Jayna was excited – she was about to get married. She works in the wedding industry, so she knows how to handle every detail. She also hired a wedding planner. Shayna knows from experience that on the day of the wedding, there are lots of different things happening, and you have to anticipate problems and avoid surprises. She never could have predicted that the events of that day would include a fire alarm, a gunman, and having her wedding story featured on the national news. If you’d like to contact Jayna, all of her social media, podcast info, and other contact information is on her website at https://www.hellojayna.com. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – professional online therapy. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is also sponsored by the I Need Blue podcast – a place for trauma survivors to tell their story. Find it on any podcast app, or at https://ineedblue.net/ Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

This is not a regular new episode Friday. And that’s because this is not a regular new episode. This is a BONUS episode. If you’re a regular listener to the show, you probably know that we end every episode with a Listener Story. I started doing this about a year and half, maybe two years ago, and it’s become a really popular segment. The Listener Stories are just short stories, like 3-5 minutes or maybe a little longer, that have been sent in by a listener. Everyone has a story they could send in, and that includes you – yeah, I’m talking to you right now. You have a story that would qualify as a Listener Story. Because the Listener Stories aren’t the big crazy ones that we do a whole episode about, like getting attacked by a monkey or winning prizes on Wheel of Fortune.  No, the Listener Stories are more like a little interesting slice of life. It could be really happy, or really sad, or really funny. Just something interesting that you can record on your phone, and just email it to me at Scott@WhatWasThatLike.com. So what we’re doing today is, we’re going to hear all of the Listener Stories that came at the end of each episode in 2022. That means that just in this episode, you’re gonna have like 2 hours of stories.  So let me know what you think of this. If it’s a popular thing, I’ll probably do the same thing at the end of 2023. Maybe it will become a tradition.  I hope you enjoy this episode with all the Listener Stories from 2022. This episode is sponsored by the Profoundly Pointless podcast – you’ll hear a huge variety of interesting guests, and a great host! Find it on all podcast platforms, or at ProfoundlyPointless.com Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

The concept of guilt is an interesting thing to ponder. Sometimes it’s justified and rational to feel guilty. If a young child breaks a rule but doesn’t want to admit it and get in trouble, the look of guilt might be all over their face and easy for a parent to read. They did something wrong, and they know it. Adults are often the same way. If you do something to offend someone, or you knowingly break the law, you feel guilty. Because you are guilty. But sometimes we feel that way, even if we HAVEN’T done anything wrong. This is often the case with veterans who have been in war. They’re fighting shoulder to shoulder, on the front lines, and one day their buddy right next to them gets shot. One person dies, and the one who gets to go home feels intense guilt about that. Or it might be a case where a person is drowning, and a stranger jumps in the water and saves their life, but the stranger ends up drowning. The person who was saved is left to wonder how to deal with the fact that they’re alive because someone else died. My guest today is Hayley. When she was a teenager, she found herself in a dangerous situation. In the end, she was the only witness to two people getting murdered, right in front of her. And those two people were killed while they were trying to help keep her safe. If you’d like to contact Hayley, you can send her an email: kattannie@yahoo.com Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/126 This episode is sponsored by The Compulsive Storyteller podcast – short stories told by host Gregg LeFevre. Listen on any podcast app, or at TheCompulsiveStoryteller.com.  This episode is also sponsored by the Obscura podcast – the darker side of true crime. If you like the gritty details, listen on any podcast app, or at itsobscura.com. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

