Bedtime stories to help grown ups fall asleep in the deep, dark night.

Episode 1467 – Meandering Barefoot Path | Checking Into Boredom Ep 5

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time to take a meandering journey maybe with a little bit of walking and a whole lot of talking, but no Chris…I don't do a Christopher Walken, but I could do a Christopher…Christopher walking, a character named…there’s no Christopher…a character named Chris…I'd like to do some walking on streets named after Christophers and Christines and Chrises. Is there a Chris…? This has…this is not a holiday — even seasonally — episode, but is…? I know there’s Candy Cane Lane, 'cause I think that’s a song. Is there a Kris Kringle Lane? Kris Kringle Road, Kris Kringle Street, Kris Kringle Boulevard…I don't think you put Kris Kringle…Kringle Boulevard…Kringle Boulevard; we love it. Kris Kringle Lane, though, doesn't…they’d say, well, that’s already taken by Candy…well, can't you have more than one lane in this holiday village that has nothing…? How did I get on to Kris Kringle Lane any…?

Well, I’m supposed to be…I'm not even supposed to be on Candy Cane Lane. Kris Kringle…Kringle Boulevard…where do…how did we get here? Well, welcome. How did you get here? I’m glad you're here. I don't know how you got here, but I don't even know how I got here. I was…honestly, for fifteen to thirty seconds, however long it took me to start the podcast, I was like, wow, this is sounding very stern and serious. I don't have anything silly to even say. I honestly had…I was like, I can't force this stuff, either. So, I was like, well, I’ll just do a straightforward beginning of the podcast, just do my best. Then I was like, okay, I know the story of this episode has a meandering path in it. Next thing you know, Kris…Kringle…next thing you know, we're driving down Kringle Boulevard. Kris Kringle Creek; yeah, that could be…Kris Kringle Creek; that could be…Kris Kringle Creek…Kris Kringle Circle? No. Are there hard K things for roads?

Kris Kringle Canal; that’s not…anyway, so…by the way, welcome to Sleep With Me. This is just the very, very beginning of the show. It’s a podcast to take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep, to be your friend in the deep, dark night, to keep you company while you drift off, to be a mild distraction, ideally to help you fall asleep or to just bring you comfort in the deep, dark night, maybe some sleepy joy and delight. The show is very, very different than most things on planet Earth. Like, who would think…? I think this episode’s scheduled…I'm recording it in April, scheduled to come out in August, and alls I can think about is Kringle Boulevard. That just has a nice ring to it. I’m not a big…I'm not a big boulevard person because usually that mean…here in the US…I mean, technically it means it’s got something in the middle of it. But usually it just means it’s not good for walking. But anyway, I’m glad you're here. This show does take some getting used to, so give it two or three tries.

That’s just what most regular listeners have told me over the years; it took two or three tries to get used to the show. Now I come here for this kind of nonsense. I would have never believed that someone who’s technically a grown adult rambling, just trying to start their podcast which should only take one to two seconds, going off topic and then not being able to get off being off topic would put me to sleep, but it does. That’s what takes two or three tries. Would you believe it? So, just give it two or three tries, 'cause I’m really glad you're here. I really do hope I can help you out, 'cause I’ve been there in the deep, dark night. That’s why I call it that. But one of the things that helps is striving to bring sleepy joy and delight, not even getting there, and just being there for you if I can.

So, I’m glad you're here whether you're brand new, you come back to the show when you need it in the times of your life where sleep is elusive or challenging or you're feeling it in the deep, dark night or the day, or you're one of our regular listeners. Only one out of five people…I think twenty percent, right? So, one out of five people listen to the show on a fairly regular basis three or more times a week. If you're one of those regular listeners, I’m glad you're here night after night and that I can help you out. So, what we got coming up is support so that paying for the show is optional. It really comes down to that…those one in five people that desire to support the show or the sponsors. So, if that’s you, if you could consider that…but after the support we have a long, meandering intro meant to ease you into bedtime, and then later on we’ll have our episodically modular bedtime story, Checking Into Boredom. So, I’m glad you're here. I work really hard. I yearn and I strive. I really hope I can help you fall asleep. Thanks again for coming by. Oh yeah, I guess I kinda already mentioned; if this show changes your life on a nightly basis, if you could check out these sponsors, consider supporting the show, it’d be great. Thanks.

Intro: 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. That could be thoughts on your mind, thoughts about the prast…prast, prast thoughts. It’s a word we’ve used on the show before. Or about the past, the present, the future, thoughts that just appear at bedtime or that build at bedtime or increase in their…that word that starts with a V; vociferously or whatever. They're there. You say, everything was quiet until I went to bed, quiet and peaceful ‘til my head hit the pillow. It’s the story of my life.

So, it could be thoughts, it could be feelings, anything related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there on their own, or feelings about boulevards or Kris Kringle. I get it, I get it. I do. Obviously my brain can't stop thinking about…huh, we’d love…I'd love a…not a wrist; a list of roads. Kris Kringle Road just doesn't do it for me. Candy Cane Lane…Kris Kringle Lane does. I can see that. You say, oh yeah, we’ve got…it’s called Holiday Development. It just developed in my imagination recently. You could do a brisk novelty sign business there. I guess Santa…you can't really sell Santa Claus or Kris…you say, I go by Kris Kringle, okay? When I’m working I’m Santa. So, you couldn't really sell…would that get you…? You’d say, yeah, I got a sign; Sleigh Parking Only. I got bumper stickers: My Other Car’s A Sleigh, My Other Sleigh’s A Car. I got that one, too. Would…? Santa would be like, it sounds perfect. We just moved in. Street’s named after me. Did you…? Oh, I did. That’s why I’m here.

