman movie.
But we saw those, right? We said, my word, that’s…and we were kinda…we were all in the darkness, frozen, and then we heard…as we were kind of…all four of us unable to process ourselves, we heard something…I don't know if this is what they said, but this person said, welcome to Spence's, my dudes. I don't know if they used ‘my dudes’ at Spence's, but it was something like that, you know, or whatever the parlance was at the time. Again, we were…we could have been petrified wood. The person said, what can I help you with? You shouldn’t be…by the way, you shouldn’t be crawling around. They went off-script right away. You shouldn’t be crawling around here. Then they lit a lighter.
Again, none of us…this was not calming for any of us until we saw them, and even with the lighter…and they were the most Spence of Spence's. Even as…even in the light of a lighter, I guess, they had long hair and…by the way, it was…Spence's could be used for any gender identity, but this was a metal head dude, right? He was saying, my dudes. So, he had long hair. He was in his twenties…seemed like he was in his forties to us, but I would probably…he was probably in his twenties. He had on his Spence vest with his name; Hello, my name is Spence. But he said, come on, to the front of the store. Follow me…with his lighter, which eventually went out and then he had to turn it back on. They said, well, that was warm. We got to the front of the store when it was lit, and he was even…he was as Spence's as advertised.
We were already…and he was calm and cool and dominant for us, so we suddenly felt okay. Or, another line of thinking in my brain, at least, was this is an actor. He’s this godlike actor as a part of this performance we found ourselves in. He had this calm, warm look on his face of concern and caring, and I knew we were gonna be okay. But it was mostly…and I mean, this is strange, but gallons of metal testosterone, like the great JJ. You may have heard about the legendary drummer, JJ. Now he had…this Spence had a shirt on, but he said, put your hands up, which we were like, what? But we all did. He said, okay, good, good, good. I was afraid you might have got some of the broken bulbs on your hands. Then he said, look, brush off your pants and stuff.
‘Cause we had been crawling around a bit, too, and some of us had little bits of broken fluorescent bulb on our jeans and pants and the bottoms of our shoes. Then he kinda did a…ooh, boy. Oh yeah, man. Then for a little while, it was a back and forth that I’m not sure about, because right away…it started with San. He said, hey, we want…we don’t…we want this performance…we just want to leave. We gotta check in with our folks. We’re not…we didn’t…we just found ourselves in the mall. We’re sorry that we got involved in your performance and this theatre, but we’re ready to leave, blah, blah, blah. Then Josie started in, and I guess I felt the need to kind of also say, yeah…to be the polite one. Spence just stood there looking at us like, okay, okay.
Then Spence held up his hands and said, I have no idea what you’re talking about, dudes. Again, this is just my reinterpretation of it many, many years later. We were like, no, no, no, we don’t…is there an exit word? We don’t want to be a part of this mystery anymore. Please, you can break character or whatever. Spence said, I’m not a character, man. I’m at work and I’m glad you’re here and I’m glad…because I need your help. We went back and forth with this, right? Again, you do have to understand that there was something…maybe it was gravitas or some sort of more evolution-based thing, that this was this male figure who was not any of our fathers who was distilled maleness, that we only felt we could push things so far but also that he wasn’t pushing back or anything, that he had such a presence that he said, no, this is…so, it was intractable, in some sense.
But he said, I need your help. Then we even said, hold on, and then it was like…and then Boyd said, let’s just see how this goes. Then San said, well, we need your help, too. Then Spence clapped his hands and said, perfect, my dudes. We’ll work this out together. They said…Spence said, okay, what do you need help with, buddy? I think at this point it became ‘little buddy’ to at least San, to kinda say, well, just try to relax. He said, so, we gotta get outta here. Spence said, okay…but I think there was a phrase back then, and maybe it wasn’t on the get-down or the down-low or something, but it was like, okay, man, I get it, I get it. You need to get out the back, huh? San said, yeah, yeah…no, no, we need to get out the back right now, though. He said, okay, okay, I got the keys to the back.