This episode comes with a content warning. The story includes discussion of sexual assault, addiction, and suicide.  Stephen Covey is a popular author, and he wrote the best-selling book titled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Great book, highly recommended.  In that book, Covey tells a personal story that has come back to my mind many times in the years since I first read that book. This is what he wrote: “I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly – some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.  It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt like was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?” The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what do think, and I guess they don’t know who to handle it either.” Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?” Everything changed in an instant.”  I’ve never forgotten that story. All the people we encounter while we’re just going through our day to day lives…they’re going through things that we know nothing about. It’s easy to judge someone or form an opinion based on what we observe, but there are always other factors that we can’t see. I think, in a lot of cases, if we knew what was really going on, our anger or impatience might be replaced with empathy and compassion. My guest today is Kylie. She’s been through some trauma, and you’ll hear it in her voice as she talks with the 911 dispatcher. I think her story can help all of us to perhaps see things from a perspective other than our own. Resources: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, you can get help immediately by calling the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Just dial 988 anytime day or night. Kylie used the AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) website to find a support group for people who have suffered loss. You can get more information about this at: https://afsp.org/find-a-support-group/ Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/125 This episode is sponsored by The Jordan Harbinger Show – great interviews with amazing people – find it on any podcast app, including Spotify. This episode is also sponsored by The Compulsive Storyteller podcast – a show that has a great story in every episode – TheCompulsiveStoryteller.com  Get the full transcript for this episode and ALL previous episodes in a single digital download: WhatWasThatLike.com/transcripts Kylie is in our podcast Facebook group. If you have a question for her, join the group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the other podcast guests are there as well).

Almost since the day I had the idea to start this podcast, I’ve wanted to talk to someone who has been struck by lightning. I mean, the thought that you could just be going about your day, maybe walking through a parking lot to go get some groceries, or even at home, maybe in your kitchen – and suddenly you could be hit by 300 million volts. And you never saw it coming. You might wake up a few minutes later – or maybe several hours later – and still not know what exactly happened, until someone tells you. But the reality is, a human being getting struck by lightning overall is pretty rare. I live in Florida, which is considered the lightning capital of the country. We average around 40 lightning injuries each year, which is still not many. And then there’s the fact that some lightning strike victims don’t survive, so they aren’t around to tell that story. So I’ve been looking around for a while, for someone with this experience to come on the podcast.  And then, I connected with Josh. He lives not far from me, here in the Tampa Bay area. In the summer of 2022, just a few months ago, he was struck by lightning. A few people were with him at the time, and they saw it happen.  But getting help was kind of difficult, because when Josh was struck by a bolt of lightning, he was on a boat – 100 miles offshore, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.   Josh’s video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UEltkDTBmrs Coast Guard rescue video: https://youtu.be/BDwMojzvJoE Josh’s website: https://www.thenautiviking.com/ Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/124  This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – professional online therapy. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is also sponsored by StoryWorth – the easiest way for someone to write their life story! Save $10 on your first purchase at StoryWorth.com/WHAT. Check out the Compelled podcast – inspiring stories of people who have overcome – at CompelledPodcast.com. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) 

Content warning – this episode includes discussion of self-harm, addiction, and suicide. Have you ever had to deal with the problem of someone you know, like a family member or a friend, who’s gone missing? There’s this weird mixture of emotions, like frustration, because you just don’t know where this person is. And it’s also scary, because you don’t know what happened. My mom got a little taste of what that’s like years ago. And the person that was missing was me. I was 5 years old, and it was my very first day of school. You can hear my mom talking about what happened, in the opening moments of this episode. But not all missing person stories are resolved quickly or easily. The story you’re about to hear is from Alice, and it’s about the time when her brother, Jake, disappeared. Their whole family was worried, and they reported Jake to the police as a missing person.  But eventually even the police gave up looking for Jake, and Alice knew it was up to her and the rest of the family to find him. Full show notes for this episode: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/123 Western States Aerial Search: https://wsasearch.org/ https://www.facebook.com/WesternStatesAerialSearch This episode is sponsored by Uncommon Goods – your secret source for unique gifts! Get 15% off your first gift at UncommonGoods.com/WHAT. This episode is also sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger Show podcast – conversations with amazing people! Search for the Jordan Harbinger Show on any app including Spotify And check out the podcast titled Some of My Best Friends Are – critical conversations about race in America. Just search for Some of My Best Friends Are, wherever you get podcasts. Get the full transcript for this episode and ALL previous episodes in a single digital download: WhatWasThatLike.com/transcripts Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