That’s exactly why I’m here. How much do you charge for the signs? Forty…for the Sleigh Parking Only, we charge $40,000, Santa. I mean, Mr…sorry. You'll never…I guess I’d take that. I’d take that and years of cola. I can understand. I'm kidding, I’m kidding, Santa Claus. Of course I’d…if I had…if I wrote the sign, it’d be illegible. So, I’m already doing you a…it’s only in my imagination. So, it could be feelings about any of that stuff, it could be physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, work schedule, maybe you work a different schedule, maybe your work schedule changed, maybe you got something coming up, you're going through something, or you're in the middle of something. Whatever it is, I’m here to take your mind off of stuff and keep you company so you could fall asleep, and also to reassure you that you're among people that want to understand, that want you to feel welcome, and that desire that you have some comfort.

They're literally…right now across the world there are people sending you well wishes right now in this moment that have been in someplace similar to whatever it is that brought you here. There’s people around the world that really get it. I may be…I think I can understand at least some of the feelings that brought you here, but even if I can't, there’s enough people listening right now that people get it and they're glad you're here. I am, too, because you deserve a bedtime you don't have to dread, a bedtime you could look forward to or at least feel neutral about, and a bedtime where you get the rest you need on a regular basis so you could be out there living your life, and maybe you get the rest you need on such a regular basis that you're out there in the world flourishing. That means our world is a better place to be in with you in it. So, that’s what I’m here to try to do in the kinda softest and most indirect way possible. The way I do it is I send my voice across the deep, dark night.

I use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. So, I go off topic, I get mixed up, I forget what I was talking about, then I say, wait a second, did I forget what I was…? What was I talking about? Then I repeat myself. I mean, we’ve already seen it…twice, I think, I’ve already gone off topic in an epic way at the beginning of the show. Yeah, and my voice is not traditionally soothing. So, you say, what am I doing here? That’s how most people…when they get here…you may be confused, you may have searched for the show, you may have been referred by somebody, but you're like, what is going on here? I don't understand. If you get here and you feel that way, that’s…makes…totally makes sense. This show is a bit different, and it does take some getting used to. Like, most people when they got here…is this person just talking non…? I thought this was a sleep podcast. Where are the…?

Not Belgian bells, but those nice bells or bowls or…how come there’s nothing…? There’s nothing ethereal about this show. I’d say, you're probably right about that. I mean, my sense…my common sense, you could call it ethereal, but I could also say, I don't think I could spell or define that word. I can only see visually a mist with…a little bit like if I was watching the northern lights through a light fog. Can you define ethereal? Oh, I just did. You can't define a word visually. Okay, well, that’s the only way I know how. Is that a metaphor? No, that’s my definition of ethereal; the northern lights through a light fog. Honestly, I think it’s in the general vicinity of it. But anyway, I got…so, the show’s very different. Just give it a few tries, see how it goes, and at some point if you're…you become a regular listener, you're like, oh, okay, now I get it. He’s always going nowhere. He does accidentally move in ethereal ways. He’s always never getting started.

But also, if the show is not for you, and whether you know that right now in this moment or you do give it two or three tries and then you say, nah, it never helped me out, you don't have to worry. We have a website set up, sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou, and that has other sleepy stuff out there for you to discover, like sleep podcasts and other sleepy stuff, 'cause you still deserve a good night's sleep whether you like the show, whether you like me. If it doesn't help you out, I want you to find something that does. But that also kinda…I think there is this thing of like, you don't have to like me or the show. There’s no pressure at all. So, just give it a try and see how it goes. There’s no need to like me or the show, so just see what happens. It’s like a offering. You say, okay, I’ll try it out. So, that’s one thing that takes getting used to. This is a podcast…you don't even care if I like you or not? No, I just understand if you don't like me, and I’m open to that.

I’ve been doing this…and I know what it’s like not to be able to sleep and to not…to try a ton of different stuff and have none of it work. So, if that’s what you're going through, I’d like to help you out either way. It’s also hard to get used to a podcast that you don't really listen to. If you listen to a lot of podcasts or you listen to shows or books, this is kind of like a TV on in the other room or a audiobook you're not paying attention to, or about a subject you're not interested in, or sports, but it’s just in the background…a show streaming under your pillow, sand passing through your hands, a boring seminar, clouds in the sky, wind in the trees, a class, or a friend that just goes on and on and on. You say, hey, is it okay if I don't really pay attention to you? Yeah, that’s okay. An out-of-focus picture, nice water passing through your feet and your toes, something that’s there and not there at the same time. You could listen to it, but you don't need to listen to it.