Again, if it was a different situation…there was no sense of we were gonna emotionally overpower or sway Spence, even though we wanted to, right? San said well, we just want to leave now, though. Can you just give us the keys now? You have the keys? Then Spence kinda just said, you…seen…man? You can't even barely get through there. Couldn’t see the door if we needed…then he said, you have a lighter. Spence said, man, I just need your help. It’ll just take a few minutes. Eventually we were worn down to be…listen and reasonable by Spence's calmness and openness and dominance. So, we said, okay, and Spence said, yeah, okay, man. Alls you need to do is go down to the Tiki Transistor Hut, which sold a lot more than tiki trans…it was a tiki-themed hut for radios at one point.
It was a store, though, with tiki…tiki style. But it sold all sorts of different stuff at this point. In some sense it was a complementary shop to…it was more for electronics. But he said, somebody came in here and busted up all the black lights. I can't be working in…the poster room’s pitch dark, man. Then the after-dark room is too dark, too. So, I need you to go down to Tiki Transistor Hut and see if they…they do have black lights, and they have tube black lights and other kind of black lights. So, I need you to go down there and get some and bring them back. We were like…and he said, just keep a count and we’ll invoice them. Don't worry; we’re owned by the same parent company, so it’s fine. I even have the key to the gate, so you can go in there…and we’re not taking anything.
We’re gonna…you keep track and I’ll write up a invoice and we’ll make sure they get paid. Nothing…you know, there’s nothing strange about it. But you…Spence needs the posters to be on display. Again, it was a little bit tiring going back and forth again, but Spence was just so reasonable and made us feel unreasonable. He said, go ahead, man; here’s the key off my keychain. Got the key to the back door. Once you get those lights, you can hit the road. So, then we had…eventually we gave in and we went under the gate, the front of Spence's, and we headed out. Again, it was in the same section of the mall, across the way and down, so a little bit aways…a couple of planters and things in the way. So, a little bit of a walk.
We head to the Tiki Transistor Hut and of course, as with the last tale, before we got there, we heard something. That’s when, again, we said, okay, this is this theatre. It doesn't make sense except with the model we have of the No Fooling On April First movie, that we’re in this without a option. So, okay, so we go down there, and the person…the voice was somewhat…not intimidating. It was someone saying, I need some customer service here. I need some customer service, which was weird 'cause the gate was down. But again we said, okay, well, this is a task. We’ve all…I mean, my friends and I, we’ve played roleplaying games, we played video games. Maybe this was the last quest to get outta there. So, we opened the gate to the Transistor Tiki Hut. This didn’t have any backroom or anything.
It was a open shop, and we saw around the corner…now, we weren’t totally surprised, but we were…but this was not a animatronic but a person dressed up in a very elaborate costume that was made to be an amalgamation of people put together, and…that we’ve seen in films with…the original was made by Victor, and…but there’s been…Mel Brooks has done it and…of Frankies, right? But this was a female Frankie asking for customer service at the Transistor Tiki Hut. Again, you might say…but it was like, we were immersed in something we were trying to get out of at this point. So, our disbelief was in a different place. It was a very impressive costume. As soon as we opened the gate, it said, about time. Which one of you works here, all of you?
This is when I thought everybody was kinda on the same page, 'cause Boyd said, oh, we’ll be right with you. We just gotta get everything set up. Then Boyd…Boyd, who I thought was in it to…was…I had kinda given into the thing of like, okay, let’s just complete this quest. Spence will let us out, and then there will be…we’ll be able to leave, or maybe there will be…I don't know. I was just following the track laid out for us. I thought everybody was but then Boyd said, one second; I’ll be right with you. Boyd said, okay, we can always check the door here, too, and see if we could just get out here, now that we’re in the store, and we could see if this key works. So, you distract them and I’ll go…give me the key. I’ll go get the…I’ll see if this works on the door.