I love all animals, but one of my favorites is the elephant. Couple of things you might not know about elephants: When you see a herd of elephants, the leader of that family group is one of the females. When a male elephant is born, he sticks around with the family until he’s around 12 years old, then he heads off on his own. The female elephants will usually stay with the family herd their whole lives. And even though elephants are the largest land mammal, they’re actually pretty fast – they can run up to 25 miles per hour (or about 40 kilometers per hour). And they’re incredibly intelligent (maybe that’s why they put the females in charge!). Elephants are one of the few species to recognize themselves in a mirror. And they have really complex emotions and compassion. They mourn the death of their loved ones, much like we do as humans. Today we’re going to hear from Ella, about the time she had an encounter with an elephant. For a while it was great – she felt like she was really connecting with this amazing creature.  But suddenly things went very wrong. If you’d like to contact Ella: Instagram: @smella_fresh Website: PlantBestie.com This episode is sponsored by Storyworth, where your loved one’s memories are turned into a keepsake book. Save $10 on your first purchase at StoryWorth.com/WHAT. This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp online therapy – save 10% on your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. I know you like hearing stories, so you’ll want to check out the podcast called The Compulsive Storyteller at TheCompulsiveStoryteller.com. Get the full transcript for this episode and ALL previous episodes in a single digital download:  WhatWasThatLike.com/transcripts Want to discuss this episode and other interesting things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well).

It’s time for a bonus episode! You’ve heard me talking about the Raw Audio episodes, and today you’ll hear a full, extra Raw Audio episode for yourself. Here’s the deal. If you like the What Was That Like podcast, you’re welcome to support the show, and like a lot of podcasters, that’s done through Patreon. All the details are at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. There are different levels of support, so you can do whatever you’re comfortable with. But if you sign up for $5 a month, you get access to all of the Raw Audio episodes. At the moment there are 27 of those, and Raw Audio 28 will be released later this month. What you’ll hear in these episodes are actual 911 calls. There are no scripts, there are no actors or re-enactments. This is real life - the actual phone calls made right then when the emergency was happening. And I’ll also tell you the story that goes with it – who was involved, what happened, and how it turned out. Most Raw Audio episodes cover 3 different stories. So today, in this extra bonus episode, you’ll hear 3 of those calls. If you decide you want to sign up and binge the other 27 episodes, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. So let’s get on with today’s show!

No matter where you live, there’s the possibility of experiencing some kind of bad weather. We lived in Maine for about 13 years. And since I was self employed and could pretty much dictate my own schedule, I decided to work part-time for my town’s EMS service. So I got trained in emergency response, and was often called out when someone called 911 with a medical emergency or an injury. And usually I was working with a paramedic, who was pretty much in charge of the situation because they were more experienced. I would do whatever was needed to assist them and the patient, and a lot of times that meant I was driving the ambulance to the hospital while they took care of the patient in the back. There’s one call I remember pretty clearly. This was in the winter, at night, and we had just had a big snowstorm so the driving conditions were pretty bad. We got a call about a car accident. This was just a single vehicle crash – the person had lost control and run into a tree. We got there and found just one person, the driver, and she was still in the car with some broken bones. Her worst injury was her broken pelvis – she had what’s called an “open book” fracture, where the pelvis is broken into right and left halves. It’s really painful, and she was conscious and experiencing all of it. We got her out of the car and into the ambulance, and I was not looking forward to this trip. It was still snowing pretty hard, and it was dark, so the visibility was poor, and the roads were slippery. And this is rural Maine, so the hospital was not close by – we had to get to the hospital down in Portland. In perfect weather, it was about a 30 minute drive. On this night, it took more than an hour. And that was some high-stress driving. I had to kind of creep along and make sure I stayed on the road and didn’t slide off into the ditch. And there was the added pressure that this poor girl in the back was depending on my driving to get her to the emergency room. On top of that, she’s lying on her back with a badly broken pelvis, and every time I hit a bump in the road she would scream in pain and I would feel terrible because I hit that bump. We eventually got there, but that ride seemed to take forever. My guest today is Todd. He lives in Canada, and he has seen his share of bad winter weather. He’s also a truck driver, so in a lot of cases he finds himself driving his tractor trailer in those conditions. Most of the time, it’s no big deal. He’s used to it. With poor visibility and slippery roads, everyone on the highway just keeps moving forward, slowly and carefully, and eventually you get there.  But there was one time he was driving during a bad snowstorm, and that slow forward movement came to a full stop. And that’s where he stayed. If you’d like to message Todd, you can email him at v8ed_s-10@hotmail.com Jose sent in a voice mail, and you can see his tattoo work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gordotaub/  Get the full transcript for this episode and ALL previous episodes in a single digital download: WhatWasThatLike.com/transcripts This episode is sponsored by Field of Greens – get your fruits and vegetables the easy way, and use the promo code WHAT for 15% off your first order – FieldofGreens.com. This episode is sponsored by Uncommon Goods – unique gifts from around the world for everyone on your list – get 15% off by visiting UncommonGoods.com/WHAT.

