MFM Minisode 422

This week’s hometowns include finding money on the ground and attending a celebration for Aretha Franklin. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Everyone loves the idea of spending an afternoon curled up with a good book.

• 0:10Speaker 01

  Well, grow up, because it's almost impossible.

• 0:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Luckily, you can take your next great story with you on Audible.

• 0:15Speaker 01

  Audible has a massive selection of titles to choose from, including This American Life, new books by Michael Connelly, along with classics from Magathah Christie, and so much more.

• 0:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Whether you want a mystery, a true crime story, or something completely different, there's always something new to listen to.

• 0:29Speaker 01

  New members can start listening with a 30-day free trial at audible.com/mfm.

• 0:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Audible, stories that speak to you. Goodbye.

• 0:38Speaker 01

  This holiday season, celebrate the ones you know by heart with a gift that says it all.

• 0:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Because the best gifts don't just look beautiful, they mean something, too.

• 0:46Speaker 01

  From engraveable pieces that tell your story, to festive charms that capture special memories, to stunning, lab-grown diamonds, Pandora has meaningful jewelry for the people who inspire you and have been there through it all.

• 0:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Give a piece that says exactly what words can't.

• 1:00Speaker 01

  Pandora, more than a gift.

• 1:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Shop new styles in-store or online at pandora.net.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 1:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Hello.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  And welcome.

• 1:26Georgia Hardstark?

  To My Favorite Murder.

• 1:27Speaker 01

  The minisode.

• 1:28Georgia Hardstark?

  That's right.

• 1:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Do you want to go for... Oh, wait, it's me? It's me. It's you?

• 1:36Speaker 01

  Let me.

• 1:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Go.

• 1:37Speaker 01

  Watch this. The subject line of this email is "Lies from my mom hometown request." Hely, my ladies. H-E-L-L-Y. Hely, my ladies. Intentional? Perhaps. I love the request about lies you found out that your parents had told to keep you from getting into trouble, and this lie was discovered because of MFM. I'm an almost-Christmas baby, born on the 22nd, and anytime there was an option for a birthday party when I was small, I always wanted to go to Showbiz Pizza.

• 2:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 2:09Speaker 01

  And it says, "This was Chuck E. Cheese before it was Chuck E. Cheese." And, side note, do yourself a favor and watch the documentary about the Rockafire explosion. Do you know this?

• 2:18Georgia Hardstark?

  No. Is it the band?

• 2:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, the animatronic band that played in the restaurants. It's worth your time.

• 2:24Georgia Hardstark?

  I've seen that a million years ago, but yes, it's totally worth your time.

• 2:27Speaker 01

  The documentary?

• 2:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 2:29Speaker 01

  Anywho, because of having to compete with Jesus for attention around that time of year, I was typically granted my request to have a party there. I was also the first to shove any other birthday party invite into my mom's face when it was going to be held at showbiz. One day, my mom told this story about how they were investigating showbiz because a little girl was kidnapped there and the kidnappers took her to the bathroom, chopped off her hair, and put boy clothes on her, and they still hadn't found her. Gasp. Of course, this scared me to death, and I loved my long hair, and I didn't want to be kidnapped. The horror. So we never went back again.

• 3:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god.

• 3:07Speaker 01

  Fast forward. I am a day one MFM listener, and then it's parentheses, it says, "Love you guys, seriously." And one day, this story creeps back into my brain. I start internet sleuthing about my hometown, time of year, showbiz, did they find her? The list goes on. Nothing. I'm thinking that it was just solved quickly or something, and given the early 90s and lack of online inquiries, it wasn't a big deal. Come to find out,

• 3:32Georgia Hardstark?

  No.

• 3:33Speaker 01

  my mother's sweet Cynthia made the entire story up so we wouldn't ever have to go back to showbiz.

• 3:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Cynthia, are you fucking kidding? You induced childhood trauma.

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Are you kidding?

• 3:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, it says, "Are you kidding me?" Oh, because we're all, we all can't, we're all, Yes. what the fuck?

• 3:55Speaker 01

  Well, it's, you know what I mean? I think Cynthia was like, "We need to slice this clean off. I cannot go and listen to that animatronic band play one more time."

• 4:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Like, feel for the mom, I get it, but there's like,

• 4:08Speaker 01

  It's pretty extreme.

• 4:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:10Speaker 01

  I casually asked her one day about the details, and she said, "Oh, yeah, that wasn't true. I just hated going to that loud, germ-infested pit." Cynthia, thank you, Mom, thank you. Not only for the mental scarring of having my hair chopped off, but of also robbing me of shitty pizza and child casino games for penny prizes. SSDGM and Always Question Your Mother, Taryn, Louisville, Kentucky.

• 4:33Georgia Hardstark?

  It's just so extreme.

• 4:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is. Because I remember, that was like, urban legend. But it was one where I'm sure was based in some

• 4:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:42Speaker 01

  distant thing, but I remember my Aunt Jo telling me that, where it's like, they were in Kmart and she was, and it was always a friend.

• 4:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, right.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  And then like, they had to, all of a sudden, they were locking the doors, everyone had to stay there. And then there was a missing child, and when they found the child, they were, it was in a stranger's arms, cut, chopped off, dyed hair.

• 5:01Georgia Hardstark?

  To like, look, yeah, to sneak out.

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, boy, wow.

• 5:05Speaker 01

  So, that must have been like a eighties, nineties.

• 5:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, that's just chilling.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  So scary.

• 5:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, here's another scary one. Classic hometown hitchhiking murders plus some coincidences. Hello, love you guys. I'm a doctor who did my residency training during the pandemic, and all I can say is please get your vaccines. While I was in training, I told my team this story, and the room got very quiet and awkward, and I realized there was no murderino to be found.

• 5:31Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 5:32Georgia Hardstark?

  But I thought you guys might appreciate it.

• 5:34Speaker 01

  That's such a sad feeling.

• 5:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 5:36Speaker 01

  When you're just like, oh, wait, nobody? Okay, I'll take this somewhere else.

• 5:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, no one knows how to respond to this, and I just made it awkward.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:43Georgia Hardstark?

  So my mom's brother was a very popular, all-around good guy, who spent his summer in Europe in the seventies, where hitchhiking was totally normal. When he got back to the States, he kept hitchhiking. Him and a friend, we'll call them Joe and Jim, were hitchhiking back to their car after an Oakland A's game, when the people in the car, who were very high on drugs, stabbed both of them multiple times and left them for dead. My Uncle Joe didn't make it, but his friend did survive.

• 6:11Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 6:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Fucking crazy. The killers were caught days later when they were bragging about the murders at a party. My mom went to their court things, and they went to prison for a very long time. Cut to a couple of years ago, my mom was at church, and she sees, all cap, her brother's killer signing books at a table. He had gotten out of prison, written a book on recidivism, and was signing it at my mom's church. Ultimately, my mom wrote to him to say she forgives him. And if he ever wants to chat, she's open to it, but he never responded. This murder really took a toll on my family. Even though it happened before I was born, it gives me some insight into generational trauma and why my mom is generally pretty anxious, but also a badass bitch.

• 6:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you for all you do to promote mental and physical health. Love you guys. Xoxo, Naomi.

• 7:01Speaker 01

  Just so like unexpected, kind of out of, to be in church, first of all, and then see that person that you think is just like-

• 7:09Georgia Hardstark?

  The grace it took to not just fucking start screaming and hitting that person.

• 7:14Speaker 01

  Right. Well, and then to write a letter and say, like, I forgive you is a huge deal. And then to have that just kind of ignored.

• 7:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 7:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. Wow.

• 7:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 7:28Speaker 01

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 7:34Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with Simply Safe.

• 7:37Speaker 01

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break in starts, Simply Safe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and then something comes up and you get to look on your phone. And Simply Safe is going to show you not only the video of like, it's a raccoon at your front door, but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know. And if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 8:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind, that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with Simply Safe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year, 70% off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplysafe.com/mfm.

• 8:20Speaker 01

  That's simplysafe.com/mfm. And when you order, write in MFM at checkout and it tells them we sent you and it really helps the show.

• 8:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Simply Safe, ahead of crime in real time. Goodbye.

• 8:32Speaker 01

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• 9:13Speaker 01

  And when you're ready to launch, use offer code MURDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Goodbye.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  Want to take a little left turn, please? I'm not going to read you the subject line. It says, "Hey, howdy, hey. My first year out of college, I was waiting tables because what better way to put that $250,000 degree to good use? Needless to say, all my income was in cold, hard cash, and in order to prevent myself from spending, and I was too lazy to take it to the bank every few days, I would hide the money all over the place. But I needed one concise place to keep my rent money, since I needed to be sure how much I had and if I needed to wear my rent money shorts to my next shift."

• 9:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow. So she'd like put it in a pair of shorts, like, "Don't forget to take the rent money out of those shorts before you wear them?"

• 10:04Speaker 01

  No, no, no. No, she had to put it in a place that was like safe, so it's like you're hiding money everywhere, but you'll never spend this money because that's the rent money. Like, never tap into that.

• 10:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 10:14Speaker 01

  And then if that's too low, she puts on her short shorts and goes to work and gets better tips.

• 10:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay. Now I get it.

• 10:20Speaker 01

  Rent money shorts.

• 10:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Now I get it.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  I mean, that's how I'm interpreting it. "Obviously, I couldn't hide it in the sock drawer or envelopes in my desk, so where to put it? Enter the tissue box. I got one of my square tissue boxes, carefully took out all the tissues out in their perfectly folded stack, and placed my rubber-banded stash at the bottom, replaced all the tissues, gave it a little fluff, and no one would know the wiser."

• 10:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, no.

• 10:43Speaker 01

  "Fast forward a few months, and my apartment was broken into. My bedroom was completely ransacked, dresser drawers tossed on the floor, everything in my closet pulled off the racks, my mattresses pushed off the frame. I broke into a cold sweat, but there, on my nightstand, not even moved in the slightest, was my tissue box and in the bottom, every dollar of my rent." The only thing missing was a jar I kept all my coins in, maybe $20 worth. Stay sexy and don't touch my tissues, Jess.

• 11:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, I thought she was gonna say she, someone threw the box away at the end of it, but.

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Like me and my dad with this butter box?

• 11:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Still so mad about that.

• 11:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow, that's, uh, phew, smart.

• 11:23Speaker 01

  Smart and lucky. Yes. The problem is I was doing, I started hiding cash during quarantine because it was that thing of like,

• 11:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 11:31Speaker 01

  What if, whatever, there was all those weird, kind of like, the world is gonna change overnight.

• 11:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Gonna run out and we're gonna need, yeah, I remember that.

• 11:37Speaker 01

  Of course, I didn't like write down what, like, I was like, here's a really vague manila envelope, I'll put it in here.

• 11:43Georgia Hardstark?

  You have no idea.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  No idea, but I'll find it one day when I like clean that drawer out, but.

• 11:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Still there, it's just.

• 11:49Speaker 01

  Or, like, did I spend it in it, like, a weird, I'm not sure, but then it's like, and then I put it other places where I'm just like, is it over here? Like, the worst person to be doing that trick.

• 12:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I'd lose it. Uh, oh, well, hey, here's a coincidence. This one's called, "The World Is My Money Boost."

• 12:09Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 12:10Georgia Hardstark?

  It just starts, "Not a murder and not a sinkhole, but a glitch in the matrix that I've been benefiting from and I wanna brag about it in your voices." "I live in Chicago and I find money on the ground all the time."

• 12:22Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:23Georgia Hardstark?

  "Not just quarters or useless pennies, but twenties, tens, and even a $50 bill." "I'll be out walking, on a run, or commuting via my bike, and I'll find money." Here's a list of finds in the past year.

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, yes, for this email, yes.

• 12:38Georgia Hardstark?

  "A crisp $5 bill at the busy six-corner intersection in the Wicker Park neighborhood as I was rushing to cycle to my physical therapy appointment." "I was five minutes late, but my therapist just laughed when I told her why."

• 12:52Georgia Hardstark?

  "On a run some beautiful Saturday morning, and I spotted a $20 bill that was missing a large piece after having gone through a lawnmower." "I paused on my run to take it to the bank to see if I could exchange it. Despite missing most of the middle top half, it still had a serial number and I was able to leave the bank with a fresh one."

• 13:09Speaker 01

  Amazing.

• 13:09Georgia Hardstark?

  I think it's like, it's more than one corner that's missing, or something like that. That's what I heard, but I could be wrong.

• 13:15Speaker 01

  I'd love to get a graph about exactly how much you need.

• 13:19Georgia Hardstark?

  How fucked up does your bill have to be?

• 13:21Speaker 01

  What if it's, you walk in with the serial number?

• 13:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 13:24Speaker 01

  Just a little circle of paper.

• 13:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Literally four days before the damage 20, I found a different $20 bill in the middle of an intersection as I was biking home. I had worried my new sunglasses tint would obscure my talent, but they didn't. I think it might be Chicago, people just fucking losing money.

• 13:40Speaker 01

  Drunk. Is it like, do you find this on Sundays and Mondays?

• 13:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 13:44Speaker 01

  Cause yeah.

• 13:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Last winter, while walking into the entrance of Zoo Lights with my husband and stepson, there was a gust of wind and a pile of leaves went by. I shouted, "There's money!" I snatched up a $50 bill. We had a fun night from that. It paid for our admission. We rode the Ferris Wheel and my stepson got a toy.

• 14:01Speaker 01

  Hell, yes!

• 14:03Georgia Hardstark?

  At this point, it's what happened to me for about 15 years. It either irritates my family and friends, or they just shake their heads at me. So last year, I decided to pay it forward and I ran the Chicago Marathon on a charity team. From my skillset, I raised $47 from ground scores alone.

• 14:19Speaker 01

  Ground scores?

• 14:20Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't know what that means.

• 14:21Speaker 01

  Scoring money on the ground.

• 14:23Georgia Hardstark?

  That's amazing.

• 14:25Georgia Hardstark?

  It's not my money and I figured it should go to a no-kill animal shelter instead.

• 14:29Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 14:30Georgia Hardstark?

  That's amazing. We all have our superpowers and mine is finding money or useful things. I found a North Face fleece, a Bluetooth speaker as well.

• 14:38Speaker 01

  Fuck!

• 14:39Georgia Hardstark?

  So take that mental health walk, put your phones on do not disturb, look around, and you never know what treasures might be waiting for you. My hopeful next find is a kitten.

• 14:50Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 14:51Georgia Hardstark?

  A Lea.

• 14:52Speaker 01

  Oh, Lea. You're a lucky, lucky person.

• 14:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Wishing you the cat distribution system works in your favor.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  I mean, it got to.

• 15:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, Chicago littered with kittens.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  I'm just trying to think of like that. I feel like I have been a lucky person, not in the times of like, I've never like won contests or anything like that, but I do feel like I've, it's the thing, I think we talked about it. I used to go, when I was really broke, I would just get up and go through my coat pockets and my, all the pockets in my clothes in my closet. And I would always end up finding $25, $20, $10.

• 15:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 15:29Speaker 01

  So I wonder if there is a, something about the looking.

• 15:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 15:33Speaker 01

  Brings it to you.

• 15:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Just like, yeah, manifesting it makes you notice it. It's still gonna be there for anyone, but you're the one who'd been thinking about it.

• 15:40Speaker 01

  Unless we live in the matrix and they're like, sure, you can have $10 if you tap in.

• 15:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Fucking do it.

• 15:46Speaker 01

  Come on, then.

• 15:48Georgia Hardstark?

  The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 15:51Speaker 01

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 15:57Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with SimpliSafe.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break-in starts, SimpliSafe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and then something comes up and you get to look on your phone, and SimpliSafe is going to show you not only the video of like, it's a raccoon at your front door, but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know, and if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 16:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with SimpliSafe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year, 70% off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplisafe.com/mfm.

• 16:44Speaker 01

  That's simplisafe.com/mfm, and when you order, write in MFM at checkout, and it tells them we sent you, and it really helps the show.

• 16:51Georgia Hardstark?

  SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Goodbye.

• 16:55Speaker 01

  We've all had moments where dealing with healthcare or insurance feels completely overwhelming.

• 17:00Georgia Hardstark?

  You're sick, worried about someone you love, trying to understand what comes next, and suddenly you're spending hours on hold, filling out paperwork, and trying to figure out who to call.

• 17:08Speaker 01

  Research shows patients spend the equivalent of an eight-hour workday every month coordinating their own care.

• 17:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Nobody hands you a roadmap when you're dealing with a diagnosis or ongoing health issues.

• 17:19Speaker 01

  That's why there's Solace Health.

• 17:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Solace provides personal healthcare advocates who average 16 years of healthcare experience and can help you get answers fast.

• 17:26Speaker 01

  Think of them as someone in your corner who understands the healthcare system and can handle the logistics while you focus on your health.

• 17:32Georgia Hardstark?

  They can help with appointments, insurance denials, medical bills, treatment options, and understanding doctor recommendations.

• 17:38Speaker 01

  Research shows 92% of patients report a positive impact on their care from working with an advocate.

• 17:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Advocacy improves outcomes, and Solace advocates are covered by insurance nationwide.

• 17:49Speaker 01

  Eligibility varies by insurance plan.

• 17:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Advocates do not provide medical or legal advice or services, must be 18 years or older.

• 17:56Speaker 01

  Go to solacehealth.com/murder to see if you qualify.

• 17:59Georgia Hardstark?

  It takes about two minutes, and it's covered by insurance.

• 18:01Speaker 01

  That's S-O-L-A-C-E health.com/murder. Goodbye.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  Okay, last tea for me.

• 18:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 18:11Speaker 01

  The subject line of this email is, "Aretha Franklin Elbowed Me at the Buffet Line." "Hello, Karen, Georgia, and everyone at Exactly Right. I just listened to episode 460 about Mary Jones, and it brought me so much joy." That was the, Mary Jones was the Aretha Franklin impersonator.

• 18:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, yeah.

• 18:27Speaker 01

  So good. "And it brought me so much joy because it reminded me of the time Aretha Franklin elbowed me at a buffet line."

• 18:33Georgia Hardstark?

  It sounds like someone explaining their dream.

• 18:35Speaker 01

  Yes, completely. Yes. It is a dream. It was 2010, and I was living in New York City, having recently earned my master's in publishing from Columbia.

• 18:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 18:47Speaker 01

  Well, well, well, well.

• 18:48Georgia Hardstark?

  We got smarty pants listening.

• 18:50Speaker 01

  Well, well, well. Okay. "The publishing world was collapsing. Magazines were folding. Suddenly, no one was hiring, and I was scraping by with any job I could get, living on food stamps and feeling increasingly panicked that I'd have to abandon my dreams, go back to my hometown of Albuquerque, and probably switch careers." Okay, sorry, we said, "Well, well, well," too.

• 19:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Never mind.

• 19:13Speaker 01

  We were in the wrong. I'm saying "we," but it was me. "In the midst of all the turmoil, I managed to land a gig as a freelance red carpet reporter."

• 19:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh.

• 19:21Speaker 01

  Well, and because I got paid per quote, you'd better believe I shoved my way past every camera person and had no time for feeling starstruck, because every celebrity I talked to meant I could survive in the city a little longer."

• 19:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow, what a hustle.

• 19:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, badass. "It was a crazy job, and I constantly got hit in the head by camera equipment, but it was amazing because..." You don't think about that, that danger on the red carpet. "But it was amazing because I met so many incredible people and had access to some seriously exclusive events. The most memorable experience had to be when I was tasked with covering the Spring Benefit Concert and Awards Ceremony at the Apollo Theater on June 14th, 2010, honoring none other than the Queen of Soul herself, who performed that night and was inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame."

• 20:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Huh.

• 20:07Speaker 01

  I mean, God, what, just the, the, just the electricity of being at a place like that.

• 20:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Historic time.

• 20:15Speaker 01

  Yeah. I grew up listening to her music and I was beyond excited to go, which every, I'm sure person in that building was like going insane. After a star-studded red carpet where I got enough quotes to tie me over for another month. I love that.

• 20:29Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. Wow.

• 20:30Speaker 01

  It's very satisfying.

• 20:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it just sounds, it sounds like a book, like a novel, a character would have.

• 20:35Speaker 01

  I was allowed to go inside the theater and watch the show for free as a member of the press. That alone would have made all my struggles in New York worth it, but then I was invited to a private catered party right there at the theater with a glorious buffet. I was standing in line, ogling food I could never have afforded, when someone elbowed me in my right side. Aretha Franklin Liven in the Flesh stood next to me, grinned, and said, "Looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Before I had a chance to do or say anything, she walked ahead, nudging and hugging people here and there, stopping to make brief conversation. Oh. She disappeared after that, but I know it happened for sure because the people in front of me turned around and we all squealed in pure joy.

• 21:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my god.

• 21:18Speaker 01

  I loaded my plate, went back for seconds, and at some point floated back to my tiny apartment to send in my work, feeling more love toward New York than ever. I ended up getting a job at InStyle soon after that. And though I'm back in Albuquerque these days, I'm here willingly and happily and still work in publishing. I like to think that on that day, a little bit of Aretha's magic rubbed off on me, giving me a very needed boost to keep going. I listened to you since the early days and my sister and nieces and I love you. Thank you so much for all you do and please stay safe during those crazy fires in LA. SSDGM and R E S P E C T.

• 21:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Monica.

• 21:57Speaker 01

  That's good.

• 21:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Monica.

• 22:00Speaker 01

  Wow. Oh, what a moment. What a moment in life. Yeah, just like, just hustling. You got yourself there. You did, you're asking good enough questions that you keep getting rehired.

• 22:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, and it's like a month-to-month thing. Like, you don't know what the fuck's gonna happen next month. Anything can happen.

• 22:17Speaker 01

  Just gotta keep on trying and then suddenly, I honestly thought it was gonna be like, I just figured, because you know, I've seen a lot of clips of Aretha Franklin where she's kinda like, she's Very like blase blase and like it has to go out on the step and repeat to take pictures and throws her person or fur down in a corner like she's just so like eye roll.

• 22:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 22:36Speaker 01

  So I could totally see it be just like out of my way. This is my show.

• 22:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 22:40Speaker 01

  But instead she's like.

• 22:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Let me give this chick a moment that she's gonna remember. She knows. She knows.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  She knows.

• 22:45Georgia Hardstark?

  She knows.

• 22:46Speaker 01

  That's true.

• 22:46Georgia Hardstark?

  So classy.

• 22:47Speaker 01

  True queen behavior.

• 22:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 22:49Speaker 01

  She's like, aren't we all having fun with my.

• 22:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 22:51Speaker 01

  My party.

• 22:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Here's something to tell people when you get home tonight. Oh my God.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  So jealous.

• 22:56Georgia Hardstark?

  So I want to end on that one. It was so good, but I have a quick, my quick last one.

• 22:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 23:00Speaker 01

  They're all good.

• 23:01Georgia Hardstark?

  It's sweet. You'll like it. Yeah.

• 23:02Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 23:02Georgia Hardstark?

  It's called You're in Our Love Story.

• 23:04Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 23:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Hi Karen and Georgia. What am I even doing right now? Feeding my baby while listening to my favorite podcast. And then it says, wouldn't it be funny if I said it wasn't yours?

• 23:12Speaker 01

  Yes, it would be.

• 23:13Georgia Hardstark?

  It's called Smartless.

• 23:17Georgia Hardstark?

  I thought I might share why you're partially to thank for my daughter being here at all. I met my partner while working in the same building and we bonded over many things, including being murderinos. On our first date, I opened the door and instead of flowers, he was holding your book. He remembered I had wanted to read it and I was immediately smitten. After falling in love, buying a home, blending our family and being told I couldn't have more kids, here I sit feeding our nine month old baby Cheerios while we listen to rewind episodes. If you read that right, it looks like the baby's name is Cheerios, which I think is fucking hilarious. Feeding our nine month old baby Cheerios, but it's feeding our nine month old baby Cheerios.

• 23:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, listen to rewind episodes. Thank you for forever being a part of our love story and giving my guy the little boost of confidence it took to land a hottie like me.

• 24:05Speaker 01

  Yes, girl.

• 24:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Stay sexy and hope that babies can understand what you're listening to. Love, Alyssa.

• 24:12Speaker 01

  Alyssa. That was a perfect last email.

• 24:16Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. And isn't it, doesn't this come out around Valentine's Day?

• 24:19Speaker 01

  Sweet. Perfect runner up for Valentine's Day.

• 24:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Hey, send us your love stories, whatever they may be.

• 24:26Speaker 01

  That's so sweet.

• 24:27Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. That's so weird.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  Shout out to Alyssa's husband.

• 24:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, good job, dude.

• 24:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Hey, thanks for listening. Uh.

• 24:34Speaker 01

  Alyssa's husband.

• 24:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Alyssa's husband especially.

• 24:37Georgia Hardstark?

  And Cheerio especially. Oh, my god, Cheerio. We're so proud of you, Cheerio.

• 24:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Send us your emails at myfavoritemurder@gmail. Thanks for all your stories. We appreciate you. Stay sexy. And don't get murdered. Goodbye.

• 24:51Speaker 02

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 25:01Speaker 01

  This has been an Exactly Right Production.

• 25:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.

• 25:05Speaker 01

  Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

• 25:07Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Leona Scolacci.

• 25:10Speaker 01

  Email your hometowns to [email protected].

• 25:13Georgia Hardstark?

  And follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 25:16Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 25:23Speaker 01

  Vacation planning should feel like a breeze, not a deep dive into countless travel sites searching for the best deal.

• 25:29Georgia Hardstark?

  With Cheap Caribbean's Budget Beach Finder, you can search every destination and every date, all in one search.

• 25:34Speaker 01

  You'll save time and money with the Budget Beach Finder.

• 25:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Say goodbye to endless scrolling and tab hopping and hello to Budget Beach Bliss at your fingertips.

• 25:42Speaker 01

  Go to cheapcaribbean.com to try out the Budget Beach Finder and see just how stress-free vacation planning should be. Goodbye.

• 25:50Speaker 02

  Cool fall nights always make me want to entertain more. A few friends around the table, maybe a fire outside when the sun goes down. Before everyone comes over, I stop at Total Wine & More. Right now, there's a cranberry-flavored wine, a crisp apple wine, even a pumpkin spice cream that's perfect in coffee after dinner. And with the lowest prices, I can bring home a few different fall flavors for everyone to try. Find your favorite fall flavors at the lowest prices at Total Wine & More. Spirits are not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. Must be 21.