My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark XX
[0] This is exactly right.
[1] And welcome to my favorite murder.
[2] The minisode.
[3] That's right.
[4] We read your stories to you.
[5] Do you want to go first this week?
[6] I'm first this time.
[7] Yep.
[8] You are.
[9] I realized just this very moment that I just blew my nose in a tissue that cookie had been chewing on.
[10] Sure.
[11] Yeah.
[12] So I'm a little horrified right now.
[13] What, that you have dog spit in your nose, maybe?
[14] Well, I didn't inhale the tissue.
[15] I blew under it.
[16] So maybe I don't know.
[17] Yeah, it's all outward.
[18] It's fine.
[19] It's totally fine.
[20] Everything's fine.
[21] I mean, because I've definitely been kissed by either one of my dogs where I'm like, did you just, like, eat, kill a gopher or a rat or something?
[22] Totally.
[23] That's very true.
[24] Okay.
[25] Haunted farmhouse.
[26] Creepy child who can see ghosts, question mark.
[27] Here we are.
[28] Guys, period.
[29] Love all of you.
[30] You're awesome.
[31] Apologies in advance that this is probably longer than it needs to be.
[32] As long as you apologize, it's fine.
[33] Yeah, that's right.
[34] I manage a small, fancy barn in central Massachusetts.
[35] And then it says, the horses all got very well acquainted with the MFM while I was getting caught up last year.
[36] And it says big fans.
[37] Oh, could you imagine?
[38] No horse likes us.
[39] Oh, my God.
[40] I would die.
[41] I would.
[42] I would.
[43] The barn and the barn owner's house on the property were both built in the 1800s.
[44] So I'm the sort of person who does believe in ghosts, but I prefer to exhaust.
[45] any reasonable explanations first.
[46] Oh my God, a reasonable fucking person.
[47] Can you imagine?
[48] I mean, that's kind of how it is, right?
[49] Yeah.
[50] However, my barn kids and I regularly joke about the fact that we absolutely have a barn ghost named Otis.
[51] Otis just pulls the usual ghost antics, doors opening, hearing distinct footsteps in rooms we know are empty, that kind of thing.
[52] Nothing super creepy, no bad vibes, but we've all had at least a few Otis experiences.
[53] now the house on the property was stunning when my boss let's call her carol moved in 20 plus years ago she did a major renovation and the first thing on the list was getting rid of the creepy stairs down to the original stone Blair witch looking basement oh no literally just noped and put up a wall good call in my opinion i used to house sit for her pretty regularly as in a few days a week for over a year and it was definitely definitely the kind of house that was huge and old and made lots of noises that made it easy to freak yourself out.
[54] Personally, I almost had a heart attack when her dog, Asha, woke up from a dead sleep, ran to the front door at 11 p .m., and stood there barking, which was normal if someone was about to walk down the driveway, which was weird enough since the door was solid with no windows.
[55] So it's not like she saw someone.
[56] She's just like fucking sent someone.
[57] Vibes.
[58] And then the dog was shaking.
[59] I turned on all the outside lights, looked out all the windows, and couldn't see a thing.
[60] Then I made my boyfriend stay on the phone with me while I made sure that every door and window in this three -story monstrosity of a house was locked before I went to bed, just in case.
[61] When I told her that her dog made me think I was about to get murdered the night before, she replied, maybe it was a ghost and casually mentioned to me that her friend, what's called her Nancy, is quote, a bit of a medium.
[62] And years ago, she had come over to do a reading slash cleansing of her house when Carol's then two -year -old son was creeping her out.
[63] She noticed that her son would run past certain rooms in the house covering his ears.
[64] Creepy, especially if the lights were off and we refused to go into certain parts of the house alone if, quote, the red man is in there.
[65] Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It says no, period, thank you, period.
[66] Exactly.
[67] When her first, friend got there.
[68] She immediately got a little smile on her face and said, oh, yeah, there's definitely some energies in here, which I mean, every fucking medium type of person is going to say that, right?
[69] Right.
[70] But it's also kind of, it sounded like it's an old place.
[71] Yeah.
[72] Yeah.
[73] So, yeah.
[74] Yeah.
