Hello, Hi, Who is hi?
I am a wit named today I gave Flee. That's my name.
How are you? How are you doing? Flee?
I'm doing kind of crappy right now. Why I'm just like really in my like depression and stuff.
Uh, flee. It says here that you used to be a professional clown. Yes, you are a stereotypical sad clown.
Yes, but that's that's actually not one of my clown my clown characters. It's sad your clown character as a person. No, No, the clown is very cheery, goofy, sneaky, sexy.
A sexy clown. What kind of sexy clown?
Yeah? Well, I would like to do a strip tease where I would roll around and broken glass.
You did a strip tease? You would roll around and broken like actually broken glass?
Yeah, like I would break beer bottles before the show, you round and broken beer bottles.
Uh did that ever hurt?
Surprisingly? Not No, not that often?
No, mm hmm.
How did you How did you train yourself for that to not hurt?
There's well, there's a lot of spiritual stuff with paint, like peer know about piercings and how people do like pain tried stuff? Well, there's people who do like suspense or they'll like play pierced their Bobby, and I'll kind of say, it's like that where you kind of just accept it as it's happening. I've been like the bed of nails stuff like sideshow better nails really lay on the bed of nails, and it doesn't it doesn't hurt. I don't really know how to explain it. This doesn't really hurt.
So Flee. It says here that you're a former clown and you got sober and then when you got sober, you stopped going out and clowning around. Is that accurate? Yeah, okay, tell me about that.
Yes.
Well, so I lived in New Orleans and it's very a drunk city. So when I got sober, there was like almost nothing to do that didn't involve like people being wasted or on kiddymene. So I just stopped going out. And this was like way before COVID happened, too, so because then COVID happened and then I had to isolate even more and I regret not clowning at home without the event of it all.
So do you feel those are the fact that you're sober now means that you no longer can go out and clown.
No. I moved. I moved out of New Orleans and I'm in an Oregon now and I go out every so often trying to find this community. And I've dressed up as a clown. I dressed as a clown for Halloween, and I went out to a movie and there's a sex club here where I dressed up as a clown at h Yeah, COVID, So.
Why are you depressed right now?
I just don't really have a lot of friends or community. And it's just that I've lost a lot of friends, like from death and things flee.
You're a clown, your clowns and what I mean by hold on hold on now? What I mean by that? What I mean by that you live in Oregon. There's gotta be other clowns in Oregon for you to go fucking clown around with. Have have you tried to go out and find people to clown around with?
Yeah? I have. I grew up where I'm living now, so like I have, Okay?
And And why has that has not? That that not been fruitful for you?
No? Not, just I can't seem to make a lot of connections that last you know, it's like everybody's got opposite work schedule, or like they're going through their own ship or respond or they're performing at bars too much. And I just still am figuring out how I feel at bars as a person that doesn't want to drink.
Is it hard for you to be in a bar at all?
Sometimes? Sometimes it's not. Sometimes I tend to want to drink, and you know that's the biggy feeling. I want to drink when now it's going to come harm.
Have you ever done any events of any kind where you have invited other people into your domain where you pick the venue and you sort of set the scene and invite people. Have you done anything like that?
Yes?
And it was successful once and we went and saw Corn and it was awesome.
Okay, so it was successful and you saw Corn and it was awesome.
It was.
So why did you do it? Why have you never done it again? Why have we only done it once? It should be a recurring thing that awesome.
Well, it was like Corn's farewell tours. And but me and that person don't hang out often because they're like busy, and I don't know, I don't know why we don't hang out more.
Said you know you said, you said that you don't do it anymore because it's corn for because it's Corn's farewell tour, But flee. There are other things to do in the world besides the corn that you can do with your town people.
That absolutely is. Yeah, I don't know.
It was just one person. It was just you and this other person going to see corn.
It was me and on a friend of theirs that I just met that day. And it's actually funny enough. They was they worked down the street for me.
Where do you live? You live an Oregon? Yeah, I'm googling Oregon clown beat up right now.
There's part I live live for.
You are a clown and you live in Portland, Oregon and you're having trouble meeting people.
It's like, well, I grew up here in Tuma, h.
There was recently. There was recently the there was a fucking clown. I'm on Google right now. There was a clown the festival in Portland.
I did not know.
You got to put yourself out there here. Yeah, what is Box of Clowns dot Com? I'm on here. I'm like googling Portland clown ship for you right now?
Thank you for me.
What is Portland Portland clown There's a Portland clown bar. There's a Portland clown bar. What do you do? It's why are you calling my show? Go to the Portland clown bar right now? Look at this? Oh I forgot an I'm so, I'm dumb. I forgot. I forget it.
I forgot it seems like a show maybe or if there's like it's okay, I understand. It's I used to be that I used to do. I mean, that's what I used to do.
Go to park.
I've been there. I got drunk there with people. I went to a birthday party, but I got really drunk and did a bunch of drugs and drunk around drunk.
Okay, So your problem is that there are Your problem is that you you're a clown and you live in Portland and there's a bunch of fun clown Portland ship to do, but it's all at bars, and you feel like you're not at a point yet in your sobriety where you can be at a bar and not be very tempted to drink.
It's hard to clown sober.
Yeah, it's hard to clown sober. You know, it's funny I have a friend who's a clown and she she's sober and she I'm dead serious. I have a friend who's a clown and she's sober, and she used she she she h, still finds a way to clown around in her sobriety.
Yeah, there's a lot more to it that I don't want to There's a lot of really traumatic stuff that I don't want to talk about because the people, the people are listening, so you know it's gonna happen. I'm just like, how do I how do I like shake off the ick? You know of things that is to do because even though like I don't draw anymore, I barely draw it to any creative stuff.
I'm on, I'm on uh okay, I'm on Facebook right now. Did you know that there's a monthly clown meet up in Portland? There's a monthly clown to meet Let's see where it is. If it's at a bar, then we're fucked. But let me.
I mean I could I could maybe hang out at a bar, you know, I like mocktails. But it's just I don't understand people can't hang out outside, Like, why can't people do things outside of bars? I don't get it. That makes sense because we could drink it.
Well.
The reason why they do is because it is because people are afraid of each other, and alcohol makes you less afraid of people. It's not that's not it's not a great thing, but that is the answer to your question.
Yeah, I also was told that I over communicate.
Who told you? Who told you?
A lot of people say that.
You say that autism, Yeah, it might be an autism thing. Not sure in what? In what way? What do you what do? What do you feel like you over communicate?
Like, I'm just I don't. I don't like there's certain the way people communicate where they don't say certain things because it's inappropriate, you know, like I'm just like too honest.
Tell me the last time you felt to me, the last time you felt as though you over communicated something.
I live with a bunch of men who don't clean, and I asked if they could please clean because I'm not their mother. And I feel like maybe I shouldn't have communicated it that way.
Maybe they shouldn't have asked them, Like like you shouldn't have asked them at all if you could if they could clean. No, No, they should they shouldn't have made the comment about being their mother.
Yeah, that part, because I feel like that's maybe maybe there's something traumatizing to say for someone I don't know, maybe they have some kind of cognitive they can't do things because they're also have a hard time. I don't know. I'm just trying to be like, why aren't they doing it? Just trying to find epathetic ways to talk about things.
I wish my roommate when when I was in college, I wish my roommate would assume that I don't do the dishes because I have trauma. They were not as kind to me.
Yeah, well I've I've been doing communal living my whole life, and it's just like always been a source of problems. Not in this house. Surprisingly, but they don't like wipe their ship off the toilet. It's strange. They also, I don't. I just they do things like they put trash next to the trash can very confusing.
Okay, you're afraid to you ever communicate, You don't want to be at bars, and you you do? You do you have any friends?
That's the thing I've been I've been struggling with this and wondering, like what friendship means and like what like if you're not seeing people or hanging out with them but talking very often want my it's a friends And I grew up here, So it's really weird that people I know from here that I grew up around since for over ten years and we don't talk or see each other. And it's just like I'm on Instagram. I see things. Everybody's hanging out with each other and doing
things I just don't. No, I don't know. I have friends.
Yeah?
Are friends? How you said how many people do you live with?
I live with four men and I am not I am a trans person.
Okay, how are you? Are you on good? Are you friendly or friends with any of them? Or do you do you hate all?
Yeah? One of them is like one of them is like the homie, Like I trust him, he's really he really likes my dogs. The other guys, I just met them when I moved in, so you know their roommates. One of them, I'm really uncomfortable around that.
How long have you lived in Portland for.
I have moved here at the beginning of COVID, and I don't know how long ago that's been.
And then when did you when did you get.
Sober like a year before I moved here? Okay, but I moved away from here to like over ten years ago because I grew up here.
Okay, So you've been sober living, you've been sober for a long time.
Yeah, for a while. And I'm not like straight edge, like I'm like, you know, California sober.
Okay, Okay, dude, there's got to come on. There's got come on a Portland. There has got to be some fucking Facebook group of clowns that like to hang out and get high. Where is that that room? That room exists? I know it.
Do you know how people don't like Portland? You know how people don't like Portland?
You have the perception that people don't like Portland's because.
It's like passive aggressive and there's tender queers and you know, there's me all over the internet. You could probably find them like like, you know, like I didn't do the dishes because and traumatized. Right, very Portland, right, you know, it's just people don't communicate here, and it's very you know, and I live in New Orleans. No Orleans is a very caring place, like people everybody talks to each other.
Dam I want to find the group of folks wearing their clown outfits fucking heating up dabs.
Honestly, I'm gonna be honest. Probably it's probably drag shows where it exists. Okay, Yeah, I've gone to a few of them. Yeah, it's usually at the bar, usually on the weekend. I work. I work on the weekend. It's always, like I just it's not accessible for people that can't stand for very long and work on the weekend. So it's just like a communities aren't built outside of alcohol culture.
I guess I don't like. I don't really I've been struggling with that a lot, like trying to find how to be a part of things.
Can I can I? Can I float something? Can I float something? By you?
Of course?
Of course, So you were telling me about when you went to Corn. Yeah, you hosted a big Corn event. Yes, all right, so you had it. The initiative existed within you to create your own experience based on what works for you and then invite other people into that experience. That is something you have successfully done before, even if it was only with two people. You've done it before.
Thank you for telling you.
Next, that's true, Okay, yes, it is true, So why don't you Here's what I'm saying. This is what I'm saying. What I'm saying to you, and what I've been thinking about this entire call is clowns who like to get high and hang out. There's got to be at least there's got to be at least two hundred clowns who like to get high and hang out in the city of Portland, Oregon, but probably more. And I beg if you I don't know how? Actually I do know. I
do know how Facebook, meet up, Instagram. If you I just like I guess the potential exists for you to be entrepreneurial about this and create your own club, because that's what you do. Because listen, everyone who's listening to this, just that's what you When when there are all these clubs out there and you don't fit into them because you don't drink, or you don't identify as this, or you're not this, or you're not that, or you can't do that, what you do if they don't let you
into the club? What do you do? Flee? What do you do every time the people are letting you into the clubs because you can't go, you start your own club. You start the club. No, that's not what you do. You don't hang out about them. You start the club. Flee, So start the club. Start the clowns that like to get high at the Chuck E Cheese club. Whatever that is.
Okay.
So one of the chat said, grab life by the red honkin' those And I'm gonna second that.
I don't wear a big nose.
But yes, I mean, listen, that's just me telling you what to do. But what I wouldn't.
Think about all I'm gonna I take I take your words very seriously, and I thank you very much. I'm having a very hard time just that's the whole madness of reality. Yeah.
I hope that this phone call was made you feel at least a little bit more empowered to start start a club of some kind, because that's just what I'm getting.
It's really funny you're saying, right, Okay, it's really funny. You're saying that's very funny. Oh great, I hope, I hope I could do that.
Please. There anything else you want to say to the people at the computer before we go.
Yeah, I hope everyone else is doing okay. Also, because I know that we're all kind of going through it with our own stuff, really real out there.
Flee one day, I'm going to poor I'm going to Portland next year, and when you're having your like you know, thirteenth, I'll show up.
I'll show up as a Clinton.
Please shop, please, shops, please please show up as a clown to the show that you in Portland.
I shove nails in my head and do all sorts of stuff.
Oh please please please show up and show up ready to do all of that, because I will call you on stage.
Okay, okay, cool. Oh and let's talk capitalism. Say again, fuck capitalism.
Fuck capitalism. But also go to www dot therapice go dot com and buy my T shirts. Yes, thank you very much. Have a good night.
Than Yeah.
I liked Flee a lot. I I I you know, I'm I'm a I'm a huge believer of that. I'm a huge believer of that ship. Uh if you if you're looking around, you can't get into any of the clubs. Just start your own club. I don't know. And I and look, some people have problems doing that for whatever their reasons is, however legitimate those reasons are. But Flee hosted the fucking corn event. So I don't know why.
I don't know. I just maybe I'm being a dick, but I I just want I just want flee to I just know that there is a room of clowns getting high and hanging out and having a good time and poorland and I'm just over here ideating on how we get flee into that room and I hope they find it.
Hello.
Hello, how you doing.
I'm doing good? How about you?
What's your name, sir? My name is Brayden Branden Breden. What's your life like?
Huh?
Recently it's kind of been drama filled, but I mean other than that, I mean there's been a normal life. I mean ups and down.
Okay, is there anything particular that you wanted to call and to talk about?
Really? Just what you know life is like as a door dash driver. But there's one specific thing I wanted to talk about about when I delivered to a place that just had a shooting.
What place just had a shooting that you delivered to?
Yeah, like, right as I was delivering to it, there was a shooting.
Well there was a okay, so there was a shooting in progress when you were delivering there.
Yes, Like I picked up the food. The shooting occurred, and I got there before the cops did.
That's extremely funny that the DoorDash driver can arrive before the police does.
Yeah, it's honestly kind of funny.
So was there, Like, what tell tell me the story?
So basically, I was just in my area. I deliver a lot of Chick fil A because that's what's most popular here, and I went to go in and pick it up, and I had I have to park in like a parking lot that's like besides Chick fil A, because it's just too busy to try to park in the Chick fil A. So, you know, I pick it up, I come back out and as I'm walking to my car, you know, I'm kind of parked on the side of
a strip mall. And as I'm getting into my car, I hear a series of pops in the distance, and then I hear kind of like what sounds like a rock being thrown against the side of like the building. And I didn't really think much of it at the time. I was like, Oh, you know, it's just someone with their car, car exhausted in the distance. You know, it's not that big a deal. And you know, I have to drive across the street because I was delivering to the mall. And as I pull up into the mall,
you know, I get the food. I start to walk in, and there's a bunch of people out, you know, out by the front being like, oh is it safe or whatever. I'm like, why are they asking that? And then I look over and there's a car with like a bullet hole through the windshield, and there were security car security guards outside like taking a bunch of notes and stuff. And this lady comes up and she's like, Oh, no, my shooting or my car has nothing to do with
your shooting. You know, this is from a different one in a different town. I was like, wait, so she just.
Drove up to the shooting. She just drove up to the shooting with a bullet hole in her car, just from a different shooting.
From different instances.
Yes, where do you live, man?
I live.
It's a place called Rocky Mount, North Carolina. If anyone knows North Carolina, my town is nicknamed Murder Mount. I mean, there's a shooting that happens like every other day.
Wow. And I thought North Carolina was boring, not Rocky Mount.
Okay, So at this time, at this time, it's still not you know, clicking in my head that uh, there's a shooting that happened. And you know, I'm walking in, a bunch of people are standing at the doors being like, I'm not coming out. Do I know it's safe. I'm like,
what the world is happening? And I go in, I deliver the food, I start to walk out, and then I see like fifteen cop cars with all of their lights on, just all over the parking lot and they are like completely sectioning off a section of the parking lot. As I'm walking out, they are doing it, and I'm like, what the hell just happened? And I go and ask someone next to me and they're like, oh, shooting just happened.
I was like just now and they're like yeah, So I'm guessing that rock that I heard hit the side of the building I was at was actually a bullet that was flying over my head.
Does this kind of thing happen to you often when you are door dashing around?
Like?
Is do you just live in a generally unsafe area?
Well, I don't live here. I live in a different area. I just come here for work. But some of these things do happen. Yeah, because I was. There was another instance of where I was going to the Walmart to pick up an order and there was another shooting that happened there, but the cops got there before I did and completely sectioned off the parking lot so you could
not get in. And literally one stop light saved me, because if I was like thirty seconds, you know, ahead of where I was, I would have been in there when they sectioned off the parking lot.
Oh and you would have just been stuck inside of the parking lot.
Yeah, I would have been stuck inside the parking lot because they didn't let anyone out of the parking lot for like two hours.
Wait, So that doesn't make sense. And I don't know if either of us are going to know what we're talking about here, but if there's a like an active shooter in a Walmart, why would they not let people out of the parking lot. Is it because they're like suspects or something.
I think that's what it was. I think they thought that some that the shooter was still in the parking lot, so they were trying to keep them from going away. But they don't really take it too seriously because you know, it happens like every other day, and they like to say that it's a controlled shooting because they're not like shooting random people. They're like people that are actually going for.
Do you get tipped, well.
Unfortunately no. I mean some warders are good, some warders are also bad. I usually don't like to work after dark.
Uh yeah, I wouldn't too if I were yell.
There's also a bunch of crackheads in my area. There's one he calls himself crackhead Joe.
Crackhead Joe. Have you spoken with him?
I have.
I've spoken with him on different occasions. One of them. I didn't really talk to him in this instance, but he was in the same restaurant I was picking up from and this old lady came in to order and he just kind of he looks at her, and then he looks at me, and he looks back at her. He goes, hey, man, do you know who I am? She just looks at him and she goes, I don't know who you are, sir, and he just yells, I'm crackhead Joe. And then he runs out of the restaurant
and runs down the road. And I think that's the last time I saw him.
Do you think there is like, I mean, do you think there is some kind of clout to be gained from being like the crackhead of the area that he was kind of trying to capitalize on when he was talking to that woman, And maybe that's what that was.
I mean, I think there could be some kind and also maybe if he got on like social media, he could have been like an influencer. But he was like seventy years old. He might have been younger, but you know, the crack kind of you know, accelerates in the aging process.
Well it's interesting because I think, you know, people in general, it's it's people. There's a desire for an identity of some kind, whatever that identity may be, and maybe he was looking for it was like yeah, yeah, and he was like this could be you know, everyone wants to have a thing, like, you know, like I'm the gecko guy. You know, some people are like, oh, I'm a skateboarder. I love to see you know, I define myself by skateboarding and crackhead Joe. I don't know. I don't know
crackhead Joe, and I wouldn't call him. It sounds to me, I think it is offensive to call him crackhead Joe. But I think it sounds to me like he like that's what, that's what he denotes himself as that if he's like if he if he calls himself that, I'm like, all right, I'll, you know, call you whatever you want me to call you. And it could be something that pride out of. But I don't know.
Say that again, I said, is he is it really offensive if he wants to be called it? I mean it's kind of like, you know, like I'm trying to think of another famous person like the Rock kind of likes to be called the Rock, and crackhead Joe just wants to be called crackhead Joe.
I'm glad he found his land.
Yeah, at least he's happy.
Well, we don't know that, but Brandon, is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
I guess just try to be safe and if you hear something that she thinks of car exhausts, it may not be a car exists. And they being activeputing.
We learned new things every day on the Therapy Gecko podcast. Thanks for calling man.
All right, thank you have a good day.
Hello, Hello, Hello, is this low?
Yeah? Who's this?
This is Colin?
What's going on with you? Colin?
How much? How you doing?
Man?
I'm a get go on the computer?
Yeah you are?
Yeah, so Colin? So Colin, what's up? What? Why did you call me? Why the fuck did you call me? Colin? You tell me right now, You tell me right now before I throw a fit. I'm pissed off, Colin. No, I don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know why I did any of that. Just now. What's going on? Conn Tell me everything? Tell me nothing?
Well?
I called in because for like years now, I've had this mindset where it's not to explain, but essentially, like I'm in college right now, I'm neat a pretty good amount of people, and I usually find myself judging them pretty quick. But like and like, I know that's not really good to do, but I find myself proving myself
right about judging them a lot. And so I'm in this conflict of like, do I try and be upen minded and then like end up proving myself right or do I just stick with my judgments because usually I feel like I don't know, Like I'll give an example, I feel like I'm not explaining it poorly.
Yeah no, well no, no, no you're not. I don't think you're an explain it for but I would love to hear the example.
So a common thing that I experienced is meeting a lot of kids that were brought up really well and like really fortunate with their circumstances, and like they're nice and all, but I've learned like ninety nine percent of the time, like I don't know, like they're gonna be like rude or like they're gonna have some kind of like glaring character flaw. Like I have a lot of people who I was friends with and then you know, I was hanging out with them and their friends and
then they treat you completely different. Or like I work in the service industry and a lot of these people will like treat me really badly just because like I'm working, and so I find myself just in like normal day to day meeting similar types of people, and I just kind of like I don't really treat them like I'll have any kind of friendship with them, Like I immediately call it off in my head, okay, And when I don't do that, I just find myself doing it anyways, you know what I mean?
Does that make sense.
When you yeah, when you say that you judge people a lot, I mean, what judgments are you typically making about people?
Just that like there they'll be like a crummy person or like selfish or like rude, like a lot of like common negative character traits. If that makes sense.
Yeah, let me think here, I do you talk, like how soon into talking to people are you making these judgments?
Not like in five seconds? Probably, Like say I have like a class with someone where we have a group project, and I'll work with them for like forty five minutes, for like an hour. Usually at some point in there, like I find that like I can base off of maybe how they present themselves or how they talk, or
how like they'll treat people in the group. But like I can kind of gauge that they're this type of person that I've described, and like I'll just kind of calm off from there and like digest work with them in that group project.
Okay, kind of display a lot of Yeah.
Yeah, I have since thought I have some thoughts on this. I think one of the one of the best things I've ever heard. That was a lot one of the
best things I ever heard. It was a good thing I don't know if it's one of the best things I've ever heard, But I heard this thing that someone said, maybe it was Mark Manson or someone They were like, you know, uh, it is not people's job to present all of their best, most interesting, wonderful qualities to you, because that it's not in your control whether or not
they do that. It is your job to uh again, in working with what is within your control, to find uh and perceive the things about other people that are redeeming, interesting and positive. So uh, it sounds to me like you're approaching people with this inherent negative perspective of them or like your you know, you know you ever heard the term confirmation bias.
I can't say I have.
Actually, it's like it's like if you're talking, like if you're in a group project some guy and you know he's maybe he's wearing like a nice shirt. You're like, oh, this guy's wearing a nice shirt, he must be an asshole. You're now going out in your brain. You're now trying actively to you're biasedly attempting to perceive things about him that confirm your suspicion that he's an asshole. Does that
make sense? So if you were to just wipe your brain blank, or if or even better, if you were trying to approach the world in some sense of you know, most people are good, most people do have redeeming qualities, most people are acting kindly, most people This that whatever positive things your confirmation bias would work, then the other way, where you would actually go out of your way to perceive things about people that confirm your bias, that you know,
they're nice or they are friendly, or whatever it is. And the choice at the end of the day remainds is yours as to how you want to see the world and how you want to see you want to see people, because so much of it is about like
the mindset, you know. And so if you decide not even because you know, if you decide just because you want to live in a better version of the world where people are nice, you just decide that people are nice, that people are a certain way, whether people are interesting or the people have redeeming qualities, or that people are just trying their best. And you go out in the world and you are now perceiving things in a way
that are trying to confirm that bias. Uh, maybe you'll you'll kind of solve this issue that you have of judging people too fast. Does any of what I just said make sense?
Yeah?
Yeah, that's uh. I actually love that. That's extremely insightful. I've never might be a surprise, but I've never really thought.
Of it like that.
Okay, cool, good, good, Because here's the thing, the dude, I don't know. This is why I don't. I don't like labels and I don't I think there is a thing where we're villainizing people a lot, or we're saying, oh, if you're this, then you're that, or just all all this shit that is just a barrier against actually interacting with people and finding common ground with them. And uh, I think I think it's a good thing to try to get yourself out of, if that makes sense.
Yeah, yeah, no, one hundred percent degree. I I realized that, like it kind of comes off bad, but it's just
it's tough. Like I completely agree with you, but it's always tough because like I'll try and like look for the nice things and people, and like I still just unfortunately end up like proving my judgments, right sure, yeah, And it's just like a daily toss up in my head because like I don't want to be that asshole that like these a dude like driving a red Mercedes and he's like a freshman in college and it's like brand new, and it's like okay, obviously, like your parents
probably bought that for you, and like I try to like look and be like okay, maybe like he's just a really fortunate guy, but like he's really hard working and like he's kindly nice, and like he might even like help me in class. And then it's like nine out ten times I'll like meet that guy and it's like, oh no, yeah, he's actually an asshole. Sure yeah, And I realized like just picturing like typical rich kid, but it's it's like that with a lot of different people.
Well, I think, well, first of all, none of what I'm saying means you have to be friends with anyone or that you have to spend time with anyone that
you don't want to spend time with. I understand, you know, if you if you're spending if you're talking to this guy and he's you know, treating you in a way where it's like I don't think I want to be friends with this guy, or I don't think I want to spend time with this guy totally don't spend time with him or try to be friends with him in order to, like, you know, prove some hippie kumbay a
piece thing. But in defense of the hippie kumbay a piece thing, I would say that, And I'm this is all stuff that like I'm trying to ascribe to myself and don't do a perfect job of. So I hope I don't sound like you know, I've I've mastered this way of thinking, because it's just kind of a recreational philosophy shit that I'm sure I contradict myself in my actions a lot all the time. But I mean, there's there's a thousand things about this guy driving the Mercedes
that you don't know. You don't really know what his relationship with his family is, like, you don't really know what it was like growing up for him. You don't know if he's happy, you don't know what his problems that you don't like. You just you don't know anything. And that and that doesn't mean that every you know, rich kid driving a Mercedes is secretly this you know,
troubled child. But it doesn't it doesn't mean anything. All it means is that you don't know, and so if you don't know, you cannot make the judgment.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with you said, but I don't know.
If you become friends with the kid, maybe he'll let you drive in his Mercedes and that would be kind of cool. So maybe you should be friends with him, or maybe he'll give you some money?
True? True?
Uh?
Is anything? Oh no, please please, I want to hear your thoughts.
I was I was just going to kind of agree with your point of like it's tough to be perfect about and and like, obviously you should jump the conclusions with people. But I think I agree with you. I think even if I prove myself right, it's probably worth it to look for the good things and people.
Yeah yeah, And again, you know, if you're talking to a guy and he's like just being an asshole to you, doesn't mean you have to be his best friend. Doesn't mean you have to I mean, you don't have to do any of the shit. But for your own personal sake, of your own personal peace, I think you might be better off just understanding that you don't know anything about him. Really.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a much better way to stick by it.
That's a much better.
Mindset, Colin, Is there anything else you want to say to me or the people of the computer or God or SpongeBob before we go?
Yeah, it's completely unrelated. But I'm in the process of kind of working on a business right now and it's really thrilling and I'm very passionate about it. So if you have a dream that you'd like to chase, you should for sure chase it.
I like that. Thanks for calling Colin.
Thanks for picking up how to go Man.
Man, all those business kids, sure our assholes, aren't they?
Now?
I'm just kidding, Calm, Colin's con seems like a nice guy. But I don't know that either. You could say, Look, you could say the same thing about positive judgments, to be honest, not that I'm thinking about it, Like you know, say someone's being all nice and shit, you don't know what is going on with them. I don't know. I think that's the point of this whole cause I don't know. Thank you for calling, Calm. Hello, Hello, Hi, what's up? How can I get you today?
Well?
I told Stage two different things. I don't know which one she thought was more interesting.
Uh, well, forget about that. I'm forget about what you told anyone what as you are on the phone with me in this moment, do you desire to talk about?
Well, man, I guess kind of fresh on my mind. Yesterday found out one of my friends died.
I'm sorry to hear that died a couple of weeks ago.
I didn't know about it.
You just found out yesterday and it happened a couple of weeks ago.
Yeah, okay, Well, I didn't know the very well. He do you play D and D Dungeons and Dragon.
I don't play it myself, but I know what it is.
Okay, So he was he was a group of my friends DM, so he like ran the game, and he only played like three or four times. So I didn't know him very well. But he stopped responding to our messages in our Discord chat. It's been like a month, so I thought he just didn't want to play anymore, and he's just kind of ghosting us, you know. I just assumed that he was like being an asshole. But then I got a message on Discord claiming from his
brother that he was dead. But like, he didn't use his real name, he used his Discord name, so I just assumed he was lying. And and then I woke up his name and and find his obituary and he died like he died on campus, like in the engineering building.
He died on the campus that you you go to college on.
Yeah.
Yeah, were you close with this guy at all? I know you said you only played with him a couple of times, but I mean, did you have any kind of like relationship.
I met him like four times just to play D and D I extent I knew of him with his first name. So it is kind of weird.
Okay, this seems to be and it could be in a personal sense, it could be in a existential sense, it could be in any kind of sense, but this does seem as though it's affecting you in some way. Yeah, how are you feeling about him?
I feel really bad for assuming that he was being an asshole when he was dead.
M hm hm.
And so I got like I was talking about it in class because I didn't see the text until yesterday morning, and I was in the middle of class, so I was telling people about it, and then like the whole class got involved, and they're like, dude, what if this guy's actually dead? And then I find out he's dead and they're like, oh, man, you're a horrible person because I didn't believe it, and I just feel really bad about it.
Your classmates told you that you're a horrible person.
Yeah, because I just I thought he was making it up. Like, how am I supposed to expect someone who hasn't message in a month, is uh, you know, dead and not just ghosting us.
No, there's no room to assume anything or not assume anything that didn't make sense. There's no room to assume anything. Yeah, do you why do you?
Do?
You feel like a horrible person.
A little bit?
I feel bad about it?
M hm, Well, I mean, listen, man, I don't think that it was of you to be able to assume that he was dead, right, and also the idea that you know he was ghosting you and that you were upset by that, that's an idea that comes from wanting to hang out with him, which is a good thing. So no, I don't think that makes you a horrible person.
Yeah, it's just yeah, I mean, you can't expect to do his own nineteen. Yeah, you can't just like assume people are dying when they don't answer.
So I don't know.
How Uh, Now you have friends who are friends with this guy. You have mutual friends with him?
Yeah?
Yeah, other powers in their.
D and D session, And how have they reacted to this?
They didn't believe it either until we found the obituary for this dude.
Do we know how he died?
The bituary said breathing problems, like he had trouble breathing. You know that could be anything.
H m hm. How are you feeling talking about this? You sound you sound upset.
Yeah, I don't know. I guess it's kind of put in perspective. Some of my my other friends have been trying to catch up with him, because you know, all these people I haven't talked to in months. You know, I don't know what's on none of them either.
Interesting. Tell me more about that, this perspective that it's given you on other things.
Yeah, I guess. I guess I want to make sure my other friends are dead. You know, it's not something I ever thought about. I've never had like a like a close family member die, so I don't really know how to.
Deal with death.
M So this is making you want to reach out to other friends that you haven't spoken with in a while. Yeah, Okay, I think that's a I think that's a good takeaway from this. You know, it's obviously very sad, but I'm I'm glad that it's given you a sort of awareness of the fragility of your relationships, you know, because you really do never know when a person you ever talked to in a while, whether whether they are AFK or you know, if they if they're gone.
All right, Yeah, I don't know.
What's your name again, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, man, thank you for calling.
Daniel, Yeah, thank you.
I like Daniel. He's a nice guy. I hope that that was sad to hear about his friend. I do hope. I hope it inspires him to, yeah, to wanna catch up with old friends. Now I'm thinking about my old friends that I haven't seen in a long time, and how Yeah, it's weird. Anything could happen. Check up on your homies, man, check up on your homies. You never know what's going on. You can never really assume anything.
That's another that's a this is I guess a lesson an assumption perhaps could be and to not do it.
The kid goes on the line taking your phone calls every night.
Never be Kid goes to What a Ride.
He's teaching you Cloud in the Memorial Life.
But he's not really an expert.