‘Cause the other thing is that this is a sleep podcast where there’s no pressure to fall asleep. These shows are over an hour for a reason so you don't have to think about falling asleep. I’m not here to put you to sleep. I’ve been doing this thirteen years, or over thirteen years. Oh no, I guess a little bit less than…? I don't know. But I’ve been doing this long enough that, one, I know what it’s like when something’s supposed to work. It usually doesn't…but also that maybe what I always really wanted was just someone there that understood and said, hey, I’ll be here for you; that seems really tough. That’s kinda one part of it, and then somebody to kinda take my mind off of stuff with something soothing, a little bit lighthearted and funny and friendly, and that’s what this show is about. So, there’s no pressure to fall asleep. There’s over 600 — I think — shows you could listen to if you listen to this ad-supported, listener-supported, free version. Yeah, so, try it out and see what helps you out.

But yeah, there’s no pressure to fall asleep. My job’s to distract you, take your mind off of stuff, and keep you company, to be your bore-friend, your bore-sib, your bore-cuz, your bore-bruh, your bore-bud, your borebie, your boreman, your Boris Borelaf, your chairman of the boreds, your Jeff Borebowski, your bore-bae, your borebie, your boreman, your neighbore, your best bore-friend f’eva. A bore-friend just hangs out with you while you fall asleep, who’s there for you, a mild distraction that maybe puts a half a smile on your face. So, having a bore-friend does take some getting used to, too, but see how it goes. It’s a lot better than, I don't know, when I was…I don't know. For me it was always that I was in a house full of people, or I had a roommate, or I had somebody with me, or I knew someone was nearby but I still felt like I was dealing with it, just me, or that nobody understood. A bore-friend says, hey, I’ll be here to take your mind off of stuff, 'cause that does seem tough.

So, just try it out and see how it goes. The last thing I like to run through in the intro is the structure of the show. In case you're new, not only is the show different; the structure’s different. But the show is structured in a way to benefit the maximum amount of people it possibly can. So, the show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you feel seen and welcomed in. You say, okay, I could check that show out. Then there’s support for sponsors and requests for listener support so that most people don't have to pay for the show, because most people are either new or they listen a few times a year when they really need the show, or they're not in a place where they can support the show or they want to. If this show was just behind a paywall, they wouldn't get to benefit, and that’s most of the people that listen. The sponsors and the people that support the show enable us to do that. It’s pretty great.

So, if you don't like the ads or the support, you could either support the show or just understand, hey, this is how we do it for everybody. So, that’s that. Then next is the intro, which is totally separate from the support. It’s a show within a show. It takes fifteen to twenty to thirty minutes for me to introduce the podcast. Part of it is natural meandering, but another part of it is that I want every intro to be new and fresh, because whatever it is that keeps me awake, it gets used to things, but it also wants something familiar and comforting, but it wants some variety. So, the intro follows a similar structure every time, but I go off topic about something new every time or in a general area of newness, whatever…I forgot whatever we…oh yeah, I don't think we’ve named streets after…I don't think we’ve had Kris Kringle Boulevard come up. Sorry, Kringle Boulevard. It could be the boulevard where they make those Kringles. I think it’s in Wisconsin that Trader Joe's sells.

Here’s an imaginary petition to rename…if that place that they make them is on a road, if we could rename it Kringle Boulevard and give them a key to the city…and I could wear…I wouldn't mind wearing a kringle around my neck. A kringle is like a circular danish. It’s kinda like a extra-long danish. They sell them at Trader Joe's. But so, what…? Oh, the intro goes on and on and on before I go on a twenty-minute tangent about a kringle production place. A bakery. They're called…oh, thank you. One part of my brain was just like, they're called bakeries. Not a kringle production place or pastry…PPP? It’s not a pastry production place? Well, technically you're right. Well, thanks, logical brain. We’ve met in a place of agreement. Bakery…also a place of pastry production. Okay, good, good. So…oh, the intro keeps going on and on and on. Also, it’s not just to have something fresh and introduce what the podcast is, but to set the mood for bedtime. Most listeners don't fall asleep during the intro.

The intro is what people listen to while they're getting ready for bed and while they're winding down, maybe even trying outside of your bedroom to do some sort of chill activity, join other listeners and stuff, and get eased into bedtime, but wherever you are, whether you're in the bathroom brushing your teeth and washing your face, you're in bed getting comfortable, you're petting your pet somewhere. The intro is kinda like a sleepover after we watch the movies and stuff, where the thing…the volume’s slowly getting lowered, a buffer between being awake and asleep. That’s what’s worked for me as I’ve learned more about sleep over…it works for me most of the time, is having a wind-down period. So, that’s what the intro does. If you fall asleep fast, you're probably not hearing this, but please support the show.

Or if you fall asleep fast and you just…you're better off listening to the story-only versions of the show because…and we have a free version of the pod…or if you discover you don't like the intros, there’s a version of the podcast called Bedtime Stories from Sleep With Me. It just has the stories. But yeah, most intros, it’s kind of like our community time, when everybody’s like, oh boy. I’m sure there’s tons of listeners that thought of other names for roads or streets than I did. So, I mean, that’s great, a great reflection on all the intelligent people that listen to the show and creative people that listen to the show that aren't…that have a much larger vocabulary than I. But that’s cool, right? So, yeah, that’s the intro, then after the intro will be support, then after the support will be our episodically modular series, Checking Into Boredom, and all told, we’ll be here a bit over an hour, and I’m really, really, glad you're here. I work really hard on this show. So do a bunch of other people.