[75] She doesn't get invited over to places because they're fine.
[76] It's not going to be a new build apartment where it's like, get in here and tell me the vibes.
[77] Just like the painter was a creep.
[78] What are you going to say?
[79] Right.
[80] Right.
[81] The painter had some issues.
[82] Okay.
[83] So she very thoroughly cleansed all the rooms where Carol's son pointed out that he had seen the Red Man. When she was walking around on the second floor, she got to the guest bedroom and laughed and said there was a very playful childlike spirit that she could feel very strongly by the closet.
[84] When I asked my boss to clarify that this was the closet right next to the bed in the guest room where I sleep, she said, yeah.
[85] Cool.
[86] Unfortunately, her house was destroyed in a fire a few years ago.
[87] That was started.
[88] Get ready for this, by sunlight coming through a hand -blown bullseye glass window pane in the front door, like a magnifying glass, and igniting some cardboard boxes that she had moved to the foyer for storage just a few days before.
[89] Okay, but if this is this really old house, how come that never happened before?
[90] She also said there was no window on the front door, so I have questions.
[91] Well, down by where the dog was, but there might have been one up by where people's eyes are.
[92] I have trust issues.
[93] We're being lied to in this email.
[94] When we're done, you need to ask your dad if that is like a thing that like, you know, you put a thing in the window and yeah, it's like a magnifying glass.
[95] Right.
[96] Yeah.
[97] And it's like maybe that specific type of, because she said bull's eye glass or they said bull's eye glass.
[98] So maybe there's like a pinpoint in it somehow.
[99] It's just like Raiders of Lost Ark when he finds the map room.
[100] Just like that except it burns down.
[101] No one was home.
[102] and one of Carol's friends had picked up the dog for a play date maybe half an hour before the fire started so no one was hurt.
[103] The new house has been built and moved into and I'm a little curious if there are any ghosts enjoying the new digs.
[104] Stay sexy and cleanse your creepy spirits, Jamie.
[105] I mean, that is, I don't know, that's fascinating and also it's like a two -year -old telling you about the red man Oh, not fun.
[106] And running around with their hands over their ears.
[107] Why?
[108] What does the red man say?
[109] Is the red man just screaming all the time?
[110] Like, I don't like it.
[111] The kid doesn't mean that it was like a ginger.
[112] It was not someone with red hair.
[113] Yeah.
[114] It's like a red man. Yeah.
[115] The devil.
[116] It's a little devil from the deviled ham can.
[117] Oh, me kind of cute.
[118] Okay.
[119] Okay.
[120] My first email, the subject line is living by Broadmoor Hospital.
[121] Oh, shit.
[122] Yeah.
[123] And it begins, hey, friends, you asked for Broadmoor stories.
[124] And, have I got one?
[125] I grew up in Crowthorne, which is the small village where Broadmoor Hospital is during the 90s.
[126] So they grew up during the 90s there.
[127] We grew up constantly aware that the hospital was there.
[128] Every Monday morning bang on 10 a .m., the Broadmoor sirens sounded, a test of the 13 warning sirens in the surrounding towns and villages.
[129] What a way to start your fucking weeks, just like a reminder.
[130] Yeah.
[131] Wow.
[132] guys let's test this out let's scare every let's get everyone on their hackles or whatever yeah okay so it says these were first installed in 1952 based on air raid sirens and only used it other times to warn residents of an escaped patient fun practice being scared on monday morning at 10 am thankfully i've never heard it at any other time but when i was two the child rapist james saunders nicknamed the wolfman went on the run.
[133] The siren sounded and my mom said that if you tried to drive out of the village, you had to go through a blockade and have your car emptied to make sure that you weren't smuggling anyone.
[134] Yeah.
[135] Yeah, I would hope so.
[136] Holy shit.
[137] At my primary school, and then in parentheses it says ages 4 to 10 or 11, we also had a form that parents and guardians had to sign to say what would happen if someone escaped.