‘Cause this was a more traditional store, so it had a back area where only the employees would go behind the counter to get stock or to come and go and check in for work. So, then we went up to this person…Franny is their name, which we found out, and we said…actually it was Josie…said, welcome to Transistor Tiki Hut. How can I help you? ‘Cause we forgot that Josie worked…used to work at Transistor Tiki Hut. Any tiki-licious transistors we can turn you on to? You have to do this…again, these were these themed stores. You’d do this ‘hang-ten’ sign. Very cringey, I guess at this point, and if you were in high school, people would go and watch you do it and make fun of you.
For some reason, being at Spence's was cool but working at Transistor Tiki Hut was more for people to stand outside and laugh when you had to participate, but pretending your name was Spence was something to be idolized. But again, Spence didn’t hire…Spence's wouldn’t hire high school students. That was it. So, this person said, well, I’m Franny and I need to get this stuff up and working. We noticed that Franny had some broken glass, so…not that it was a mystery…kind of imprinted on their…like they had been crawling around in broken black lights. Of course, Santos said, well, haven’t you…what are you…didn’t you already try to do this? ‘Cause…oh, so, Franny was around the section that had other…black lights and other novelty lights, plasma lights, lava lamps, glitter lamps. Franny knew what they were.
Then we said, well, what can we help you with? Then it was a…this was a long story. I don't think I can just give you the highlights 'cause it fits the larger picture. This was Franny, right? Like Frankie, Franny explained to us that she was the amalgamation of ultimate companions of the world. Not that kind of companion, she looked at me and said. Famous people, blah, blah, blah, and I’ve been taught to be the ultimate…but no one wants me as their ultimate companion. I’m versed in conversation, games, blah, blah, blah. We didn’t really know how to breach the subject 'cause I said, well, you…maybe…but you’re a physical amalgamation of companions or figures. She even said, this…check out my forearm; it’s…I can't even remember. Whatever, some famous talker or something.
Let’s just say, this is Samuel Clemens. This is…and we said, yeah, but Samuel Clemens has gone on to the big farm and left that forearm to become a part of…you know, return to the circle of life. So, that is already in a process of returning to the circle of life and it’s kind of off-putting, and I prefer not to be in the vicinity of it, though it’s really cool. I don't know, what…do they do that with latex or what? So, we did try to say stuff like that, and Franny was using terms like ‘wretched’ and whatever. We said, okay, well…oh, Boyd came back at some point and said, the key doesn't work. But if I can get some help…whispered this to us, obviously. I could find something…and San, you come with me, and we’ll try to…we’ll get the door open. We’ll work the door open. But you keep working here. Buy us time or work it out.
So, again, we went through this…it was just Josie and I and Franny. We said, okay, well, what do you need help with? Pretend…it wasn’t pretend for Josie. Said, okay, well, what do you need? Oh, because there was also…on the boxes, there’s pictures of all this stuff. Franny said, this is exactly the stuff I need. I tried to get it in the other room, and I need to get this stuff. I need to get it back to where the Maiden of Iron is. That took us a while to figure out, but we said, oh, it was the posters. There was a famous character on the posters of the Maiden of Iron. She was a powerful figure. Also, more similar to an anatomical being for decorative purposes.
So, we said, okay, wait a second, so…and this is mostly Josie using Tiki…Transistor Tiki Hut training to say, okay, so you need these…Franny’s pointing at the plasma balls and the plasma tubes and the black lights and the electric lava lamp, like this circle that looks like lightning. Okay, so you need this stuff and you need it at the Transistor Tiki Hut. Okay, okay, but for what again? Well, I need to become the Maiden of Iron. We said, well, why? It said, well, then people will like me. Again, this was something we could relate to…mistakenly we were relating, saying, oh yeah, that’s one of the reasons we go to Spence's, is to…'cause part of us wants to be like one of the Spence's, particularly this Spence we had just been in the presence of. We could barely over…we couldn’t overpower that Spence even with argument.
Who doesn't want to be a Spence? So, we said, okay, so you just need us to bring you back there and then, yeah, I’m gonna refine…I’m gonna become the Maiden of Iron — this is what Franny was saying — and then I’m gonna return. Then we said, to the Multiplex? She said, what? No, no, France. We said, okay, but through the Multi…like, you’re gonna get back to France through the room with chairs and carpet? Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s where I came in. Then I was lost, then I saw the Maiden of Iron and I knew…I came back here to renew my purpose. I gotta go back. I need people to realize that I’m the…obviously there’s this whole shrine to the Maiden of Iron. She must be adored, and I need to be adored. That’s my purpose as ultimate companion constructed and amalgamated.
Now, there was a little bit of thing here…that we had read this book and we had all even written joke poetry either in journals as Victor or about Victor or what was…what it would be like to be Victor’s friend, and none of it was very nice to Victor. Even Franny’s state made us say, what’s up with this Victor dude? But so, that was always in our minds 'cause that was a year earlier we had read that book in school. But it was Frankie and Victor, my story, by Victor. That was the book, right? So, we had written Frankie’s story. So, we were kind of like, oh boy, yeah, you’ve got…you didn’t ask for this, huh? So, we’ll help you. Okay, then Boyd and San came back and said, we got the door. Let’s go. This was when we were already…Josie was already in work mode, right?
So, Josie was already helping gather everything we would need, kinda going through everything and getting as many black lights as they…as we would need, and even keeping track, to be honest. I was kinda like, okay, well, we could just complete this quest, though. They were like, no, no, no, we can leave now. We got a door open to the back hallway. Let’s go. I was a little bit torn, and Josie was not. Josie said, okay, okay, okay, let me just put everything together and finish writing this up, and then they’ll figure it out. You’ll figure it out, right, Franny? Franny said, well, I need to get all this…I’ll need you…and we said, okay, don't worry, we’ll help you. Josie said that.
I was still unsure, and then Boyd said, don't worry…he goes, if you really want to stop at Julius J Juice, we could come back or we could get the juice or we’ll figure out something else, but let’s just go now and get outta here and forget Franny, forget Spence…which I kinda felt bad about, right, because we had always been taught to strive to be our best, and this was a situation where we were supposed…even though it was like, okay, if we’re playing a game, we’re supposed to play the game to win and complete the quest even if we don’t like it anymore. If we’re saying we’re gonna help Spence, we’ve made a obligation. We should help Spence. Now we’re saying we’re helping Franny. You made an…you stick to your obligations. You’re obliged to be…you’re obligated to be obliged or something.
I was taught through nature and nurture these lessons; nature by my sister and nurture by my parents. So, I know…but then I could see that San and Josie, through their family…and Boyd in another way. But I was like, sometimes you gotta let those things go, right, and get out…like, it’s time to go. It’s time to go. I got caught up in that and I said, okay, let’s go. Then Franny said, well, where are you going? I said, oh, we’re gonna…I lied directly to Franny. I said, we’ll be right back. We’re just gonna go in back and check stuff. Even Josie said, okay, everything’s right there that you need and then we’re gonna bring it to Spence's, or you could bring it to Spence's, get a head start. Then we went out through the employee…into the stockroom and the break room and out into the service hallway, leaving Franny and heading out.
But I wouldn’t be telling you this if it was the end of the story, but it might be the end because we went down…and of course we had forgotten about that alert that had gone and that, yeah, we got to a set of doors and those doors were not…in the hallway in both directions, the doors that kind of compartmentalized the building were closed and not going to be opened by even four teens. I think they involved magnets and stuff like that. So, we…first we all just sat there, kinda defeated, and that’s a good time…we took a little break because it was…I was embarrassed. I said, what are we gonna do now? Even though a few minutes had passed, it was like we had already done something wrong. But now, looking back at it, we were just kids doing the best we could. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens next. We’ll be back pretty soon here. This is your friend Wyatt saying goodnight.
[END OF RECORDING]
(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
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