We really yearn and strive to help you get the rest you need, to bring you sleepy joy and delight. So, we work…put out so many different styles of shows, and we put out shows on a regular basis 'cause we're committed to this. So, I’m really glad you're here and I really hope we can help you out. If this show helps you out on a regular basis, like you would miss this podcast…if the podcast was gone tomorrow, you'd be…have a frowny face, please consider supporting the show or one of these sponsors. Thanks.

Alright everybody, it’s Scoots here, and it’s time for our episodically modular series, Checking Into Boredom. What does episodically modular mean? It means these episodes are…these are…I don't know, I think this is one of the most self-contained series we’ve ever had. Each episode, a character very much like Scooter helps a client…they work for a hotel chain called The Hotel as the bedtime storyteller, and they're trying to tell their client a very unique bedtime story to help them fall asleep, but they're also working serving a greater purpose as a part of the hotel. Each episode will kinda be Scooter getting to know the client, getting to know what they do, who they are, and of course Scooter taking pointless meanders. Episodically modular means that, yeah, the episodes, they tell you everything you need to know and they have…they reach a conclusion. So, you could listen to them in any order. This just happens to be Episode 5, I believe, the fifth episode I’ve recorded.

So yeah, I think that’s…that may be everything you need to know. I’m trying to think of anything else, other than every…just like every series we do, they get introduced by our Greater Los Angeles Area announcer, who I like to call our Hollywood announcer. But he loves Hollywood, West Hollywood, North Hollywood, Dollywood…that was in a previous episode. He’s nodding. I don't know if he’s been there, but I’m sure he loves it either way. So, I get to introduce him. He comes here on stored, renewable energies. Is that correct? Shrugged at that one, too. All the way here for the love of the listeners, it’s Mr…I'm surprised…well, I guess you're the…I just…sorry, I interrupted him. But I was saying, I’m sure you've been given degrees, right, from universities and stuff. He won't even…he’s not doing any body language, so he won't give me an answer. So…but you don't go by Doctor, but you probably could. If there was a doctorate at being kind and compassionate and…is there a word…?

It’s not…you know, the…emboullion or whatever that word is? That’s…if I could defer a doctorate…I also have squeaky elbows. The doctor of squeaky elbows. Well, he says they don't make a squeak. Mr. Antonio Banderas. Ah, the friends beyond the binary, the ladies, the gentlemen, the boys and girls, it’s Dr. Squeaky Elbows here. It’s time to check into boredom, ringing a bell like…as a podcast for Stevie B, too. Yeah. Thanks, Antonio. By the way, have you read Stephen’s book, Escape? Yeah, it’s pretty great, huh? Oh, Antonio likes the book, too. Just a little shout out to Stephen Fishbach’s book, Escape! with an exclamation point. Check it out. It may be also…I think that’s the title. Antonio’s really laughing now. One thing I’m great at is putting in promotions and…when I carry glasses or whatever. Anyway, that’s Mr. Antonio Banderas. This is Checking Into Boredom.

Hello, everybody. I’m your narrator, and I’m here to kinda fill you in on everything you need to know and narrate this tale of our bedtime storyteller and The Hotel. Now, I just want to fill you in. I believe the person who operates this audio broadcast filled you in, too. So, this episode is about a bedtime storyteller. He goes by different names. Tonight he checked into the hotel as Sir Cadian. In the past I think he’s checked in as Tangerine Tangent and Noir Chardonnay. He doesn't need to…I mean, he does feel it’s necessary to. The staff is always expecting it because he’s not checking in as a customer. Also, I think he’s been told various times to just…he gets in line every time for the queue, can't decide between the frequent queue or the regular queue. Normally he gets to the hotel and there’s no one lined up, anyway. Then he tries to check in even though he works there, though he does stay in a room, and frequently he says, do you have the room…?

Well, he tried this and it backfired, actually, twice. He said, do you have a room reserved for Sir Cadian? Closest…the room closest to the elevator and the ice machine and any teens or celebratory things? Then they say, of course we do. Yeah, we do have a room set aside just for you, sir. Sir Cadian, in this case. Are you from….? Are you Sir…? No, no, Sir…no, I didn't mean it like a royal Sir. I wish I was a royal Sir. So, he checks into the hotel where he’s the bedtime storytell…the official bedtime storyteller of the chain of hotels called The Hotel, and The Hotels are scattered around the world. They are a luxury, upscale hotel, though they don't tend to be in the largest cities or the second-largest cities in each part of the world they're in, but they tend to be in pretty good cities. I don't know why…maybe they're niche. I don't know. As a narrator I’m only given the information I need to tell this bedtime story.

But The Hotels also serve a greater purpose, or some of the employees for The Hotel, for the hotels tend to be…to use early Sleep With Me podcast parlance, near what could also be known as openings in the transverse plane, or places to access the transverse plane, which just happens to be places where our world may intersect with other worlds. Now, as far as we know, these intersections where the hotels are, they may intersect with some place that The Hotel is supposed to keep an eye on so that it’s not like this open transverse plane where…well, we don't quite know, but we know that the hotel’s job…and it seems like a long-term, maybe even ancient duty…no, duty with a T-Y to…ancient duty; they call that rocks, don't they? But so, sorry. Just please indulge me. Occasionally the narrator has to indulge himself.