I want you to take a moment, and think about the concept of trust. Often, trust is based on experience. When you go to a restaurant you really like, and you order your favorite dish, you trust that the ingredients they use aren’t outdated and spoiled. This is an easy thing, because you’ve done it hundreds of times before, at lots of different restaurants. When I need to have some work done on my car, I’m fortunate to have a mechanic who I can trust. I need to know that not only the repair was done properly, but that the car is also safe to drive when I get it back. And one of the places where we all have to place our trust is in our healthcare professionals. Whether you’re at your doctor for an annual checkup, or in the Emergency Room for something more serious, you have to trust that the doctors, and nurses, and the other medical people know what they’re doing. My guest today is Ashley. She went to the hospital one day, because she was about to give birth to her first child. She and her husband, Alden, were very excited about becoming parents. And when things started happening that were outside the norm, they trusted that the people in charge could figure it out. That’s not what happened. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online therapy – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. Check out the Compelled podcast – inspiring stories of people who have overcome – at CompelledPodcast.com Patrick Jones (Listener Story from September 9, 2022 episode): Website – pojones.com Podcast – whyillnevermakeit.com

When it comes to television game shows, there are just a few that have been around for a very long time. A couple of those are Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!. These shows have really become a part of American culture. But there’s another one that’s been on the air even longer than those two, because it’s currently the longest running game show in American TV history. That show is The Price Is Right. Chances are, you’ve probably watched it at some point. Just about everyone has. But there are a few things you may not know about this show. The Price Is Right has been seen on all three major networks – NBC, ABC and CBS. Yeah, that’s a bit of trivia from back when there were pretty much 3 channels on television to choose from. One of the hosts for many years was Bob Barker. And for a long time, his hair was dyed black. But he didn’t like the way it looked. At one point, when he was on vacation, he stopped dying his hair and let it go full gray. The producers of the show were worried about how viewers would respond. But it turns out, people loved Bob’s new look. And ratings went through the roof. A couple of well-known celebrities were contestants on TPIR, before they became famous –  Aaron Paul was once a contestant. He played Jesse Pinkman on the really popular series, Breaking Bad. He got all the way to the showcase, but ended up overbidding so he didn’t win. The other one was Vanna White. Long before she became the famous and highly paid letter-turner on Wheel of Fortune, she was just another person on Contestant Row, trying to win something. But she actually never made it up on stage. If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you know that a lot of the stories we talk about are really intense, and the guest may have gone through a huge tragedy. So sometimes I like to talk to someone who has been through something that’s still really unusual, but happy.  My guest today is Fabiana, and she was in the studio audience for The Price Is Right, and her name was called to “COME ON DOWN”, and she actually DID make it on stage. But there’s more to her story. Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_Bid:_The_Contestant_Who_Knew_Too_Much Get the full transcript for this episode and ALL previous episodes in a single digital download:  WhatWasThatLike.com/transcripts Field of Greens – get your fruits and vegetables the easy way, and use the promo code WHAT for 15% off your first order – FieldofGreens.com Jordan Harbinger Show – one of my favorite podcasts! Find it on any podcast app, or at JordanHarbinger.com/start Profoundly Pointless podcast – huge variety of interesting guests, and a great host! Find it on all podcast platforms, or at ProfoundlyPointless.com 