[138] You could either walk home, go home with your parent or wait for a different designated adult stranger danger was real and we had it drummed into us never to speak to anyone outside of the school whilst we were there and that's good but i don't know about the option of hey four -year -old why don't you go ahead and yeah hike home let's take that one off the list if there's a fucking breakout yeah let's get some police escorts home yeah okay everyone had a connection to broadmore for me it was my my first boyfriend's dad who worked as a psychiatric nurse there.
[139] Hey, my mom was a psychiatric nurse.
[140] Yeah.
[141] I was obsessed with true crime, so I loved it when I was 16, and he used to tell us stories of past patients.
[142] One of these included the time when one of the Cray twins.
[143] So that's, did you ever watch that movie with Tom?
[144] Yeah, it's the brothers who were like the head of the British mob thing, right?
[145] Yeah, they were like their own gang.
[146] Yeah.
[147] And one of the twins was like the guy in charge and the brains.
[148] and the other one was a madman.
[149] And basically why everyone was so incredibly scared of them.
[150] So they, you know, they each had their part.
[151] Yeah.
[152] Legend with Tom Hardy.
[153] If you haven't seen it, please watch it.
[154] He's so incredibly amazing in it.
[155] And Tom Hardy plays both leads.
[156] Like, God damn, that guy's a good actor.
[157] Okay.
[158] So one of these included the time.
[159] One of the Cray twins stuck his testicles on a plate through the door and asked if he wanted some ginger nuts.
[160] Which, and then in parentheses, it says, this is the name of a biscuit in the UK, just in case you don't have them in the U .S. I didn't, but it's fucking hilarious.
[161] I didn't know that, but it's still funny.
[162] We don't have ginger nuts here, but yes, that is hilarious.
[163] Just like, that's how bored you must be in jail.
[164] Sure, sure.
[165] Hey, want a ginger nut?
[166] And lastly, the prolific pedophile Jimmy Saville was also prevalent in our village.
[167] Right.
[168] He used to walk around the high street and the outskirts of the hospital, which I might.
[169] ad really doesn't look like a high security prison.
[170] It's very unassuming.
[171] In his shell suit, waving at people with a cigar in his mouth.
[172] Oh my God.
[173] I forgot that he was, quote, volunteer there and had his own office and shit, right?
[174] I believe so.
[175] Yeah.
[176] He was, and then the next part says he was a longstanding supporter of Broadmoor, often raising cash for it and even donated to my boyfriend's dad's charity bike ride.
[177] So yes, I believe you're right.
[178] Oh my God.
[179] Anyway, I've rambled long enough, but Crowthorne is a small friendly village with a population of about 7 ,500 people, and I loved growing up there.
[180] In fact, I think it's what fueled my love of true crime.
[181] Yeah, I bet it was.
[182] Yeah, it did.
[183] Yeah.
[184] When I visit my mom now, the sirens don't sound anymore, as they've been decommissioned.
[185] But we still go for long walks around the Broadmoor loop with the dog.
[186] Thank you for all that you do.
[187] You've kept me going during some dark times, SSDGM Harriet.
[188] That's amazing.
[189] Imagine growing up in a place like that.
[190] Yeah.
[191] Like it just adds this layer of like it's like a WB show or it's like what happens when you grow up next to this fucking.
[192] That's amazing.
[193] Yeah.
[194] It's just in your consciousness all the time.
[195] And then the kind of awareness, it's like you are in the real world from day one, you know, in a way that some people never have to be.
[196] And everyone has a story.
[197] Everyone.
[198] The chip shop.
[199] owner has a store, you know, everyone has this like, ooh, I love it.
[200] Yeah.
[201] Amazing.
[202] Karen, you know I'm all about vintage shopping.
[203] Absolutely.
[204] And when you say vintage, you mean when you physically drive to a store and actually purchase something with cash.
[205] Exactly.
[206] And if you're a small business owner, you might know Shopify is great for online sales.
[207] But did you know that they also power in -person sales?
[208] That's right.
[209] Shopify is the sound of selling everywhere, online, in -store, on social media, and beyond.
[210] Give your point -of -sale system a serious upgrade with Shopify.
[211] From accepting payments to managing inventory, they have everything you need to sell in person.
[212] So give your point -of -sale system a serious upgrade with Shopify.
[213] Their sleek, reliable POS hardware takes every major payment method and looks fabulous at the same time.