But so, the hotels have been around for a long time watching over these particular intersections between our world and another world, though, yeah, we don't have all the details other than they're keeping an eye on it, and every once in a while a situation comes up where they need some clues. One of the tools in their toolkit is this bedtime storyteller, and while he’s not the top-of-the-line person to watch over borders between worlds and what’s coming…may be coming across or not, he’s pretty good at discovering clues, as you'll see in this tale. But the…whatever other world they're involved with, whatever’s happening on these portals or intersection of planes, they're being more cautious, which takes a lot more time than we have. When Scooter goes and checks into the hotel, then he meets with the Sundries Supervisor, which I just believe is like the hotel manager or the hotel…I don't know, I guess maybe it’s separate, the manager and the detective.

But he gets his who, what, where, when, why, how, more or less, of like, hey, this is what we need you to do. But since they've been more aware of maybe someone paying attention that does…they try to do it…I think as of right now, the other world does not know Scooter…they just think he’s a bumbling bedtime storyteller serving the greater purpose of bedtime stories, but not serving the greater purpose for the hotel, 'cause it’s also a regular hotel. It just happens to have this extra mandate, and that’s a secret mandate. They also want…most of the people that work at the hotel are not aware of the secret mandate. Maybe I’ve never mentioned that before. So, Scooter went and met with this particular Sundries Supervisor, and they went over who the client was, basically, and this hotel is…holy cow, I’ll just tell you about the architecture so Scooter doesn't have to. It’s amazing.

It’s in Daejon, South Korea, which is about…I think…not the first or second or third-largest city, but it has so much beautiful natural and…architecture, including this building, which…the lobby of the hotel is a giant former power plant. So, it’s a brick, towering structure that in the past would have been multiple floors of an industrial building, but with giant, giant windows as well that they converted just into the lobby of the hotel, and then the lobby is…or the rest of the hotel is built adjacent of this powerful, powerful building that formerly helped supply power. So, it’s got that…I don't know, it’s quite cool, quite a cool building. There’s other locations that are quite nice, some of which we unfortunately don't have time to visit, but maybe one day we will. I don't know. So, Scooter was told that his client, he would be meeting her at the…this tower, at this expo park, which was formerly where basically a World’s Expo took place, which I think is very similar to a World’s Fair.

He was told that they weren't exactly sure…I think they've learned a new technique with Scooter, which is that the less he knows the better he can be at getting clues. So, they kind of explain, hey, get to know this client. She’s working for the hotel. She’s having trouble sleeping. She seems…she’s experienced some dissatisfaction inside and outside of sleep, it seems like, and we want you to help her out and also see what you could find out, because we need to get…obviously this is part of your job. Now, Scooter also always asks for a gadget based on his kind of expectations that one day he would be…become more than just a bedtime storyteller, 'cause he watched so much fiction with 00s and different things like that, that he wants to be…the top people for the hotel that work in mystery, are part of the Periodic Table of Elements. I think the only character we came across was Iridium, or IR.

Scooter hopes one day…but for now he was like, I’ll take a gadget, particularly the ones that are like the ones from the films he used to watch a lot of, or the books he used to read a lot of. Though you and I both know that…well, in this case he said…he always pauses, and after hours and hours of them just trying to explain this information that it took me ten or fifteen minutes to explain to you…just go meet the client. Oh, do you have anything else for me? The Sundries Supervisor normally forgets. So…oh, oh, of course, of course, of course. He pulls out a pair of lower-end…well, so, the hotel had changed over years ago for indoor slippers, because you take your shoes off when you enter the hotel and then again when you enter the room. They actually have someone that checks your shoes in at the front door. But then outside your room…and now, at least at The Hotel, you wear something a little bit more like…not a Croc, but something made from a foam that’s comfortable, that’s reusable, and able to be really shined up and stuff like that, and it’s also very comfortable, and you could purchase them.

They're branded but they also look nice. So, not a slipper, but a indoor shoe…an indoor…a comfortable, indoor shoe. They have an indoor and then an indoor-indoor shoe. The way they…oh, that’s a great question; how do you remember? They're different colors, right? So, for the lobby and stuff, they're a black color. ‘Cause you say, okay, I’m like…that’s in case I’m going out to dinner at the hotel. I feel like something…and then the ones in the room, you actually get to pick at check-in. They could be in any number of colors. But they also, at one time, used to do this, but then in the room they had slip…hotel slippers. So, behind the Sundries Supervisor happened to be a box of old indoor slippers they no longer use anymore. They would give them away to people or…so, he’s looked at Scooter and he guessed Scooter’s…and he said, oh yeah, here, here, it’s your very special pair of slippers. Scooter said, do they have…? I don't feel any lasers in here.

Is there any kind of…is there a grappling hook built…? They said, no, not in the slippers. How did you know which of those slippers were gonna be the ones that are…? Are you sure you gave me the right ones? ‘Cause I don't detect anything in here. They're very pocketable. They said, yeah, you could put them right in your back pocket in case you find you need a third pair of slippers. They are indoor slippers and they are a nice Terrycloth. The bottom’s a little bit of rubber or something. Scooter said, okay, what about the rest…? That’s a pretty big box of slippers. Oh yeah, you like slippers? We could give you a couple more pairs. Just keep them separate from your gadget slippers. So, Scooter actually did…said, oh yeah, I’ll take…can I take three or four pairs? Just in case. I want to be at my thinking…gadget slippers, pacing slippers, thinking slippers, relax…you know. You know, I might need them. I might need them. They humored him and gave him his slippers.