For a lot of Americans, the idea of traveling – being away from home – is just a routine part of life. Whether it’s a business trip or a vacation, getting on an airplane to go somewhere is pretty common. Most of us don’t think twice about it. But that’s not everyone. A recent survey of 2000 Americans revealed some interesting numbers. 13% have never flown in an airplane. 40% of those questioned said they have never left the country. And 11% of these people said they have never even been outside of the state where they were born. Those are some surprising statistics, but the fact remains that a lot of people here in the US still love to travel. And my guest today, Summer, was one of those people. She’s traveled all over the country, as well as internationally. And most of the time, it all went fine. What was scary was the time she left the United States, and couldn’t come back. Looking for a podcast that’s a lot like What Was That Like? Check out This is Actually Happening: https://wondery.com/shows/this-is-actually-happening/ This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS.

This weekend will mark the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11, 2001. We all remember where we were when we first started to hear what was happening. It was such a big and horrible thing, the memory sticks with us. That might be why it seems like it wasn’t really that long ago.  But think about it like this. A new baby that was born that year, is now a senior in college. There’s a whole generation who didn’t experience 9/11 in real time. They only know what they see on old news reports, or online articles, or documentaries.  A big way we keep that memory alive is by hearing from people who were there – in New York City, or at the Pentagon, or in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. So, for the past few years on this podcast, around September 11, we’ve set aside a special episode to hear those stories. That’s what we’re doing today.  You’re about to hear two ladies talk about what they experienced, and how they dealt with it. First is Siobhan. She was just 18 years old at the time. She has a YouTube channel, which I’ll link to in the show notes, and she told this story 10 years after it happened. The second story is from Jeanette. Her office was on the 16th floor, directly across the street from One World Trade. She told her story just last year, in 2021. At the end, I’ll have some important information about the 9/11 Tribute Museum, and a few other announcements. Never forget. Siobhan’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LaDollyVita33 9/11 Tribute Museum: https://911TributeMuseum.org Sign the petition to save the museum: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-9-11-tribute-museum This episode is sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger Show, a podcast I’ve subscribed to for years – JordanHarbinger.com/START.

Most people don’t go to work each day with the concern of going through something that traumatizes them. If your job is in the medical field, such as in a hospital, you might be saddened when a patient you’ve been working with ends up dying. Or if you work in retail, you know there’s going to be the occasional angry or irrational customer who really gets your blood pressure up. Here in America, we have the unique problem of school teachers being traumatized because of the very real threat of someone taking a gun and shooting them and their students. We think we’re so smart, yet we’re the only country in the world who hasn’t put an end to that horrifying problem. But for the most part, people go to work, and they come home, and they don’t suffer mentally from what happened that day. The big exception to this are the people who work in emergency situations. Firefighters, police officers, EMS - these people are subjected to traumatic situations as a normal part of their job. And included in that group are 911 emergency dispatchers. In fact, there’s a growing movement that includes legislation to get rid of the common job title “call takers”. Instead, 911 dispatchers are increasingly being recognized as first responders, and they’re getting more access to mental health care, because of what they experience in their work. My guest today is ShaNae. She knew what came with her job as a 911 dispatcher – long stretches of routine calls, punctuated by the sudden big adrenaline-inducing call from someone who was in serious trouble. It was part of the job. She was trained for this and she knew what to expect. But there was one day when a call came in, and it changed everything. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is also sponsored by Ghostbed – get 30% off sitewide at Ghostbed.com/WHAT. Check out the true crime podcast Cold Case Canada, with host Eve Lazarus –  https://evelazarus.com/category/podcast/cold-case-canada/

