1231 – Oh What a Sylvan Beach

Episode 1231 – Oh What a Sylvan Beach

 

[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 in the deep, dark night. I’m here to be your bore…I’m here to actually apply for the…why I’m here today? I’m here to…I’ll be performing multiple confusing…I don't know if there’s any soliloquies in…I put the ‘silly’ in ‘soliloquy’. Sir, there is no ‘silly’ in ‘soliloquy’. I thought you were applying for a job. No; I just thought of that and it was somewhat witty, and this is a podcast that’s just barely witty. I think putting the ‘silly’ in ‘soliloquy’, when I can say it, is quite…would be quite an accomplishment, because who said all…? Not all soliloquies have to be…and I’ll be doing…maybe one day I’ll do a silly soliloquy from the sill of a window or other sills. I don't know what other sills are out there.

 

Window sill, other sills…I don't know. Not a door sill. When does counter…when does a sill become a counter? That’s my next question. But, oh, I’m supposed to be opening a sleep podcast. Welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here to keep you company, take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. It is very different; you’re right, if you’re new. It is not probably what you expected…because I’m here to be your friend in the deep, dark night, to make the deep, dark night a little bit less lonely and to distract you from whatever’s keeping you awake, to be your friend like you would…you say, call me…I don't know. You could try out those silly soliloquies. I’m fine with that. You could list…if you knew any other kinds of sills, you could list those.

 

It would be a short list, probably, but…I mean, the word ‘sill’ has gotta be…like, hey man, come on, is there anyone out there that’s willing to build other things? I mean, a cubby…could a cubby be a sill? I don't know. Anyway, I gotta get this podcast going. I’m glad you’re here. This show is very different. Give it a few tries; that’s what over a million people have said to me, most in…well, the people that say, hey, I gave it a few tries and then…yeah, now I listen on a regular basis; now I pay for Sleep With Me because I get so much out of it because it’s such a big part of my life and I want it to be there when I need it…those people, at first, didn’t like the show. Now, there are other people that’ll never like the show. You could always go to sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou and check that out, too. But yeah, the show is here to keep you company.

 

What we got coming up; support so paying for the show is optional — the ad support does that — then there’s a long, meandering intro which is separate from the support. You don’t want to miss out on it 'cause that’s your wind-down time. That’s your easing-into-bedtime time where I keep going like this. It’s like a silly soliloquy. Maybe I’ll even look up those words and try to define them. Then there will be support, then there’s our bedtime story. To be honest, I don't even know what the bedtime story’s gonna be tonight. I’m excited. I’m gonna be surprised as you are. Then there’s thank-yous at the end. So, that’s the structure of the show. I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s see how it goes. It’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. Thanks for making it possible, my patron peeps. 

 

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. We’ll do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is to create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be thoughts, things on your mind, thoughts you’re thinking about about the past or the future or the present.

 

It could be physical sensations, anything that physically is impacting your sleep or your thoughts or your feelings, anything coming up emotionally, coming up in your dreams or in those fugue-like moments, it could be noises outside of your control, it could be changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be traveling, you could have guests, you could have a different work schedule. The only reason I run through a bunch of different stuff is to really let you know you’re not alone. Even if you don’t feel alone, I’m here to let you know you’re not alone because that’s what it can feel like for me a lot of times, and not only that; like in an exasperating way, that nobody understands how hard it is, that nobody understands how frustrating it is not being able to get a good night's sleep on a consistent basis, that no one really sees that I’m suffering.

 

I’ve learned from all of you regular listeners…and if you’re a new listener, it doesn’t take much to regularly listen. You just gotta fall asleep and wind down. But I’ve learned that from the listeners over the past ten years that that’s really the only thing that’s important about the show. That’s the foundation that the entire podcast is built on, is how it feels when we can't sleep, and this podcast is here to…I don't know what the right word is, to acknowledge that that’s not easy and it bears a certain amount of weight. Now, this show is kinda like the helium to that weight that we bear and meant to distract you from that fact and take your mind off of stuff and comfort you, maybe soothe you, but in a indirect way, not a direct way. ‘Cause…I don't know, I say, no, no, no thanks, I’ll pass on that soothing.

 

I don't need…I don't need my…actually, I don't need my…I’m good. I don't need my burdens lightened. Oh, well this is the Lightening Burdens…Burden De-Lightening Department. Why’d you call us, then? Mis-dial, I guess. I don't know. I just found myself on the phone with you. But yeah, no, I’m good. I’ll carry the burden. I don't need to…I don't want to talk about it anymore. Thank you. So, I’m here to take your mind off of that stuff and to let you know you’re not alone, because the other thing that’s important about this podcast for you to know is you deserve a good night's sleep. You deserve a place you could get some rest, the rest you need so your life is more manageable, and ideally you get the rest you need where you’re flourishing, you don’t have to dread bedtime, you have a bedtime routine that works for you most of the time.

 

Sometimes it doesn’t work. Most of the time it does. That’s been my experience. Then you could flourish, and that means even if…you don’t have to flourish. There’s no pressure to flourish. It’s just that if you get the rest you need, your life’s gonna be a little bit better, and that means our world’s a better place to be in 'cause your life’s better. So, those are real reasons I make the show, and now we’ll go into the silly soliloquy, mostly, because what I do is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. So, I’m gonna go off-topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, I’m gonna forget what I was talking about, and then I’ll go on a tangent and then I’ll double back and kinda say, okay, wait, what was I talking about?

 

Then I’ll fill up with filler words by accident, and it’s all to slowly ease you into bedtime and to take your mind over here. So, my voice is not traditionally soothing. You may be already irritated or doubtful or skeptical, which is really the most normal way to get to this show. For most people, at first that’s what they say, and why wouldn’t you? If you’re been trying to find stuff to help you fall asleep for years and years and years like I have, you would come here with certain expectations of calmness and Zen-ness and that kind of stuff, and, I don't know, you’re fed up with looking for stuff. You probably spent a ton of money on different things like I have, and like I said earlier, you might be exasperated.

 

So, that’s…normal feelings when you get to this show and a normal reaction to me, 'cause I’m very different and this show does have kind of…I guess the style of the show and me is the barrier to entry. But give it a few tries because almost to a person, the people that either started listening and loved the show on their first listen or the people that listened three times and loved the show after that or just like the show or barely like the show, they all say the same thing; I’ve been looking for this for my whole life. I had no idea I was looking for it, or I was looking for something like this but I couldn’t put it into words, a friend in the deep, dark night to talk my…talk…not talk my ear off. I’m not going anywhere with your ears.

 

I’m just distracting you and keeping you company so that whatever’s keeping you awake can drift into the background. If you listen to me…and you listen to me…that’s one thing, is this is a podcast you kinda just barely listen to, but you can pay attention. Eventually maybe you’ll just fall asleep. That’s kinda the goal of the show, but the other thing is this isn’t a podcast to put you to sleep. There is no pressure to fall asleep. The episodes are over an hour. There are 601 free episodes, ad-supported, ready to go. So, you can listen to those as…worked for you. So, there’s no pressure to fall asleep. There’s people who are listening who can't sleep. There’s people who are listening that need a break during the day. I’m gonna be here to the very end whether you’re awake or asleep, whether you’re listening or not.

 

It’s something I learned early on in the first year of the podcast how important that is to…that I’m here, really, to keep you company whether you’re listening or not, whether you’re awake or not. I’m not here to put you to sleep. I’m here to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-cuz, your bore-bestie, your neigh-bore, your bore-bor, your Borbie, your bores. That’s what I’m really here to do, and to keep you company while you fall asleep. So, yeah, what else throws people off other than that stuff is the structure of the show. The show is structured in a very specific way that’s evolved over the ten years of making the show based on feedback and what…how most people listen. There’s a lot of ways to adjust the show if the way a lot of people listen doesn’t work for you.