Now Scooter was told to go down to the expo park and meet his client, Jiwon, at the Hanbit Tower, the Tower of Great Light. Now, this was part of the Daejon Expo, which was 1993. So, the tower is 93 meters tall. There’s also 1,993 pieces of granite at its base, and it’s in something called the Expo Science Park. Its architecture is very fitting for somebody like Scooter. Or, I mean, it’s very cool. It’s kinda futuristic. It has something like circular up on the tower. At night it has a projection show and lights and everything. But the observatory level…it’s just very futuristic, but a retro-futuristic kinda look. So, Scooter went up the elevator to the top and looked around for his client, and eventually he met Jiwon and said hello. Then obviously it took a while…oh, I’m your bed…thanks for inviting me up to this tower. I’m glad they explained I like to get to know my clients better.

Scooter had one piece of information about her, that she worked on walking paths, which during his interview was another whole thing that the Sundries Supervisor tried to skip over. Just…well, what do you mean walking paths? Like a English garden path? A walking…they said, just don't worry about it. It’s too hard to explain. Let the client explain it to you. So, he was…he said, well, thanks. I’m glad…at least glad you understand I like to get to know anybody I’m working with, a very non-traditional…trying to form a bedtime story. My job is really not to even help you with sleep; it’s to tell you a bedtime story and kinda unlock whatever’s going on. He’s…laughed, and he was actually in a disarming mood, 'cause he said, usually it’s like by accident, too. He goes, 'cause I think I just make people aware of what’s happening, and it’s…and then he went…started to go on a tangent about…oh, this tower is so cool, by the way. How did you know I’d want to check this…?

Oh, it’s a very popular thing here. Yeah, I thought we could view the mountains around the city. He said, oh yeah, well, there used to be this playground. Not by my house, but like forty-five…forty minutes from my house. Auburn, New York, he said. It was kinda like this but smaller. It was like…you wouldn't believe it. It was like a rocket ship. I just found out about the company that makes it. Believe it or not, it was called The Miracle of Something Playgrounds or something. They made these commercial playgrounds that looked like rocket ships, and you could climb up and go down different slides. It was great for imagination and stuff like that. They were all metallic, kinda like this, this retro-future kinda look. She said, funny, that’s interesting, that’s interesting. Then she kinda said, well, how long have you worked at the hotel for? Scooter said, well…well, I don't…I work with…I'm not exactly…I'm not a full-time employee.

I guess I should…I'm not on retainer 'cause they don't…I think if you're on retainer, they pay you a bunch of money upfront. I mean, I’m getting paid, by the way, just so you're clear. But I’m on a as-needed basis, which is a great opportunity for me to come here and be in this tower. I wouldn't be here with you in this tower if it wasn't for this opportunity. It’d be nice…there was a brief time where all these luxury hotels thought this would be a thing, and then the…which would have been cool, but then everybody behind the scenes was like, we're paying how much for a bedtime storyteller? Nah. Now, The Hotel stuck with it 'cause it’s kind of a niche thing, right? They're the only…I mean, there’s other ones that do it, but even they can't quite commit, and that’s why…and actually, I think it’s more of a thing that even when it’s free…but the hotel does say how much it costs so that people are like, whoa boy, that’s included? They think it’s like babysitting for their kids, which it’s not.

So, I mean, that’s in my contract. Or, well, I write it on there. I’m not…no kids, no babysitting, no kids. I mean, I don't have anything against kids, but it’s…that just tends to go…yeah, I just kinda work on a as-needed basis. I think that’s what I was saying. Yeah, they were…sometimes the hotels would charge almost like a massage bedtime storyteller…people didn't go for that. But The Hotel stuck with it. So, they're the only ones that I know of that still do it as a offering. Luckily I kinda…that…how about…I mean, between this tower and that lobby, I already feel like…I mean, again, I would love it if I was…I guess I’m complaining when I should just have gratitude, right? What about…? So, you're working for the hotel, too, right? She explained, yeah, I’m building a path for the hotel, but it’s a similar arrangement; I’m just building this path and they're…I'm staying at the hotel for the time being, and to be honest, just trying…I don't know if I really want to work for the hotel or that there’s…I don't know…it’s not even a as-needed basis.

This might be a one-thing deal, but I don't know what I’m gonna do beyond that. Oh, okay, well, tell me…so, yeah, alls they told me is that you were working on walking paths or something. Well, yeah, I’m working on…it’s hwangto. It’s like red clay. Are you familiar with it at all? No, no. Okay, well, it’s a specific type of…it’s not just a walking path. It’s for barefoot walking, and the clay has a very specific feel to it. It has very specific associations here not just with wellness, but like, you go on the path barefoot. Wait, so you go on the path barefoot? Yeah, there’s foot-washing stations and stuff. But yeah, you go on the path barefoot, and it’s a tactile experience. It’s also…there’s qualities in the clay and in the warmth of the clay that people feel are beneficial to them, and there’s the walking part, too. So, like reflex…? No, it’s not reflexology. It’s totally different. Okay. So, it’s like a mud bath for your feet? No, you're walking. Again, this is where I get frustrated.