Do you remember the stress of being a teenager? As an adult, you might look back on that time in your life with fondness. You had no bills to pay, and no worries about where to live, because you were still at home with your parents. You didn’t have to buy groceries – the food was just there. You could get a job if you wanted some extra spending money, but you didn’t really HAVE to work. Why didn’t we appreciate that time more? But in reality, teenagers DO worry about things. They worry about grades, and whether they’ll be able to get into a good college. And if they do get in, if they can afford it without racking up a ton of school loans. They stress about body image, and about fitting in with their group of friends, and sometimes there’s some family conflicts that can be part of the stress. Then there’s dating and relationships, and that’s a whole subject in itself. And on top of all that, they have the pressure of having to decide what they want to do with their life.  So in spite of the fond memories, being a teenager isn’t always easy. Today you’re going to hear my guest, Martine, talk about something she experienced when she was 16 years old. By all accounts, she was a teenager with a pretty good life. She lived in a decent house, with her parents and her sisters. She went to school and she hung out with friends. Life wasn’t perfect of course, but she was happy. She certainly wasn’t worried about her family’s home being invaded by armed men in the middle of the night. Until it happened. Twice. Martine’s website: https://MartineCadet.com  Martine’s podcast: https://visualizeandcreate.lightcast.com/ This episode is sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger Show, one of my favorite podcasts: JordanHarbinger.com This episode is also sponsored by the Music City 911 podcast – real 911 calls analyzed by a veteran 911 dispatcher – search “Music City 911” on your favorite podcast app.

I know, you might be surprised to see What Was That Like show up in your podcast feed today. New podcast episodes come out on Fridays every two weeks, and today is not one of those “new episode” Fridays.  What I have for you today is a bonus episode, because I want to introduce you to another podcast that I think you’ll love, because I know how much you enjoy hearing people tell their very personal stories. I love those stories myself, which is why I’m subscribed to this show. The podcast is called The Secret Room, and it features anonymous guests revealing true stories – stories they’ve never told before. Sometimes it can be a tragic one, like witnessing the murder of someone you know. Or it might be about having a secret love affair with someone on death row. The variety of stories and topics are endless, because everyone has a secret. The host of the show is my friend Ben, and I think he and I are similar in a lot of ways. He’s very empathetic as the guests come on the show and talk about these things that are very personal to them. Ben and I talked about this idea, and we thought it would be nice to share each other’s podcast with our audience. I’ve only done this once before with another podcast, because I have to be 100% sure that the content I bring you is something I know you’ll enjoy. The Secret Room definitely meets that requirement.  So today you’ll hear Caroline’s story. When she was a kid, she accidentally discovered a shocking secret that her dad was keeping. What happened after she confronted him would change her world forever. If you like this episode, I encourage you to find The Secret Room on your favorite podcast app and subscribe. I’ll see you next week.

One of the most difficult things we go through in life is when a close friend or a family member dies. We all know it’s gonna happen to a lot of the people we know and love, but it’s still unpleasant, and uncomfortable, and sad. We even try to avoid using the word “die” – somehow it doesn’t sound quite so bad if we instead say, “they passed away”. But as awful as death can be, there are times when it’s actually a relief. What if your loved one has a terminal disease, and they’re just in pain all the time, and they know that their body is not going to heal? The idea of death, and the peaceful rest that it brings, can then be something that’s very appealing.  We’re talking today about medical assistance in dying. It’s also called assisted suicide. It’s something that brings welcome relief to people who are suffering. You’re about to hear my guest, Courtney, talk about her own experience with this matter. It wasn’t that long ago that she wasn’t really even familiar with this idea, or that it was even legal where she lives, which is in Canada. But now, she has personally observed how it works and how beneficial it can be. This is the heartbreaking, and wonderful, story of the choice that was made by Courtney’s mom. Courtney’s email: court.chalmers@gmail.com This episode is sponsored by the Tapes from the Darkside podcast - https://www.tapesfromthedarkside.com/ This episode is also sponsored by the Smart Cleaning School podcast - https://www.smartcleaningschool.com/podcast 

I’m really happy to bring you this episode today, but it comes with a content warning, because it includes discussion of suicide. For a long time, I’ve wanted to have a story about hoarding. This is something I personally find really interesting. We’ve all seen pictures or videos of the inside of the home of someone who’s a hoarder. And of course, the reality TV show, Hoarders, puts it right out there. And everyone sees that and wonders, how does someone allow their environment to get to that point? And then I discovered Margy. She works in the podcast industry. I guess you could say I knew “of” her, and then later we became more connected because she’s a listener of this podcast, and I’ve watched what she’s been doing to achieve some amazing business success. When I found out that she had dealt with hoarding first hand, I knew I wanted to have her on the show. But what I love about this story is that it’s not just about the shocking reality of dealing with the hoarding issue. Some of the things Margy and I talk about are How she channeled grief into energy How a seemingly impossible challenge made her unstoppable The one unexpected thing that a lot of high achievers have in common And the bizarre name she came up with for her podcast Just before our conversation, you’ll hear a brief (1 minute) clip from the very first episode of Margy’s podcast. To contact Margy, DM her on Instagram:  https://Instagram.com/heymargy Margy’s podcast:  We Get It, Your Dad Died  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-get-it-your-dad-died/id1565341223 Margy’s blog:  https://margywithahardg.com  This episode is sponsored by the DNA Today podcast – where you’ll learn about the amazing new developments in genetic technology. Listen on any podcast app or at DNAToday.com. This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp – online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS.

If you’ve listened to this podcast for a while, you know we’ve covered a lot of pretty horrifying stories. Mass shootings, animal attacks, plane crashes – we’ve heard the first-hand stories of the people who have actually experienced those things.  And when we talk about those stories, we do talk about the tragedy of what happened, but I also like to include the positive side – how the guest recovered from it, what they learned, how they’re helping others who might have gone through a similar situation. No matter how bad something was, there’s almost always a positive aspect in the story, and I try to make sure we find that. Well, today’s episode is different. No one dies, no one has a limb torn off, nothing like that. Every so often I like to have a guest on who has a really unusual occupation. You probably remember when I talked to Spence about his job as a modern day lighthouse keeper. I also talked to Dan, who consults with white collar criminals and prepares them as they’re about to go to prison for the first time. I love hearing about unusual jobs like this. And I know you do too – because I always get really positive feedback about those episodes. Today’s guest is Jen. She has an unusual job, and it’s in the wedding industry. She goes to the wedding rehearsals, the wedding itself, the reception afterwards – she’s involved in all of that. But the thing is, most of the people at the wedding don’t even know she is being paid to be there. In a lot of cases, only the bride knows – because the bride is who hired her.  Jen makes her living as a professional bridesmaid. Jen’s websites: www.bridesmaidforhire.com www.jenglantz.com www.finallythebride.com Jen’s books: Always a Bridesmaid for Hire All My Friends are Engaged Finally the Bride Instagram: www.instagram.com/jenglantz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenglantz Twitter: www.twitter.com/jenglantz TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bridesmaidforhire Podcast: You’re Not Getting Any Younger This episode is sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger Show, a podcast I’ve subscribed to for years – JordanHarbinger.com/START. This episode is also sponsored by the Total Life Freedom Mastermind community – collaborate with experts to grow your business or side hustle – TotalLifeFreedom.com

These days, snowboarding is really popular in the colder climates, and of course everyone knows what it is. But it’s actually a relatively new sport, especially when compared to traditional snow skiing. The very first snow skis are dated all the way back to around 8000 BCE, and were found in northern China. They were basically long pieces of wood, like 6 feet, which is about 2 meters, and were covered with horsehair. Snowboards, on the other hand, have come about much more recently. Jake Burton is known as the “father of snowboarding”, and he recalled back when he discovered there was this new, unconventional way to move on snow. Those first primitive things were called “snurfers”. The first ski resort to even allow snowboarders to share the mountain with skiers was in Vermont, and that was just in 1983. Snowboarding has continued to grow in popularity, and it just became an Olympic sport in 1998. My guest today is Evan, and he loves to snowboard. He and his wife Kahlynn lived in northern California, they’re young and athletic, and they would go several times a year. It was pretty much their favorite way to spend a weekend outdoors. But there was this one Friday morning on the mountain that Evan remembers in detail, because he almost didn’t come home. You can contact Evan by email: Evan@userevidence.com This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is sponsored by Ghostbed – get 30% off sitewide at Ghostbed.com/WHAT.