 

But most people listen to the show linearly — as the episodes come out — to the ad-supported podcast, but you can adjust that. So, the show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls so if you’re new, you feel seen and welcomed in. You say, I might check that show out. If you’re a regular listener, you say, there’s Scoots welcoming me in again with something silly like a soliloquy. Then there’s support which you can skip. You can sign up for Sleep With Me+ or sign up for our referral program if you prefer a ad-free show. But that benefits the most amount of people. Then separate from the support is a long, meandering intro, and this is what the people…some people on Sleep With Me+, they only listen to the intros.

 

They listen to these all-intro episodes that come out twice a month. But the intro is meant to ease you into bedtime. It isn’t so much here to put you to sleep but to slowly lower the volume on the day. Now, there is a small percentage of people that skip the intro, there’s a small percentage of people that fall asleep during the intro, but for most regular listeners, it eases you into bedtime, and as you become a long-term regular listener, you’ll notice some things. One, the intro is the same structure every time, but it’s different every time so that whatever’s keeping you awake can't quite adjust, and it’s familiar enough…and then you can kinda start to get ready for bed or do a wind-down activity or whatever it is as you’re listening to the intro to ease you into bedtime or be in bed getting comfortable.

 

Now, if you think you prefer something without any intros, yeah, that’s another thing; you can get story-only episodes. But for most people, it’s part of their wind down. But the intro is not really here to put you to sleep because that’s just not how my experience or a lot of people’s experience has been. I just don’t fall asleep. I wish I did. While there is, yeah, a couple percentage points of people — 2% or something — that, yeah, they fall asleep right away, and that’s awesome for them. Or you’re maybe in bed with a partner or a pet that’s already asleep. That’s great, but that’s not how it works for most of us. So, the intro eases you into bedtime. Then there’s support, then it will be our bedtime story that’ll be about forty, forty-five minutes, and then there’s thank-yous at the end.

 

So, all told, the ideal episode is over an hour, and again, you could listen to episode after episode after episode. Some people listen all night long, and some people do that with the ad-supported feed and some people do subscribe to have…because they prefer that. But if you’re new, don't worry about it. Just see how it goes. You can be like, this person is…yeah, but…you say, are you gonna look up ‘sill’ before you get off the phone? I say, you’re right; I should, right? Let’s see, S-I-L-L definition…okay, okay. Well, actually…so, part of this was correct. It is a shelf or a slab, wood, stone, metal, at the foot of a window or doorway, or a strong horizontal member at the base of any structure. So, it’s gotta be at the base of a structure.

 

Or in geology, a tabular sheet of ignecious…something…igneous rock intruded between parallel and existing strata. So, a sill has gotta be at the base of something. So, at the base of a window is a windowsill. So, I guess there could be a cubby sill if it was at the base of a cubby, but a cubby itself can't be a sill if I’m understanding it, and a counter couldn’t…could only be a sill…it could be a counter sill if it’s a part of some other larger structure. But just a kitchen counter, I don't know if we could qualify that as a sill. Yeah. But a door sill…you know, now I know what to blame. Now I know what I’ve been tripping over my whole life, is door sills.

 

The old door sill soliloquy. I don't even know how…O-Q, right? It looks like I’m trying to type in something with a Z. Sil-il-o-quy…okay. It’s tough. It’s ‘soliloquy’, not ‘sililoquy’. Soliloquy, Scoots. That’s the act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when…by oneself or regardless of any hearer. So, Sleep With Me is a soliloquy, more or less, especially by a character in a play. But yeah, no, this is…so, Sleep With Me is a silly soliloquy sometimes, somewhat silly. Not conducted from a sill…I mean, I’m under a staircase right now. I’m looking up at the bottom of the stairs, or I’m looking up at a quilt the listeners made for me.

 

But yeah, so, I’m glad you’re here, I guess, so I can offer my silly soliloquies to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could get the sleep you need. I really appreciate you coming by and checking the show out if you’re new. I really appreciate you being a regular listener so much. I couldn’t do it without you. So, I’m glad you’re here 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 be here for free for you twice a week. If during the day you could check them out…sleepwithmepodcast.com/sponsors, it would be a huge way to help the show. Thanks.

 

Alright everybody, Scoots here, and this is a return to a episode…it has a companion episode. I don't know what number it was. I’ll look it up. I’ll even just look it up on Google. Sleep With Me…Oh, What A…and we’ll see. People are saying something about me. Oh, I guess there’s actually a new hit out, so…no, that’s 2000. I guess I gotta fully write it out. It’s a little too confusing. I don't know how…the problem is I don't know how to spell ‘mountain’. Oh, it’s right in front of me. O-M…mount…Sleep With Me, Oh, What A Mountain, 802. Wow, so that’s about 400+…four years ago. More than four years ago, I guess. But so, this is a board game and there’s a little story behind it, but I have it in my lap, the actual used version of the game.

 

It’s an older board game and it’s a board game…and I don't claim…I believe that the time I played this game was when my family would…our yearly vacation for most of my life or most of my childhood up until seventh grade or sixth grade or eighth grade…I don't know which grade. One of those grades was…for one week a year — I don't even know if it was a full week; I guess it probably was a full week — we would rent a camp. They call it camp, which…these ones I would call them a camp. Not like a summer camp; it’s a cabin but not a…not a summer home, but there was…there was actually a full-time home next door, but on Sylvan Beach. Sylvan Beach, New York, on Oneida Lake, we would rent this one…the same camp every single year.

 

We probably…we rented it whenever Wimbledon was…whenever…when Wimbleton…so, I think that’s July. The only reason I remember that is because my grandmother loved tennis, and this was back in the eighties when Wimbleton would be on over-the-air TV. Or at least all the big games, which I think…or big matches. So, it’s just one of those things I associate…actually, also, the spirit of the podcast is there because one of the things about camps versus a summer home or a cabin is they’re not built…there’s not…they’re built very…in a very basic way. I don't remember what the bathroom was like at this place, but the shower was outdoors. It was enclosed, but you showered outdoors and your feet were on grass and sand.

 

That wasn’t to get sand off your feet; that’s how you bathed yourself, or at least we did. Maybe…I don't know if there was an indoor shower or bathtub or anything. I have no…I don't know. I’ll have to check in about that. So, we’re getting a little personal essay action in here. The other thing was, so why is this related to Sleep With Me? Because…I don't know how many rooms were in there. We had six…at the time, I don't think we had six kids in our family. Let’s see…well, yeah, for a while we did have six kids, and then before that, we had five and four. I don't know if we rented it before we had my…four kids in our family, 'cause I can't remember that far back. But the thing is that they’re very basically built. So, even if there’s interior walls, there’s no drywall or insulation and there’s just cheap paneling.

 

I don't mean that in an insulting way, but what that means…and I don't even think at this house the paneling went all the way to the ceiling. So, the walls were not to the ceiling, or maybe there was no ceiling. It was just…the roof was the ceiling. I’m guessing that was probably the case, just 'cause it wasn’t meant to be used in the winter and it didn’t have air conditioning. Everything was mostly waterproofed, though probably…the roof probably leaked, I’m guessing. But so, the thing was if you were in bed as a kid and adults were watching television, you could hear them. So, it would be coming through the two sets of whatever was used as walling, and over the thing…no matter what…so, that’s just an experience that’s very similar to Sleep With Me, is listening to a TV on in the other room, right?

 

I don't know, kind of a fundamental part of Sleep With Me. So, I don't know, I’ve always thought that was cool. So, yeah, that’s…so that’s where we were, I believe, when we played this game, 'cause I can remember playing it outside on the seawall which was more of a beach wall, and then there’d be beach. The nice thing about…if you’ve listened to any of these episodes…but it’s been a while since I’ve talked about this. So, Oneida Lake? Is that what I’m saying it is? So, Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake…Sylvan Beach…there’s a public Sylvan Beach, too, and there’s a town of Sylvan Beach, but it has a beach, a sandy beach. Now, I’ll be honest, I have no idea if it’s natural or not, but it doesn’t erode, and part of the reason it doesn’t erode is because there’s long shallows.

 

I don't know anything about the history of this lake…but that it’s a sandy-bottom lake, so sand would make sense, but there’s the shallows which is full of algaeic muck, which I can't remember what we called it as a kid. Maybe we just called it ‘the muck’. I don't want to get too deep into it 'cause it is kind of one of those things, but it was the soup…it did feel very…what is that word? Before-humans type stuff. Not cosmic ooze, but pretty close to it. My brain always says, miasma. I say, no, no, it’s not miasma, but…and I think that’s probably…that’s 'cause I minored in Classics kinda by accident, and I still don't know…I minored in Classics and the only words…it’s like, miasma, pathos, and the one where you get in trouble and then you have your downfall, which I don't even know now…right now off the top of my head.

 

I’ll probably say it three episodes from now like I know something. Oh, I…and then my…I said…what is it called? Something…primordial soup. This was more primordial ooze. First my brain said, vestigial, and I said, no, no, that’s when we talk about our tails. But yeah, primordial…this was more primordial ooze. Maybe some part of it fused with me and became part of my being. But so, for the first fifteen…no…yeah, fifteen to thirty feet, this lake…the shore of this lake had primordial ooze. Once you got through the primordial ooze, though, it was a beautiful…beautiful water, sandy bottom, probably some sand bars. Great swimming. A lot of people had boats and stuff.

 

But of course, I as a person that makes a sleep podcast, what would qualify me even at that time was not just listening to a TV on in the other room but that I of course developed a very…there’s a word that rhymes with ‘possessive’, but I wasn’t possessive of the primordial ooze; I was the other word where I was constantly fixated on it and what could be underneath the primordial ooze. Not in a way…I just was afraid of stepping on something, I guess, or that there were…mostly I was just worried about fish. I’m not kidding. I’m not trying to soften it. I didn’t think there was any beings…sentient beings in there or future friends.

 

But I was definitely very focused on it where it prevented me from swimming, or it made it…but it made it that much…this was one of those few situations where it was that much sweeter when I got through there to swim. One other thing to note was that the camp we rented was a very distinct color, which would…was the color…if you left a banana out to ripen but before it got fully ripe. It was that color between the original yellow banana color and the almost greyish-brown of a ripe banana. It was somewhere in-between, like one of those gradations or one of those shades of color there. Like, almost-ripe banana. I don't know if originally it was a banana-colored thing, but…yeah, and we rented it from the family next door who had a son.

 

I guess this is…wow, we’re going deep, and then I guess we’ll talk about the game, or maybe we won't. We’ll see where this goes. We’ll roll with it. So, a couple other things from my formal development; actually…very important, actually. I’m glad. I’m thinking of Charlotte, who does the show Archivist, because there is a major touchstone and it’s only been touchstoned on as a part of this thing. Now I’m like, wait a second, I may be uncovering a false memory or real memory, but first…we’ll get there. It involves a question that occasionally gets asked about Sleep With Me and has never been clearly answered except deep in probably one or two other episodes. But so…okay, so next door was the family who owned this camp. I don't know if they owned any other camps, but they lived there full-time.

 

So, they lived in a house on the…so, they lived in…it wasn’t a summer home; it was a house on the beach or a house on the shore or, whatever, ten feet back from the shore. A couple things; now, this family, I don't think they were super wealthy or anything, but it does seem like they were wealthy when I lay some of this stuff, but maybe they were. I have no idea. But behind the camp and the house was a tennis and basketball court, and I think some of their kids played tennis. I don't know how many kids they had other than two, but I think they may have had more kids that were older than me.

 

Their youngest kid was around my age, and then they had a older kid who was one of my first ideas of a what a male was in a sense of like…and, well, not so…whatever it is…if you were…you would…an aspirational male role model, but only that you’ll…that you say, but I’m not even qualified to aspire to be this male. So, is that…? That may be one of the more true statements I’ve ever told. But this guy really was…we’ll talk about this guy, JJ. So, JJ had long, metal hair. Like, his hair wasn’t metal; he was in a metal band. I’m honestly…I’m being honest here; I don't know if I ever saw JJ in a shirt in my life. I don't remember…I’m assuming he was in good shape, but actually…the essence of JJ was just in matter. He was only known as JJ, so I have no idea…and his last…I just knew him as JJ.

 

So, already, you say…so, I was like, okay, I wish I could aspire to this. I don't even know if he was a bad boy or not. He was just…I don't know. He wasn’t a godlike figure to me because I couldn’t attain…I mean, I guess maybe he was a godlike figure 'cause it was like, well…I never even told…it wasn’t even like I was like, you’ll never be JJ. It was like, the bar of whatever JJ was was so high that it was like, I just need to take…I gotta go on…it’s kinda like when you do downhill snowboarding or skiing and you see the ratings of the different hills. You say, no, no, no, I gotta go on the blue hill, man, or the green one. No, I’m not qualified for the double-double, you know? JJ was a double-double.

 

But there’s more about JJ, so…I mean, not too much more, though. So, JJ…I don't ever remember him…in some sense I think we were nothing to JJ, but not in a mean way. I don't ever remember interacting with JJ negatively or positively. I just remember observing JJ. JJ, of course, played the drums, metal…to metal music in a garage JJ had taken over, and sometimes he would grace us with the fact that he was playing the drums with the door open and the music blasting. Then other times he would be in there with the doors closed. I don't even know if there was other band members or JJ was just rocking. Also, JJ was not some sort of ironic or parody-like figure.

 

I mean, maybe to other people he was, but he was 100%…if you told me, oh yeah, don’t you realize that was…JJ was in this band and he just lived a basic…a cool life, nothing…no…he never got too high, never got…I’d say, that makes total sense to me. I totally believe it. JJ…he was never the great…he was a solid drummer, one of the most solid metal drummers of all time in this solid working-artist-level metal band. I would totally buy it. Or if you told me, oh — with ultimate irony — oh no, he works at, whatever, Morgan Dean Financial Advisors or whatever. He’s the president. He was the one that…whatever. I’d say, okay. I’d buy that, too.

 

But not only did…so, not only is JJ in this garage, right, but it wasn’t like…it was a garage set off…probably the garage for the camp, so maybe it was…it was more like a shed where you could park a car. It wasn’t attached to anything. But I’m pretty sure it had bare wood walls where JJ had written…I can see — I don't know; maybe this was just my own fixation — the letters ‘JJ’ and…written in stuff in this garage. So, that was JJ. That’s all I remember. When I remember these things in my childhood…there’s other specifics so maybe we’ll get into them, or maybe we’ll get to Oh, What A Mountain. Maybe we won't. I don't know. This is what’s cool about making the show, right? Okay, so, we had JJ, and it’s been…since I’ve talked about Sylvan Beach specifically, it’s probably been five, six years.

 

So, this is good. I wonder what my life would have been like if there was enough room in there for JJ to actually be my male role model. I don't want to say making a sleep podcast is pretty metal, but making the weirdest sleep podcast is…I mean, that’s kinda metal. I’m not just bragging. So, I think JJ would be proud. JJ would probably not…I don't know if JJ would hit a high hat or just nod at me, but that would have been enough. I guess JJ did become my male role model 'cause I am a person…under ideal conditions, I would never wear a shirt, either. So, that…it did have impact on me, but more on a…not on a statement level…and I guess that’s what JJ was doing. JJ was like, JJ doesn’t wear a shirt. I don't think JJ talked in the third person, but if he did, he’d say, JJ doesn’t need a shirt, man.

 

No shirt, no shoes…shirt, shoes? No JJ, man. That’s what he said probably when he went to a store. Say, JJ, you gotta put a shirt and shoes on. I mean, I would assume he probably didn’t wear shoes except when he needed to. It seems more reasonable, especially when we’re talking about summer at Sylvan Beach; not a lot of air conditioning, either. Sylvan Beach has a reputation of being a party town for tougher people, is my impression. So, this isn’t…JJ probably was…I don't know. I don't know JJ’s backstory, so I shouldn’t imagine it since he’s a real person. My other closest male role model was my next-door neighbor who was very similar to JJ in that sense. I don't know, also metal and kinda like that.

 

But it was also very similar where I was like, I’m just not…it wasn’t my internal critic, actually, that was just like, you’re not that cool. It was just…it was more like, yeah, I don't think I could…I can’t even aspire to be like that. So, it was more of enjoying it and savoring it and just brushing up against it. Anything else about JJ…played the drums…oh yeah, so, I don't wear a shirt whenever possible. If I ever retire to a life, that would be the life I would retire to. I’d say, well, where can I live…? Now, I can't live somewhere where it’s so hot, you know? But where can I live that nine to twelve months of the year, I only have to wear a shirt when I go someplace that requires a shirt or I go on a Zoom or whatever?

 

Otherwise…and again, like I said, it’s more of a lifestyle choice than a statement, but that’s kind…because of Zoom, actually, I wear my…a shirt pretty much at all times now. But it used to be…pre-Zoom life, I don't think…honestly, if I was working from home…in the Bay Area it’s probably only six months a year, maybe eight months a year, but today it’s just slightly a little too chill to not have a shirt on, but it’s also that I had to be on a Zoom earlier, so I needed a shirt. Then I’m like, well, I’m not just gonna take it off. Okay, so, I think that covers JJ, but we’ll go back. So, then behind…so, basically, the physical layout was…this camp we stayed in…the garage was somewhere there, then next door was JJ’s parents’ house. I’ve revisited this place only tentatively twice, where we’ve driven down the street.

 

This is all by power of my will, where it is kind of…I guess it’s…part of it is the sleep podcast because I return to stuff, and it’s not like I want to take a bath in my nostalgia, but a lot of this stuff does come into my dreams as well. Not related to Sleep With Me, but I want to see these places again. So, part of it was like, let me see this place again. The problem is I’m such an introvert and most of my family is, too. So, two different times we drove down the road and then as soon as people looked at us, it was like, okay, we gotta get outta here. We didn’t…I’m sure my dad, if he had gotten out of the car, would have gotten into his extrovert mode, but it was like, we can't be answering questions of why we’re staring at this place, or take pictures or anything or walk down to the beach.

 

But then we would go to the town of Sylvan Beach. This is twice, maybe three times we’ve done this. Twice…I don't know, twice, I think, and gone and had lunch. One time we walked around the Sylvan Beach amusement park boardwalk. So, it was closed. Unfortunately that’s when my daughter was with me. Then the next time I went was with my brother and his wife and one of his kids or both his kids? I don't know if they had two kids at the time. That time, the amusement park was open but…and…but my daughter wasn’t with me. So, I kinda feel bad about that. Anyway, so, back to the people involved. So, JJ, that’s a nickname. I think that was where this whole tangent came out of. There was two kids that I remember.

 

Maybe there was a older sister and another older brother. If he was, he was like Alex P. Keaton to contrast with JJ, but that’s fanfiction. But so, the younger brother that was around my age, his nickname…and this is the only…I guess his name was probably Chris, but he was called…he was known as Critter. This was before the movie, even. He was known as Critter and he was a big hockey player. He wasn’t big; he was bigger than me, but he wasn’t a big kid or anything. But he was big into hockey. We were friends. Until he kissed my cousin we were friends, and then at some point I found him kissing my cousin. This isn’t a joke, either. He was kissing my cousin, not in a…just in a childish…we were playing hide-and-seek and they were kissing. I was like, what…?

 

I don't know, I found it confusing, I guess, and overwhelming. Said, what are you doing kissing my cousin? This is literally…we were little…I mean, not little kids. But, you know, it was appropriate. It was just two kids kissing each other, but for me, I was like, I’m not comfortable with this. I don't know if that’s actually what did it. I think we stopped renting that place. But I can’t blame Critter and my cousin for wanting to kiss Critter. I think Critter was pretty cute. If JJ is your brother…even if JJ was his own island, there’s gotta be some sort of Venn diagram where you’re getting some sort of indirect JJ…I don't know. I don't know if that kinda stuff rubs off, but I would think it would, even if you were rebelling against your older brother, JJ.

 

How many times can Scoots say that in one podcast? I don't know, but…so, that was Critter, and we were friends, but I also had my brother and sister, who…we were pretty close in age, and then sometimes my cousin would stay with us. So, I remember hanging out with Critter, and yeah, we would play…this was actually very idyllic 'cause we had more than…my brother and my sister are only less than two years younger than me, just barely, and they were twins. Then Critter was our age. Maybe there was…maybe my…I don't know if my sister had any friends from, wherever, nearby, but we’d always have enough kids to play hide-and-seek or whatever, those type of games. So, it was pretty idyllic. I do have to tell a couple other stories, but I’ll just say that…yeah, so, we’ll get to Oh, What A Mountain.

 

Hopefully I’ll remember not to tell all these stories again when we talk about Oh, What A Mountain if it’s on a separate thing. But maybe we should get to this one thing that people ask about. So, there’s a couple things to know, and I’m pretty…now, I’m pretty sure this isn’t a false memory, but maybe it is, so I’ll…it’s possible that I’m equating more than one thing or I’m discovering something and finally making a connection. But so, in the…in-between the camp and then JJ and Critter’s house where…I don't think JJ lived there. I think JJ probably lived in his car, and…I’m assuming JJ had a muscle car and lived in his…lived in the garage with his drums. But maybe that’s why it said ‘JJ’s room; keep out’. But so, in-between those two houses, there was a little bit of grass and there was a tree.

 

The tree had a tree swing on a…what was that? A tire swing, right? Also…and I know this is gonna…some people will be…relate to this and some people won't, and I would say…and this is just in my imagination, so I’d love it if anybody is big into research. But there was a certain piece of marketing that was happening at that time for soda, and a particular soda, Mountain Dew, that had to be one of the more…and there was…and orange soda was advertised. I’ll kinda dig into it because it’s important. But Mountain Dew had what I guess you would call…I guess…it’s strange I’m using this twice in one podcast even though I’ve said ‘JJ’ eighty times; they had what you would call a lifestyle marketing campaign which was called Doing It Country Cool. I don't know if Mountain Dew was new or not.

 

I highly recommend checking these…I haven’t watched these advertisements since I was a little kid, so maybe they’re dated and stuff, but they’re probably on YouTube. It associated drinking Mountain Dew…I would assume that the people in the ads were in their twenties, and they were beautiful people. The whole concept of these ‘doing it country cool’ was…I mean, that was the lifestyle they were offering. If you drank Mountain Dew, much like beer commercials…I think this…at this time in our history in the US, you weren’t allowed to advertise beer or liquor on TV. Maybe I’m wrong. So, there was a big spend for soda. But maybe it was just the case. It continues to be. This was…the whole history of soda back then was pretty popular.

 

But so, this lifestyle campaign mostly involved swimming holes, being in…usually you’d be in jean shorts swimming, not in a bathing suit. So, people…and I guess they were probably more clean-cut than JJ, but people going to swimming holes and having fun. That was literally their campaign, and I bought into that fantasy fully. I honestly…I’m like, I love swimming holes. I’m like, is that why, because of Mountain Dew marketing in the eighties, that I still want to do it country cool? They even had a song that went with it and there was constantly…the idea of using a tire swing to jump into a swimming hole, or being on a raft or inner tubes and in a swimming hole or a river or probably lakes and stuff…I don't know how many commercials there was. To me there was only one, but I’m sure there was multiple ones.

 

At different times you would have that Mountain Dew and it would be sweating whether it was a can or a bottle. I don't know if they had bottles. I assume they did, but it’d be sweating with condensation and everybody would be happy. That’s just what they sell, you know? And that works. I said, okay. Unfortunately I had…I guess this is where my road diverged a little bit. Probably we’re looking at something that while it may not be non…it probably…may have been a version of non-positive masculinity that I could have bought into. Maybe it was. Like I said, maybe…we don’t know. Is there a way to navigate the world with no shirt that isn’t…? I don't know. Or, I think there is a person out there and in my fantasy it is JJ, that, yeah, lived a life as a working artist, rarely wore a shirt, and was a really nice guy, probably quiet and kept to himself.

 

But I don't know, instead of that path which was right in front of me, at least, I could have got more into metal and grew my hair out or whatever and got into the drums. That’s a lot of work, I guess. That’s why I didn’t do it. You said, I’d have…one, I’d probably have to get closer to JJ and risk talking to him. So, instead I chose this other route which is much easier, which is…it can all exist in my head, playing myself out in the Mountain Dew commercials, and that one day, instead of being JJ, I could be in a…not in a Mountain Dew commercial; have the visceral experience of joy and connectedness and freedom that these people had in the Mountain Dew commercial doing it country cool, as they said and sang, and that I’d be jumping and…but one thing was…I guess whenever I see one of those…a fishing hole with any kind of swings, I say, I don't know.

 

I’m big into swimming and swimming holes, but it’s like, I’d have to check the area. I gotta check…I say, let me get a feel for it first. I’m not about to…I’m not gonna instantly…eventually I’ll do it country cool, or maybe I’ll do it a little. I’ll kinda country…cool-ish. So, I don't know, I just…I don't know where that tangent came from. I guess another important thing is that…so, this all plays into this tire swing. So, that was part of like…when I would see a tire swing, it was associative. I’d say, okay, well, this one isn’t at a swimming hole, but man, that’s like the tire swing in the ‘doing it country cool’ ads. So, we have that. Also, there was a marketing campaign going on, and I can't tell you which orange soda it was from.

 

I think it was Crush, Orange Crush, I guess, 'cause there’s…Orange Crush and Sunkist are the two big orange sodas, I believe, at least that I can think of, and I don't remember their commercials but I remember it was very…maybe more of a surfing lifestyle, another beachy kind of lifestyle, a little more sophisticated, I would say. I don't know…you say, orange soda ads are more sophisticated than Mountain Dew ads? I’d say, in my mind, at least. I’m not talking super sophisticated, but maybe people with a shirt and shorts on instead of shirtless with jean…you know, ripped jean shorts. I never had Mountain Dew or…that’s the other thing; I don't think I had any Mountain Dews or orange soda. We didn’t drink…I don't think we drank a lot of soda as kids except for special occasions. But I don't know what it was.

 

Mountain Dew…I was more into the lifestyles. Like, I don't know if I need to drink that Mountain Dew. Plus, if my parents knew anything about Mountain Dew…they were like, yeah, you don’t…oh, 'cause you could do the do later. Once you hit the nineties, instead of doing it country cool, you would do the dew. That was more extreme sports. But it kinda fit in. Whoever…I wonder if they kept the same company. It was great marketing. I’m not kidding. It worked on me, except it actually didn’t because I didn’t drink any Mountain Dew. But yeah, if my parents knew that Mountain Dew had caffeine, they were like, you can never have a Mountain Dew, especially…Andrew, you should just never have Mountain Dew.

 

Which, I…the one time I can remember drinking a lot of Mountain Dew was the only time in college I went on spring break, and I can remember every morning buying a can of Mountain Dew or two cans of Mountain Dew and savoring them. But so…whatever, Orange Crush was also being promoted, and that was more attainable. So, I guess the Mountain Dew lifestyle, drinking Mountain Dew, and JJ’s life were unattainable to me even at that age, even as much as I fantasized. But the idea of whatever they were offering through Orange Crush and the idea of drinking Orange Crush was slightly more appealing to me. Now, there’s this whole other thing that I’ll talk about, but all this involved the rope swing, because at some point we were on the rope swing, and I don't know if it was me and my brother Carl or me and my brother Carl and my sister Sheila or Critter was involved or I was by myself.

 

There was another kid there, older kid, significantly older but not a ton older. So, we’re talking…if I was in third grade, this kid may have been in sixth grade or something, or seventh. Like, pre…whatever. I don't know. Like, not a teenager, but getting there. I don't know who this kid was. They weren’t a stranger, so maybe they were part of JJ’s family, like JJ…there was another brother or a cousin? I mean, they were local. Either they lived nearby…they weren’t related to me but they were friendly, right? They were a nice kid. So, they off…so, this one time, this person, this gentleman or whatever…I guess I didn’t spend enough time with them to remember their name. I have a vague idea that they had a beard but that may have been my imagination, 'cause that wouldn’t make sense for this story, the way I’m telling it.

 

But the person that would eventually have a Jerry Garcia-style beard, at least in my mind. So, they were pushing us on the tire swing, and then at some point they were doing the thing where you spin a tire swing and it builds up tension in the rope and then it swings back the other way, and eventually they got the idea…now, this is where…this all happened, so I’m sure of all of this, and I’m pretty sure this next part…but I’m not 100% sure of the last part. So, they offered some sort of competition to the kids. Now, I’m not sure…or maybe it was just me, 'cause I don't remember it being a comp…it was a internal competition, and I’m not sure what it was; like, how many times you could go in a circle, or could you stand up after you go in the circle or whatever.

 

But this does somewhat makes sense that it involves spinning, only because of the last part which is the only part I’m not convinced is true, but it’s another memory that’s true. I’m just not convinced that it’s totally related to this, but it’s important for Sleep With Me listeners, like deep listeners. Okay, so, let’s just say there was no other kids involved. So, it was just me and this other kid that’s slightly older than me. They were really nice, and I don't believe they had any ill intentions. I do believe that they had no intention of fulfilling whatever the offer was, which was like…hey…but I’m almost 100% sure…but I’ll give you caveats at the end…that they were like, if you could do this…whatever it is, spin around fifty times, let’s just say…and hold on, because you know that swing is really spinning.

 

Again, I think they were just like, this is kinda cool, challenging this kid or whatever. I’m almost positive they said, I’ll buy you something at the store, 'cause there was a corner store pretty close by. I said, well, I want…I’m almost positive that I said I want a Orange Crush, then. They were like, alright, I’ll go buy you a Orange Crush then if you can do this fifty times. Now, there is a chance that it could have been a Mountain Dew. So, this is the caveat; so, whatever it was, I successfully did it, and what did not happen was whatever the person had promised me, they were unable or unwilling to fulfill it. So, maybe I asked for a Mountain Dew and this is why I don't remember drinking any Mountain Dew, and they were like, no, it’s not a good idea.

 

How about a Orange Crush? But I’m almost positive…my memory is very associative with finally I’m gonna have a Orange Crush. I’ve been fantasizing about this as I’ve been consuming all these ads. When I crack it, I’ll immediately be surrounded by people that love me and respect me and laugh, and I’ll feel…all my burdens will be removed. Yeah, and I’ll just taste it. What does a orange soda even taste like? Especially for a kid, you don’t think about…this is a big deal, but it’s like, I’ll be able to drink twelve ounces of my own soda? For a lot of us, that was like, holy cow, that’s finally a place of my own. So, I’m pretty solid that that’s what happened, was I wanted an Orange Crush and they said they would get me an Orange Crush. I completed the task.

 

Now…so, what happened after I completed the task was a couple different possibilities. I know I did not get what I asked for, so either I asked for a Mountain Dew and I got a Orange Crush and that’s the end of the story…but if I asked for an Orange Crush, now I’m wondering if this is when this big other memory took place. This was actually causal, which I have never quite put my finger on. That’s the only reason why I’m like, oh, maybe I’m imagining that’s causal. But so, what do I mean? Now, if you listen to Sleep With Me at all on a regular basis, you know I have a very…a primordial objection to orange creamsicles. I mean, even talking about it…it’s just one of those things. The entire idea of a orange cream…like, orange soda?

 

I would drink it. I like…I mean, I haven’t had a orange soda in a while, and…but if I had the option to have one and it was a day where I was like, okay, today’s the day I’m gonna have something like an orange soda, I’ll have it. I mean, I probably would choose something else, but now that we’re talking about it…and I’m like, maybe I’ll have a zero-sugar orange soda, or down on the weekend I’ll…I don't know. It’s a bit much, I think. But there is something about the orange soda. There’s the brightness…especially, again, if you’re a kid like I was trying to be…that one thing I took from JJ; you never wear a shirt and you drank orange soda and you got it all over yourself…that’s pretty cool. But so, what I’m…okay, so, if you listen to Sleep With Me, I don't have a objection to orange and I don't have an objection to cream.

 

But the idea of a orange creamsicle, it’s literally like…and this came up recently. My daughter had something orange-creamsicle-flavored. Well, one, recently she had a orange float, so…a orange creamsicle float, like orange soda and ice cream, vanilla ice cream. I said, no, no, no, don’t even sit near me until you’re done with it. That’s how reactive I am to it. But she had something else; it wasn’t even…I don't know what it was but it was some sort of orange creamsicle…or orange-cream-flavored thing, and it would have been really…and I said, no, I can't even sample it. I think it’s something I’m gonna stick with. It’s just one of those things that’s really beyond my…it’s so deeply wound that my body reacts. It just says, no, please.

 

The reason was…and I’m trying to keep this in a sleep-podcasty way, but that at some point I had a orange creamsicle, and just one. So, I’m pretty sure…this was back in the day. Now they sell them as ones, but it used to be…and I don't know if that was a marketing thing. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense now I’m thinking about it, unless you have two kids. But who wants…? You used to be able to get Popsicles, Fudgsicles, orange creamsicles, and whatever else, and it would have two Popsicle sticks. You would either cut it in half of break it in half, and then each person would have your Popsicle-stick-size Popsicle. Or you could buy them and it was a larger one with one stick, but this was one that looked like…almost like a smaller version of a hot dog or something…size.

 

I mean, not exactly, but…and I’m pretty sure that’s all I had, was…maybe I had the double orange creamsicle. I can remember having them before this and not loving it but being like, well, this is a dessert, so I’m willing to eat it. But at this point it was some sort of hyper-awareness. So, this is why I’m tying it to this…maybe it was…I was dizzy from spinning on the tire swing. This makes a lot of sense, but these kind of memories don’t always…necessarily always connect easily like this, but it makes sense so we’ll just say it for now. But it wasn’t like I didn’t already…it wasn’t like from the spinning, I didn’t feel well. I was aware that I was willing to drink a Sunkist or a Orange Crush. I don't know if this kid just didn’t have the money, 'cause it would be funny that…but the price difference would be huge.

 

Like, if you went to a corner store at this time or a bodega in the eighties, I would bet a orange soda cost twenty-five cents, but a Popsicle was probably like five cents, twenty-five cents to five cents, or fifty cents to five or ten cents. I’m just guessing. Those prices could be way off. But a soda would probably be five times as much as a single Popsicle. Or this kid went into Critter’s house and JJ’s house and knew there was ones in their freezer, which makes even more sense. I’m pretty sure what…that was what happened. They were like, oh yeah, I’ll buy you a orange soda. Maybe they thought there would be orange soda in the fridge or something or maybe they didn’t have any money. So, that’s…already makes sense.

 

So, there was…my expectation was unmet because they…but they said, hey, you pulled this off, so here’s a orange creamsicle. So, my taste buds were already anticipating the sweet, sweet purity of orange soda, but then also…I was disappointed, but I was also…instead of feeling not well…I mean, maybe I was on some level, but my mind…I think I was ultra-alive or something, and this is why…when people break down why…when I had that orange creamsicle, I could taste everything…every ingredient that made up it, which was no orange, no cream, bare…whatsoever.

 

Even that wasn’t what bothered me, but so much…I could taste the separation of the artificial flavors and there was just something about that that…I think you can read between the lines, that I said, never…it just set me wrong permanently, on orange creamsicles. I mean, it’s very rare…I mean, I guess it’s not that rare. Every kid has their thing, that, whatever, the second, third-grader is gonna swear off a dessert for the rest of their life. But I mean, that’s pretty common for kids. You have a negative experience; you’re like, I’m not…orange creamsicles? Never going back. That’s pretty much what I said. I’ve held true to that. But that’s something that comes up, is why does Scoots have such…'cause there’s very few other things that I have such a strong reaction to.

 

I have a lower-level relationship with that with plain spaghetti and tomato…and store-bought tomato sauce. But I would…I am willing to…this is the last time I talked about this; I would be willing to eat that to be polite. So, if I was at your house and you served plain spaghetti with store-bought tomato sauce, I would eat it to be polite. But if you offer me a orange creamsicle, I’d say…I feel like I just talked about this somewhere, but…I don't know when that episode came out. Or maybe I was listening to a old episode. But if you did offer me that, I’d say, I’m sorry, I can't…then they’d say, well, you can't be my guest in my home if you’re not gonna eat these orange creamsicles. I’d say, that’s fine. Even if it was someone…a business…they’d say, well, I don't know if we can do business with you.

 

This is getting like a TV show, but it’s true. I’d be like, that’s fine. They’re like, that’s $1 billion. I mean, I guess I could overcome it for that. Anything where I could live off the interest…that I’d be willing. So, I’m not gonna say that. But if it was just sensible, like, well, we don’t know what’s gonna happen…this could be a great partnership, or I think dinner’s going wonderfully well. I’m laughing at all your jokes, we’re looking in each other’s eyes, and if only you’ll enjoy my…we’ll intertwine our arms Lady and the Tramp style, even though that’s not what they did. After the plate of spaghetti, we’ll have our orange creamsicles. We’ll feed them to each other. We’ll do some yoga arms. I’d say, I’m afraid not.

 

I’m afraid that’s not…I would; I would say, I’m afraid it’s not possible. I’ll just have to go home with my tummy full of spaghetti, plain spaghetti, with store-bought tomato sauce. I mean, I’ll plus the sauce up…I’m just not…it was very…something very similar with spaghetti where it wasn’t a permanent ban but it was like…it was maybe the first time I was supposed to sleep over at a friend’s house, so I think it was tied into that experience and I had to call my parents to pick me up after, 'cause I said…so, I think maybe it was a way of me getting somatic, that one, where it was like, hey, I just want to go home but I can't admit it to myself so I’ll use the spaghetti as an excuse. But it wasn’t an excuse 'cause it was a actual real somatic response.

 

The orange creamsicle…well, I’ll have a somatic reaction to thinking about it, but it’s not that…it’s not somatic where it’s all levels. Even my spiritual being’s just like, I got no…well, it’s…no, in a spiritual sense I have no offense and I have no offense for people that love them. It’s just not for me. I guess it’s a holistic thing, and it’s one of those things. It’s just one of those things. I was like, no, no, I prefer never to taste it again. I think that time is good. But it does make more sense with this other memory. But at some point, the broader thing happened where I was like…I just didn’t enjoy this experience. I don't think it lasted very long, either. Maybe I got a…I don't think it was a bum orange creamsicle, either.

 

Like I said, there was some sort of heightened awareness of the flavors that captured my attention of every cell in my body and my internal experience in a way that just said, no. Maybe the physical response was related to that. It wasn’t moral or like, oh, this is…I mean, there’s plenty of other artificial flavors. Like I said, I would have gone for those artificial…that artificial Orange Crush right away. But, I don't know, I know this question came up recently somewhere and someone was asking about it. Yeah, so, I guess we were gonna talk about Oh, What A Mountain, but we talked about Sylvan Beach. But soon we’ll be talking about Oh, What A Mountain. I don't know if this will be a set of episodes within a couple-week time span or not.

 

But this is really why I love making the show, to be honest. I know some people are big fans of these personal-essay-style episodes, and I always try to figure out…like, not forcing these, like, letting them come up organically so I can respect my own boundaries but also not add something in with a preconceived notion or agenda. So, it does take a long time between personal-essay episodes, one, 'cause there’s only so many things that are…fit the bill for a sleep podcast, but also I just like it when it comes up like this and I say, okay, this makes…let’s follow this path back. And it’s like, I don't want them to be repetitive. Probably in the…you could listen to the original Sylvan Beach episode.

 

I know there’s one other thing…a couple things I didn’t get to talk about, or a couple different cool things. So, yeah, there’s plenty more…there’s plenty reason to check out that show in the archives. It might be so far back in the archives that it’ll be on Sleep With Me+. But 802 for Oh, What A Mountain, is definitely in the main feed. Oh no, wait, six…yeah, back to…wait, 600 episodes, yeah. So, 600…so yeah, it’s still in the main feed. Yeah, I’ll do another episode covering the actual board game soon. Goodnight, everybody.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)

Personal Essay

 

Sills

https://www.hunker.com/13715964/what-is-a-sill-plate

https://www.championwindow.com/window-buyers-guide/what-is-a-window-sill/

https://mykukun.com/blog/how-to-build-a-window-sill/

 

Sylvan Beach

https://sylvanbeachny.com/history-sylvan-beach/

https://www.oneidapubliclibrary.org/local-history-room/historical-photographs/sylvan-beach-in-the-golden-age/

https://michaelkleen.com/2016/11/09/rewind-the-clock-at-sylvan-beach-amusement-park/

 

Satanic Panic

https://www.people.vcu.edu/~dbromley/undergraduate/spiritualCommunity/SatanicCults.html

https://www.cbc.ca/arts/satan-wants-you-filmmakers-q-a-sean-horlor-steve-j-adams-1.6822213

https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained

 

Mountain Dew / Doing It Country Cool

https://www.myrecipes.com/community/mountain-dew-history

https://www.southernthing.com/mountain-dew-history-2646712730.html

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/history-of-mountain-dew-origin-facts

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Applying for the Role of Borefriend

I put the silly in soliloquy

Silly Soliloquy from the Sill

Can a cubby be a sill?

 

Deep Dark Night United

Paisley (Zocdoc)

 

PLUGS

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

AquaTru; Wild Health; Polysleep; Odoo; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive

 

INTRO

Noises outside of your control

I know what’s it like to feel like no one knows your suffering

The Burden Delightening Department

I don’t need my burdens lightened right now, thanks

The style of the show and me, personally, are the barriers to entry, I suppose

You may not know this is what you’ve been looking for all night

I won’t go anywhere with your ears, I promise

The structure has evolved in a very specific way

I’ll welcome you in with something silly like a soliloquy

The intro is part of the Wind Down Routine

Are you gonna look Sill before you get off the phone?

The definition of Sill

A counter sill could only exist as part of a larger structure

I’ve been tripping over Door Sills my whole life

SWM is a sometimes somewhat silly soliloquy

 

STORY

A return to a companion episode

From episode 802 “Oh, What a Mountain!”

When I was a young tween, my family would rent a camp of cabins

This was on Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake

It was whenever Wimbledon would be on and my Grandmother would be watching

An enclosed, outdoor shower

We had anywhere from 4 – 6 kids in our family when this was happening

Interior walls, but no insulation or drywall

The walls didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling

The roof was probably just the ceiling

This was a strictly summer vacation home

You could hear TV at night through the walls

We’d be playing this game on the sea wall / beach wall

I don’t know if this beach is naturally occurring or not

It never eroded because of the Shallows

The Algic Muck

It wasn’t miasma

I accidentally minored in classics, hence why “miasma” is always in my head

Once you got through the primordial ooze, the lake was great

I was constantly fixated on what could be underneath the primordial ooze

I mostly just worried about fish

The camp was the distinct color of a ripened banana

Yellow meets grayish brown

I’m thinking of Charlotte, the show archivist

Next door was the family who owned this camp and lived there full-time

There was a tennis and basketball court behind the house

I’m not sure if they were wealthy or not

The kids were roughly my age

Aspirational Male Role Model, but I can’t even imagine aspiring to be them

JJ had long, metal hair

I don’t know if I ever saw JJ in a shirt in my life

I don’t even know what his real name was

JJ was god-like, in that I couldn’t even imagine becoming like him

JJ paid the drums to metal music

JJ would sometimes play drums in the garage with the door open

He was in no way an ironic figure

I’d believe that he could’ve been anything

He could’ve been a gigging musician or a full-time banker

JJ could’ve been my male role model

I guess making a sleep podcast is pretty metal

I have to hope that JJ would be proud of me now

Under ideal conditions, I wouldn’t be wearing a shirt then, either

Shirt? Shoes? No JJ, man

Sylvan Beach has a reputation of being a party town for tougher people

Pre-Zoom Life

I’ve visited this place twice since

A lot of these childhood places come up in my dreams

I’ve tried to return but get too anxious that someone will wonder why I’m there

I think the younger brother was called Critter, but his name was Chris

Critter was big into hockey

We were friends until he kissed my cousin

I was confused and overwhelmed by that

He must’ve gotten some glory from being JJ’s brother

It was pretty idyllic

Hopefully I’ll remember to not tell these stories again when I talk about “Oh, What a Mountain”

I’m assuming JJ had a muscle car

In between the houses was a tree with a tire swing

Mountain Dew had a Lifestyle Marketing Campaign

Doing it Country Cool

This was like beer commercials but for soda

Do I love swimming holes because of this ad campaign?

The concept of using a tire swing to jump into a swimming hole

How many commercials were in this campaign?

I could’ve followed JJ’s path in life, but I would’ve had to actually get close and talk to him

So I just fantasized about being in a Mountain Dew commercial instead

Orange Crush and Sunkist are the 2 big orange sodas

Their ad campaigns were more sophisticated and surfing-oriented

I didn’t drink a lot of soda as a kid

I preferred the Mountain Dew lifestyle over the soda itself

This was pre-”Do The Dew”

No way my parents would let me have that much caffeine

At some point, we were on that rope swing

And there was another, older, kid there

I’m not sure who this kid was, but they weren’t a stranger

They offered a competition to the kids

How many times could you go in a circle

It makes sense that it involved spinning

I don’t believe this kid had any ill intentions

If I could spin 50 times, he’d buy me an Orange Crush

I completed the task, but I know that I didn’t get what I asked for

You know that I have a primordial objection to orange creamsicles

Orange + Cream is just upsetting to me

I won’t let my daughter even sit near me if she’s having something creamsicle-flavored

They used to sell popsicle sticks as 2-conjoined treats

I felt fine after the spinning

Maybe they didn’t have the money?

But they came back with an orange creamsicle instead

I was expecting the sweet purity of orange soda

When I had that creamsicle, I could taste every chemical ingredient in it

It just sent me wrong instantly on creamsicles

There are very few things that I have such a strong reaction about

I’d be willing to eat plain spaghetti with store-bought tomato sauce, but I wouldn’t love it

But I’ll never have a creamsicle again

I’d feel bad for breaking up our dinner date, but I’d have to

I had to leave a sleepover once when they had store-bought tomato sauce

But it was an actual, real somatic response

Great Sylvan Beach recap

Soon we’ll talk about Oh, What a Mountain

It’s nice when I stumble into these personal essay episodes

802 is still in the main feed

And we’ll recap the game itself soon

 

REFERRAL PROGRAM THANKS

Daniel, Chastity, Cornelia, Kathy, Charlotte, Zakeeb, Gabriella, Loisanna, Sarah, Kelly

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1,231

Title: Oh What A Sylvan Beach

Deep Dark Night United: Paisley (Zocdoc)

Plugs: 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: AquaTru; Wild Health; Polysleep; Odoo; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive

Referral Program Thanks: Daniel, Chastity, Cornelia, Kathy, Charlotte, Zakeeb, Gabriella, Loisanna, Sarah, Kelly

Notable Language:

• Silly Soliloquy from the Sill
• The Burden Delightening Department
• S-I-L-L
• S-O-L-I-L-O-Q-U-Y
• The Algic Muck
• Miasma
• Aspirational Male Role Model
• Shirt? Shoes? No JJ, man
• Pre-Zoom Life
• Doing It Country Cool
• Do The Dew
• Somatic Response

 

Notable Culture:

• Oh, What a Mountain board game

• Sylvan Beach, Oneida Lake
• Wimbledon
• Heavy Metal Music
• Zoom
• Alex P Keaton
• Mountain Dew / “Doing It Country Cool”
• Orange Crush
• Sunkist

 

Notable Talking Points:

• Noises outside of your control
• I know what’s it like to feel like no one knows your suffering
• The Burden Delightening Department
• I don’t need my burdens lightened right now, thanks
• The style of the show and me, personally, are the barriers to entry, I suppose
• You may not know this is what you’ve been looking for all night
• I won’t go anywhere with your ears, I promise
• The structure has evolved in a very specific way
• I’ll welcome you in with something silly like a soliloquy
• The intro is part of the Wind Down Routine
• Are you gonna look Sill before you get off the phone?
• The definition of Sill
• A counter sill could only exist as part of a larger structure
• I’ve been tripping over Door Sills my whole life
• SWM is a sometimes somewhat silly soliloquy
• A return to a companion episode
• From episode 802 “Oh, What a Mountain!”
• When I was a young tween, my family would rent a camp of cabins
• This was on Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake
• It was whenever Wimbledon would be on and my Grandmother would be watching
• An enclosed, outdoor shower
• We had anywhere from 4 – 6 kids in our family when this was happening
• Interior walls, but no insulation or drywall
• The walls didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling
• The roof was probably just the ceiling
• This was a strictly summer vacation home
• You could hear TV at night through the walls
• We’d be playing this game on the sea wall / beach wall
• I don’t know if this beach is naturally occurring or not
• It never eroded because of the Shallows
• The Algic Muck
• It wasn’t miasma
• I accidentally minored in classics, hence why “miasma” is always in my head
• Once you got through the primordial ooze, the lake was great
• I was constantly fixated on what could be underneath the primordial ooze
• I mostly just worried about fish
• The camp was the distinct color of a ripened banana
• Yellow meets grayish brown
• I’m thinking of Charlotte, the show archivist
• Next door was the family who owned this camp and lived there full-time
• There was a tennis and basketball court behind the house
• I’m not sure if they were wealthy or not
• The kids were roughly my age
• Aspirational Male Role Model, but I can’t even imagine aspiring to be them
• JJ had long, metal hair
• I don’t know if I ever saw JJ in a shirt in my life
• I don’t even know what his real name was
• JJ was god-like, in that I couldn’t even imagine becoming like him
• JJ paid the drums to metal music
• JJ would sometimes play drums in the garage with the door open
• He was in no way an ironic figure
• I’d believe that he could’ve been anything
• He could’ve been a gigging musician or a full-time banker
• JJ could’ve been my male role model
• I guess making a sleep podcast is pretty metal
• I have to hope that JJ would be proud of me now
• Under ideal conditions, I wouldn’t be wearing a shirt then, either
• Shirt? Shoes? No JJ, man
• Sylvan Beach has a reputation of being a party town for tougher people
• Pre-Zoom Life
• I’ve visited this place twice since
• A lot of these childhood places come up in my dreams
• I’ve tried to return but get too anxious that someone will wonder why I’m there
• I think the younger brother was called Critter, but his name was Chris
• Critter was big into hockey
• We were friends until he kissed my cousin
• I was confused and overwhelmed by that
• He must’ve gotten some glory from being JJ’s brother
• It was pretty idyllic
• Hopefully I’ll remember to not tell these stories again when I talk about “Oh, What a Mountain”
• I’m assuming JJ had a muscle car
• In between the houses was a tree with a tire swing
• Mountain Dew had a Lifestyle Marketing Campaign
• Doing it Country Cool
• This was like beer commercials but for soda
• Do I love swimming holes because of this ad campaign?
• The concept of using a tire swing to jump into a swimming hole
• How many commercials were in this campaign?
• I could’ve followed JJ’s path in life, but I would’ve had to actually get close and talk to him
• So I just fantasized about being in a Mountain Dew commercial instead
• Orange Crush and Sunkist are the 2 big orange sodas
• Their ad campaigns were more sophisticated and surfing-oriented
• I didn’t drink a lot of soda as a kid
• I preferred the Mountain Dew lifestyle over the soda itself
• This was pre-”Do The Dew”
• No way my parents would let me have that much caffeine
• At some point, we were on that rope swing
• And there was another, older, kid there
• I’m not sure who this kid was, but they weren’t a stranger
• They offered a competition to the kids
• How many times could you go in a circle
• It makes sense that it involved spinning
• I don’t believe this kid had any ill intentions
• If I could spin 50 times, he’d buy me an Orange Crush
• I completed the task, but I know that I didn’t get what I asked for
• You know that I have a primordial objection to orange creamsicles
• Orange + Cream is just upsetting to me
• I won’t let my daughter even sit near me if she’s having something creamsicle-flavored
• They used to sell popsicle sticks as 2-conjoined treats
• I felt fine after the spinning
• Maybe they didn’t have the money?
• But they came back with an orange creamsicle instead
• I was expecting the sweet purity of orange soda
• When I had that creamsicle, I could taste every chemical ingredient in it
• It just sent me wrong instantly on creamsicles
• There are very few things that I have such a strong reaction about
• I’d be willing to eat plain spaghetti with store-bought tomato sauce, but I wouldn’t love it
• But I’ll never have a creamsicle again
• I’d feel bad for breaking up our dinner date, but I’d have to
• I had to leave a sleepover once when they had store-bought tomato sauce
• But it was an actual, real somatic response
• Great Sylvan Beach recap
• Soon we’ll talk about Oh, What a Mountain
• It’s nice when I stumble into these personal essay episodes
• 802 is still in the main feed
• And we’ll recap the game itself soon