Okay, so just tell me more about what…so, you're just making this clay path, but it sounds like you wish…yeah, I wish…I'd pitch the hotel on these…on a multi-sensory path, but they just wanted to stick with this kind of traditional thing. It’s popular and it’s kind of…there’s a very, very long trail. I could…we could visit, and maybe that would help you. Yeah, I’m just…you seem like you're frustrated by my assumption about barefoot walking. Yeah, let’s just meet…let’s just do this; let’s just take a break and then we’ll meet at the path tomorrow. We could just go there from the hotel. So, yeah, this is the narrator. So, Scooter went back and wondered where he went wrong, and then they went to this walking path, this very famous walking path. Now, this path is a 14.5-kilometer route. Circles the Gyejoksan Mountain. It’s called the Gyejoksan Red Clay Path, and it’s made by this CEO of this beverage company who got really into this. She was explaining all this to him.

But I have to kind of…so, she was explaining to him the history that the CEO of this beverage company got big into this barefoot walking, and then particularly embraced this idea of these red clay trails, and spends all this money to keep this trail maintained. That’s where she got her start, was working on this trail. Now, it didn't go so well at first because Scooter got there, and he already had this idea in his head of what it would be, and it was not like that. It was a little too…as he explained to her of the barefoot thing, it was a little too wet and muddy, and it was very busy. All the wet and muddy feet kinda threw Scooter off. So, then they had…believe it or not, they had to reschedule. She even told the Sundries Supervisor. But he said, well, come on, if you're…just trust me. He is good at what he does, eventually. So, then they went at a time when it was less busy.

She told him, yeah, she had started…she had got really into these trails and heard about this, and she returned to South Korea to…and moved there to be a part of this, 'cause she had got into this barefoot walking in Germany as a student, and the differences between the German walking paths and the South Korean walking paths is pretty different, particularly the clays. The German clay that might be in a path, a barefoot path, might be like a different type of clay entirely, and it’s more cool and meant to cool the feet, where this clay is meant to warm the feet. Then she started talking about all these other different styles of barefoot walking in some German barefoot walking parks that were just not clay-only, and just talking about the thought that goes into any of it and the maintenance just of the clay path, keeping it…the right amount of clay, the right amount of moisture, dealing with making sure it’s walkable and that there’s…and that it stays…that nothing…that’s it good to walk on, but that it is different, and the German walking paths were a little bit more adventurous.

She talked about how she pitched things, but no one was really interested. Then she started getting more and more into…she want…had this idea of doing it with your eyes closed, or blindfolded walking paths, but no one would go for it, and she got more and more into it. She actually said, yeah, a couple times I did this path, and I had explored other areas, and I would go off the path. She said, I was practicing or I would have someone with me helping make sure I didn't bump into anything or…but she’s like, yeah, I would go further and further afield from the path, and a couple times I discovered other interesting things in the forest around here. But again, no one was interested in this approach I was into. They said, well, yeah, not with the eyes closed, either. So, she said, all of a sudden she had an opportunity to rent this place where she could live and an affordable piece of land, and it was already a different kind of spa, like a wellness kinda place with a place in back to live.

So, she kinda got into building her vision of this blindfolded barefoot walking path, and it included the red clay and the German clay and a bunch of other stuff that she started to explain to Scooter, but then he was like, is this…? So, this is like…a bit like…what do you call that? Like a…this is like foley. She goes, you mean like the sound effects? Yeah, this is like blindfolded foley or something. She goes, no, this is a walking path. Again, she felt like he was dismissing her or being inconsiderate, which I guess in a sense he was, but she told him how she had started…so, again, it took another meeting after this back at the hotel over some beverages for her to be like, okay, so, start again with the spa, this walking…blindfolded, barefoot-walking spa. But she could tell there was something else there, which was that…she had told him. She said, yeah, I started this thing and I got it done, and people would come and they would go through and they would be so…she’s like, they’d be practically glowing.

But it was very slow because it was different, and sometimes it was tourists coming. It was just a totally different experience. It was really hard to kind of explain and package. But she goes, I had a little bit of a runway, right? Because I had been lucky. She goes, but then suddenly the whole property…she goes, it became…I was only renting it and I didn't have a long-term lease or anything, and I found out it was because the…a certain agency said, oh, no, no, no, no one can be here anymore. She said, so, that was it. They actually fenced off the area. She goes, and then the hotel had heard about it. Like, a couple people at the hotel had come by, even, and they were even talking to me about it. So, they…when they heard about it, they said, hey, why don't you come do something similar here at the hotel? Scooter said, well, I’d love to visit it. She goes, oh no, no, no, it’s…you can't visit there. She goes, it’s like real fences.

She goes, they said it was like some sort of mud pots or something. But she goes, I don't know. So, then Scooter went back to the hotel management and said, hey, what’s going on here with this? Can you tell me more about why all this is closed down? The hotel said, well, yeah, that’s interesting. It actually is closed down for real, and we can't even get a clear answer because we're a independent…we're not…we're a independent entity. Now, we did purchase the land once we found out about it through a subsidiary, but this mud pot thing…yeah, we don't have access to it. But they said, you know, we have heard that if anybody wanted to go in there and…'cause anybody that doesn't…that would…it would make sense for them if they did get discovered being in there. Like, the Sundries Supervisor, if I’m there, would just raise too many questions. But there is a way in. You go down here…but maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But probably…Scooter was confused by that.