[214] With Shopify, we have a powerful partner for managing our sales, and if you're a business owner, you can too.
[215] Connect with customers inline and online.
[216] Do retail right with Shopify.
[217] Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify .com slash murder.
[218] Important note, that promo code is all lowercase.
[219] Go to Shopify .com slash murder to take your retail business to the next level today.
[220] That's Shopify .com slash murder.
[221] Goodbye.
[222] Okay.
[223] This one's called The Time My Sister Broke My Arm Accidentally on Purpose.
[224] Hello, friends.
[225] Longtime listener here, and it's true.
[226] Your voices are the best for podcasts listening in the shower.
[227] Hey.
[228] It's private.
[229] I just finished.
[230] Then he said 364 about Lucy and Alice and the bear.
[231] And I too have a story that I did not relay in my speech at her wedding.
[232] Unlike Lucy, that was the one where her sister was like, didn't ask her, asked her not to speak at her wedding.
[233] But if she would have spoken, this is the story she would have told.
[234] Oh, right.
[235] Unlike Lucy, I was asked to speak.
[236] But my wedding gift to my sister was that I would have.
[237] didn't tell this story as part of my speech.
[238] I am four years younger than my sister, and when we were little, my mom probably desperate for some peace and quiet from four kids under 13, despite the fact that I was definitely the quietest and best one, would always send me along whenever my sister, whenever my sister had a sleep over at her best friend's house, like every time.
[239] The best friend's parents owned a motel, and we got to sleep.
[240] in one of the motel rooms.
[241] Oh, my God.
[242] That's amazing.
[243] As a kid, that's so exciting.
[244] Yeah.
[245] My sister and her friend lying normally in the double bed and me squeezing in sideways at their feet.
[246] That's so cute.
[247] And then your sister trying to kick you as you're down there because she doesn't want you there.
[248] Exactly.
[249] Plus, the best friend had the most amazing Archie Andrews comic collection that they sometimes let me read.
[250] Obviously, the whole situation was.
[251] heaven for me and abject hell for my sister.
[252] So it's the summer of 1989, seven -year -old me and my 11 -year -old sister are standing on the best friend's front lawn one morning after yet another sleepover, I ruined just by existing, waiting for the best friend's dad to take us to the public pool.
[253] They had a little cherry tree in the yard with the branches starting maybe three feet above the ground.
[254] I climbed it, sat on the branches, then decided it would be the best trick to jump off and get my big sis to catch me. You can see where this is going.
[255] Little me yelled, catch me. Big sis yelled, sure.
[256] And then, dot, dot, dot, didn't.
[257] In her defense, I probably could have made it on my own, but my foot got caught by a branch and I fell straight down, head first, and smashed my left elbow into the trunk.
[258] Oh.
[259] Not getting too graphic here, but where there had one spin and elbow joint was no longer one.
[260] Chaos and tears ensued, the lattermost from my sister, who felt horrible and went white as a sheet as soon as she realized the extent of my injury.
[261] Not horrible enough to not go to the public pool after I got swept away in the ambulance, but still.
[262] Yeah, of course not.
[263] She needs to go relax and do some laps.
[264] She's not a fucking surgeon, elbow surgeon.
[265] She can't company.
[266] She's not a saint or a surgeon.
[267] I have retold this story so many times because it's amazing, but also because it really does include when I, best memories for my childhood because guess who got their mom all to herself in the hospital for days after elbow surgery?
[268] And it says this gal slash third child.
[269] I hear you.
[270] I kept the pages and pages of Disney characters she drew just for me during my stay for years and years until we lost them in a flood.
[271] I healed it fine, got full range of motion in my arm back, and I'm happy to report that my older sister and I are best friends.
[272] And I love her so much that when I spoke at her wedding a decade, ago.
[273] I didn't retell one of the greatest stories of my childhood and haven't since because it makes her cry even to this day.
[274] I bet.
[275] Yeah.
[276] But since I'm keeping this anonymous, I don't think she'll mind me sharing it here.
[277] Love this podcast.
[278] Thanks for all the realness.
[279] Stay sexy and don't trust your adolescent older sister when she says she'll catch you, especially if you're the bane of her existence.
[280] From Kay.
[281] Is that from me?
[282] Dude, is that story about me and Laura?
[283] That's the thing about having an older sister is they teach you not to trust, which is in this harsh world, not the worst thing.
[284] No. They make you not be naive, not fall for stuff.
[285] Yeah.
[286] But also unconditional love, they teach you.
[287] True.
[288] Because they're fucking such bitches when they're little.
[289] And then you get older, you're like, well, I guess I like you now, even though you've punched me in the stomach.
[290] Yeah.
[291] Yeah, you've tortured me my entire life or ignored me, which is it for me was worse than getting punched of the summer.
[292] They also teach you how to fit onto a motel bed, a crossways, which will come in handy in college.
[293] They teach you to make do with the scraps, essentially.
[294] That's right.
[295] And maybe even convince yourself, you love scraps.
[296] Right.
[297] Well, that's something to talk about it with our therapists.
[298] Exactly.
[299] You got to talk about something.
[300] Yeah.
[301] Okay.
[302] Here's my next one.
[303] It says, hi, everyone.
[304] and I'm not going to say fur babies because that term sucks ass.
[305] Did you write this?
[306] I mean, it's another one from me. I wanted to send this in for a while, but I'm inherently lazy, so never got around to it.
[307] But now that I have a few days off, and I don't feel like taking the Christmas decorations down, I just thought I'd take a minute and actually do it.
[308] So here goes.
[309] Thank you for doing that.
[310] In the 90s when I was married to my practice husband, aka X husband.
[311] Practice husband.
[312] You got to have at least one.
[313] That's funny.
[314] We moved into this old, fairly historic home on a lake.
[315] It was originally built around 1907 and then updated in 1930.
[316] After that, pretty much nothing had been done except for the addition of relatively new appliances.
[317] I never really loved this house, but did my best to update parts of it and try to keep it clean.
[318] It was around 4 ,000 square feet, so that was no small task.
[319] Wow.
[320] Jesus Christ.
[321] Yeah.
[322] One of the many unique things about this house was the immense living room that had a fireplace that was so high I had to use a ladder to dust the mantle.
[323] Above the fireplace was a weird, and then in parentheses it says, to me, inscribed poem that looked like it was embedded into the wall.
[324] It was about four feet tall, and you could light it up with a switch on the wall next to the fireplace.
[325] Wow.
[326] Anyway, one day, I took out the ladder and climbed up to the mantle to dust it.
[327] I must have climbed a bit higher that day because for the first time I noticed a little knob at the base of the poem.
[328] When I pulled on it, the whole damn four -foot poem picture swung open.
[329] And when I looked behind it, it seemed like there was a bunch of empty space.
[330] So I grabbed a flashlight to see what the heck was there.
[331] Imagine my surprise when I found a room behind the fireplace.
[332] What?
[333] Uh -huh.
[334] It was a tiny room, but it had to be.
[335] a children's table in it with two little chairs and some old books.
[336] I called my practice husband to take a look and the best we could figure was that when the house was updated, someone closed off the area on the other side.
[337] But here's the weird thing.
[338] The original owner of the house was a schoolteacher whose wealthy father built the home for her.
[339] She lived there until she died when she was 95.
[340] She never married and never had children.
[341] So what the heck was up with a children's table and books for question marks.
[342] We never could figure it out and damn we tried.
[343] I'm also convinced the house was haunted.
[344] I am too, for sure.
[345] My youngest son was a toddler and he never wanted to sleep in his room because of, quote, all the talking.
[346] Oh, my God.
[347] No, no, no, no, no. Yeah.
[348] Oh, my God.
[349] To be honest, I would hear it from time to time as well.
[350] A part of me thought that maybe there was a radio hidden in the walls, but the kicker was one night when both the boys had crawled into bed with me and when their dad was out of town.
[351] I had a dream that there was an old -timey man in the room looking at us while we were sleeping.
[352] And the next morning, when we got up, my oldest son asked me who the guy was staring at us while we were sleeping.
[353] Cool, cool, cool, cool, lie the match and run.
[354] And run.
[355] Grab both children, jump in that late.
[356] Yeah.
[357] Then it says, weird thing was, we were never afraid in this house, but I was never comfortable either.
[358] And then it says, so there you have it.
[359] Secret room and haunted house.
[360] Other topics in my life I wanted to share with you.
[361] And then there's two dots.
[362] And the first dot says, my great -grandmother was a black widow serial killer.
[363] I mean, she only killed off three husbands, so I think she's more of a black widow.
[364] Correct me if I'm wrong.
[365] Depends on the time frame from what I know.
[366] number two the time i had coffee with anne rule and then it just goes hope you all had a great holiday stay sexy like that's all we get for those two what's their name this is the end but that's all we get from those two story points okay okay okay which drove me insane when i read this email i was like sorry what what you're just leaving i'm like kind of jealous of this person browsing like three of the best stories yeah ever hope you all had a great holiday stay sexy and if your practice spouse ever wants to buy a house with a weird -ass poem above the fireplace, maybe just say no, Lori.
[367] Lori, you got to write in coffee with Anne Rule and a great -grandmother, Black Widow.
[368] Please, please, we're begging.
[369] You can do it in one story.
[370] It's fine.
[371] Whatever you need to do.
[372] The thrill of a lifetime finding a fucking hidden room, right?
[373] Oh, my God.
[374] Like, bigger than anything.
[375] Really?
[376] And also, just the fact, it's like, this.
[377] weird thing above the mantle that you're like, it's not a picture.
[378] It's so weird.
[379] Oh, my God, it comes off the wall.
[380] Like, it opens.
[381] Like, that's amazing.
[382] Oh, my God.
[383] That's incredible.
[384] Okay.
[385] This one, like, I don't know, like hit me in a weird way.
[386] It's called look for a goth.
[387] Hey, besties.
[388] Let's die right in, shall we?
[389] I was at Walmart a few weeks back getting groceries when suddenly I felt a slight tug at my jacket.
[390] I turned around, looked down, and there was a small child.
[391] probably about five or six, standing behind me and she looked terrified.
[392] At first, I thought it was because of my appearance.
[393] I'm a six -foot -tall woman, to begin with, wearing massive platform -spiked combat boots that make me about six, too.
[394] Amazing.
[395] With stretched ears, multiple nose rings, thick black eyeliner, and wearing a black denim jacket covered in spikes, safety pins, and various patches.
[396] Like who I wanted to be when I was 14.
[397] Absolutely.
[398] I never had the commitment.
[399] I couldn't commit.
[400] Usually kids point and loudly ask their parents, why does she look like that?
[401] So I understand why she might have been scared to see Beelsbub herself turn around.
[402] However, this kid simply asked me, are you a goth?
[403] I nodded, kind of confused, and went, uh, yeah.
[404] And she started that little kid cry talking voice.
[405] I can't find my mommy.
[406] So I took her with me to the customer service desk, asked her mom's name, gave it to the employee at the counter who called out over the intercom for her mother, and I let her poke the spikes on the shoulder of my jacket while we sat and waited.
[407] It says, don't worry, they're pretty dull, lull.
[408] When her mother got to the counter, she let out a sigh of relief and said to her daughter, you remembered, I'm so proud of you.
[409] I must have looked confused as fuck because she leaned to me and said, I always tell her to look for a goth, a punk, or a grandma if she needs help.
[410] Oh.
[411] It says, honestly, that is sound advice.
[412] It really is.
[413] It's so smart.
[414] It's so true.
[415] It's so smart.
[416] Yeah, we're like, they're peace punks.
[417] It's not like, they're not the ones.
[418] It's the fucking normies that are the problem.
[419] Yes, that's exactly.
[420] That's exactly right.
[421] I underlined twice.
[422] God damn it.
[423] Every goth I've ever known, every person that's like a demonstrative punk is someone that would protect a child hands down.
[424] If your pet is a rat and you've like, and it sits on your shoulder and you like talk to him, like you're probably not a piece of shit.
[425] You know what I mean?
[426] Or you're a chef that's getting help from that rat.
[427] There's two options.
[428] I forgot about that option.
[429] Anyway, I felt like a hero that day on my weekly grocery trip.
[430] Thank you so much for existing.
[431] You actually helped me find my soulmate.
[432] We were on our first date and they had a murderino patch.
[433] I knew it was meant to be.
[434] Oh, my God.
[435] Stay sexy and look for a goth, I guess.
[436] S. She, her.
[437] Oh, fucking sweet as that one.
[438] God, damn.
[439] That is the greatest.
[440] I know.
[441] It makes me, like, kind of teary for some reason.
[442] That's the greatest email.
[443] Yeah.
[444] Here's my last one.
[445] And I won't read you the subject line.
[446] I love this email.
[447] Okay.
[448] It says, Hello, Ladies, Pets, etc. I cannot believe I never thought of sending in this story, but after getting some additional verification over Christmas, I knew it was a winner.
[449] I'm sure you have asked for hitchhiking stories.
[450] So here's one with a twist.
[451] Definitely.
[452] In the late 70s, and then in parentheses it says pre -kids, my parents were living in Pittsburgh, and my dad was working at a bank about three miles from their home.
[453] Most days he took the bus into work as my mom needed the car for whatever she was doing.
[454] On this particular day, as each bus approached his stop, it would start to slow down, but then barrel right past as it was completely full.
[455] Luckily, after a few buses had gone by, a car pulled up and the driver asked my dad where he was going and said, hop in, that's on my way.
[456] It turns out that the driver knew my dad's boss down at the bank.
[457] As they were chatting, my dad asked him his name and where he worked, and the man told him his name was Fred, and that he worked at WQED, which was the local PBS affiliate.
[458] Fred dropped him off at the bank, and my dad went about his morning.
[459] And later that day, his boss stopped by since he had heard about my dad's morning commute.
[460] Asking if he knew who had given him a ride, my dad's response was Fred.
[461] His boss exclaimed, not just any Fred, Fred Rogers.
[462] Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.
[463] Oh, my God.
[464] Oh, my God.
[465] Are you actually crying?
[466] I know, but I'm like, I don't cry, but I want to.
[467] You can't.
[468] You will someday.
[469] The show was already very popular, but without any kids, my dad had no clue who Fred Rogers was.
[470] I always love this story, since it shows just how kind Mr. Rogers really was, and I love telling people that we really lived in Mr. Rogers.
[471] Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.
[472] Oh, my God.
[473] SSDGM, Tara, or Tara.
[474] What a beautiful story.
[475] That guy.
[476] That guy.
[477] I still haven't watched the Tom Hink.
[478] I just don't think I can handle that.
[479] Did you watch the documentary?
[480] No, I don't think.
[481] I think it's too much for me. I don't know.
[482] Like, breaks you, right?
[483] I think I have told this story on the show before, but I think it's because there's all this footage of like toddlers in the 70s so it's like I'm watching myself it's all the same clothes and it's that weird kind of like it was so prehistoric like early 70s and it's all these little kids just staring at him because you know what I mean like they're just all in love with him and so I was on a plane I think I was going to Hawaii and I started watching that documentary I was only like 10 minutes in and I was crying so hard I could tell I was making the man next to me uncomfortable and I had to turn it on it was like sobbing a plane cry though is different than a fucking couch cry, you know?
[484] There's a weird catharsis on a plane, but also there's something about Mr. Rogers where it's like, it's kind of like watching a documentary about Jesus having a job at the public television station in Pittsburgh.
[485] I believe in Mr. Rogers, way more than I believe in God, for sure.
[486] Well, he was doing the Lord's work, really.
[487] That's right.
[488] Just like we are.
[489] Just kidding.
[490] Just kidding.
[491] Anyway, anyway.
[492] As Mr. Rogers would say at the end of every.
[493] episode.
[494] Stay sexy.
[495] And don't get murdered.
[496] Goodbye.
[497] Elvis, do you want a cookie?
[498] This has been an exactly right production.
[499] Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.
[500] Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.
[501] This episode was mixed by Leanna Squalachi.
[502] Email your hometowns to my favorite murder at gmail .com.
[503] And follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at My Favorite Murder and on Twitter at MyFave Murder.
[504] Goodbye.
[505] Thank you.