But when they said, you probably shouldn't do it, that was enough for him to try to get in there. Plus, this whole barefoot-walking thing was really…'cause for him, it was a bit like…I don't know. He thought it was cool. So, then he went and snuck in there, and when he did, he was walking around and then he was trying to close his eyes and walk around. The path was still there, but it was starting to get overgrown. Then he realized, oh, I’m still trying to figure out what is connected to the other world, right? So, he put on one of the slippers and walked through one part of the path, and then he brought the slippers back. Then he got the other slippers from his room, and then he used those on other parts of the path, and he turned all those other to the Sundries Supervisor for analysis. ‘Cause obviously when Scooter does something, not just the bottoms of the slippers get covered in stuff. The Sundries Supervisor said, okay, but keep working, keep working.

So, Scooter went back and then he said, hey, I think I’m ready for us to work on your bedtime story if you're ready. She said, okay, okay. He said, you could participate, too. She said, okay. He goes, yeah, but I just think about this idea you have, that it’s a form of art. He goes, I’m kind of imagining, as I’ve gotten a better idea of what you're talking about, of the tactile thing of our feet being in contact, but also the layout of the path, like whether it’s direct or meandering, the flexibility that it could be indoors or outdoors, that it could be viewed but also experienced blindfolded or in the dark. Scooter’s like, yeah, I would just like to do one meandering up through the Guggenheim, even. He was kinda laying out, okay, we could have…you'd have to be careful where you put the clay, you'd have to make sure it’s doable, and figuring out how everybody could experience it.

Or, these are other places…he went on and on and on, and then he asked her to tell him more about when she would go off the path that she worked on. He goes, why don't you tell me a story? She kinda told him a story about wandering off the path with her eyes closed. But she was like, you know, I wasn't always…my eyes were closed. I’d open them and then walk some feet to make sure if I was by myself. She goes, and I get…I had my phone turned off, so if I did get turned around or whatever, I could find my way back eventually. But she’s like, I would have stuff I would need so that I could get lost or misplaced without being lost. Scooter’s like, I love that. She goes, yeah, it seems like you like a lot of this stuff, huh? He was like, yeah, yeah. It’s like we have a shared sensibility. Then she was like, okay, but…she was then kinda talking about walking off and then discovering old cars out in the woods. Scooter’s like, wow, you can…there’s old cars in the woods here, too?

She was like, yeah, and then it’s like a armoire. He goes, what do you mean a armoire? She’s like, what if you opened the trunk of a car and then you looked, and then underneath the truck…she goes, and then you could climb in underneath the truck…the trunk? She goes, and maybe that was what the mud pots were. But you go through the trunk and you come out, and then it’s in another world. Scooter’s like, wow, that sounds amazing. Then how do you find your way back? She goes, well, you come out of another car, probably, or some other thing, maybe a porthole or a…some sort of other doorway. She goes, maybe in that world you meet people that embrace these ideas of bedtime storytellers or paths or whatever. Like, maybe there’s people there that want this. But she goes, and then there’s this world, where there’s someone that wants…says they want to say there’s mud pots. Then there’s hotels that try to just hire you to do boring things for their clients.

Scooter said, do you think…? I mean, my bedtime stories are boring, but not that kind of boring. She goes, I’m just making a point. She goes, have you ever wanted to be in another world or a part of another world, or just assuming you're kinda just taking my dream and running with it of how you envision it? Scooter said, well, I can go…the bedtime stories…I can go to another world whenever I want, you know? I got to go with you to these worlds. But yeah, I don't know about being in another…I have…I guess it’d depend on what the other world was like, you know? Because I have a tough time in this world. Obviously you've been…frustrating to you a little bit, huh? She said, yeah, I mean, this world’s frustrating to me. But Scooter said, yeah, but this is the…I don't know. I guess we're just talking bedtime stories anyway, so it doesn't matter, but I’ve thought about that when I was a kid or even as an adult, that it’d be cool. She said, yeah, it sounds like it would be cool. Now I’m really tired.

So, she went and started to fall asleep, and Scooter said, okay, my…maybe my job’s done. He went and met with the Sundries Supervisor not that night, but not that long after she left the hotel and turned in…she said, hey, I’m not gonna finish my path. Feel free not to pay me. Decided to move out of the area. Scooter was like, huh. The Sundries Supervisor was like, we never…we checked everything with the slippers, and none of it’s from the other world. But something about her path is, and the people that…and Scooter was like, I don't feel like I have all the information. I didn't know that someone…who closed it off, and for why? They said, well, that’s not…that’s for…not your ears…more than only not for your ears. Scooter said, yeah. So, I don't have all the information, but what if it’s not the path that was from the other world? Then they said, what do you mean? He said, what about the client? She was out of this world, definitely, but…and they said, really? You think that?

Scooter said, well, or between two…she was between two worlds the whole time she was here. They said, okay, well, we’ll look into it. Then Scooter said, okay, I gotta go to bed now, 'cause I’m dreaming of being…if there was another world for me, I’d be…I'm not very good at the layout of paths and stuff, but I’d like to be a path artiste with a lot of artists’ assistance or something. They said, that’s great. Why do you go to sleep? So, he went to bed and slept well, and until the next time he tells a bedtime story, I hope you all sleep well, too. Goodnight, everybody.

[End of recording]

Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes