Transcript
Speaker: Bye, Sam. hi jeff
Speaker: Welcome. Ooh, that sounded so professional. And I just fucked it up with that. To the Jeff and Sam show. Everything about it really just made you feel like you were in like a theater or something. Let's do it again. ok Welcome to the Jeff and Sam show.
Speaker: I'm your host, Jeff. And I'm Sam. Oh, there we go. I couldn't even try to be And I'm Sam. Oh, that's. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the show. Why are we why are we doing this? I don't know. It's also like the size of my head. The microphone is so big.
Speaker: That's why we're doing this. I sound so good in my own ears. You sound really good in my ears, too. Oh, my God. Anyway, welcome to the show. Here we are. Jeff and Sam here to entertain you for, I don't know, about maybe like the next hour. yeah Something like that.
Speaker: Little bits and pieces here. We're going to podcast at you. Talking to your ears while you're mowing the lawn. Walking the dogs. We're going to get in those ears real good and slide around. and Nope, nope, nope, no, no, no, no. Play in the goop. about that In the goop of it all.
Speaker: On that note, just real quick. i need to hear this. and Yes. did you Were you there the day the girl did the cheese thing? I love her. Oh my God. Okay. So I texted everyone at work. I texted all of my friends and I said, I have officially in 13 years of being in the ER, I have officially found my favorite patient ever because this six-year-old walked in to triage confidently and, and articulate and well-mannered and pleasant and just factual.
Speaker: She said, I have ear pain. And I wasn't N1-ing her. So like I was hearing this as I was putting a triage in the computer for someone else. And think it was Bonnie.
Speaker: Was it Bonnie or was it Brittany? was Brittany. I was like, well, okay, why is she hearing She said, well, and they kept talking and I was like, I'm pretty sure they're saying something about cheese. So I like peek out and I'm like, I'm sorry, could you just repeat that? She said, I put cheese in my ear. And I said, I'm sorry, why?
Speaker: Well, the only option, if you don't want to eat it, is to put it in the trash can. And i think I'd rather have fun with it. That's fair. So she had put cheese in her ear.
Speaker: Cubed cheese, cheddar, from like one of those snack packs. And she just like stuffed it in there on Monday. This was Friday. Oh, She had taken it out, or so she thought, um and then told her mom, like, hey, I'm having ear pain. So mom looks in, and she was like, you got a lot of earwax in there.
Speaker: So she starts cleaning out, she was like, that does not look like earwax. Then she cleans out the other ear, and that's earwax. And she goes, what is this? And she, oh, it's cheddar cheese, mom. No.
Speaker: Oh my God. She said, what else was I supposed to do with it? said, find someone who likes cheese. What a violation. Also, I can just see your face the moment somebody said cheese. I was like, hmm? Excuse me, I'm sorry, what? Can you say that one more time? I did you i rolled i rolled my chair, like because the computer's, the glass is in front of it, so I did the whole, shh, I'm sorry?
Speaker: One more time, say that again. yeah are you Are you saying cheese? I thought I heard the word cheese. I did, but my little mouse ears, I did. I realized tonight, actually, that the only thing that I'd eaten until the burger tonight...
Speaker: Actually, I don't want to finish that sentence. I really want you to finish that sentence. What is it? Well, you know, I came back from Europe with 10 and a half pounds of cheese. Okay. um Literally 10 and a half pounds. Had to weigh it because it had to go in my bag. Okay, so...
Speaker: I haven't had the opportunity to truly, because good cheese requires the time to enjoy it and appreciate it, right? Like, I'm not just going to be fucking sick. It's not cheddar.
Speaker: I'm not going to be just walking around snacking on it, okay? So today I had some time. You had cheese.
Speaker: But I ate it. It was one of the ones that was like a like a wedge. and It wasn't one of the... Blobs, rolls. Yeah, yeah, It was just one of the wedges.
Speaker: How did you eat the wedge cheese?
Speaker: Hand to mouth. Full on. Just went for it. Just kept. And I just, I was like, I'm building stuff. And I'm, I was having a great day. And I was like, I'm eating cheese. It was great. I love cheese. What of cheese is it? It was a pesto goat cheese. Oh.
Speaker: It's gone. i mean, I ate all of I should have saved it. but Yeah, you cannot resist a good cheese. When I have the time to appreciate it, and Kelsey was making fun of me. She was like, wait, you still have cheese left.
Speaker: And that's the only explanation I can come up with is like, when you know, you know. And I can't just eat that cheese on the fly. it it deserves a sit down a like bite and process, you know. You know, when I was a teenager, I went to Sweden and Ingrid, friend, um the mother of my friend, Ganilla in Sweden, she sent me back. She was mopping the house one day, mopping the floors.
Speaker: And I said, oh I like that mop. That's all I said. Oh, I like that mop. The day that I was going to leave, have I never told you this?
Speaker: The day that I was leaving, she gave me a mop. That was that mop that she was using. What was so special about this mop? I don't remember, i made a comment.
Speaker: Were you just being polite? I think. I mean, it was a mop. I mean, that's what thinking. I don't know. Was this a magic mop? She gave me the mop, and she gave me a huge thing of the white cheese that we had in Norway.
Speaker: Now, by the time I got home, it was the cheese was kind of iffy. See, that's the good thing about the cheese that I got in amster in Amsterdam and Switzerland is that it's like...
Speaker: It can be out of the fridge for a month, a full month. Yeah, well, this was kind of iffy, but the mop remained. I really wish you had it still. I want to know what kind of mop it was.
Speaker: I don't know. I mean, crossed continents for you. I carried a mop and a pack of cheese. Across the ocean. Through airports, through New York. Yeah.
Speaker: Crazy story. I mean, thank you, Ingrid, for that. i never had a chance to properly thank her for the mop and the cheese. Such a startling moment. We gave give it to mom. I was like, here's a mop.
Speaker: Here's a mop. Was it the one she was using or or was it a new one? i don't remember anything about it. that Literally, I was, and I'm not like making fun of it. You know, it was just one of those funny things like, oh, I like your mop.
Speaker: Oh, I like your have this mop now. and Oh, it's in my hand, and I'm going to New York with the mop. On a plane. On a plane, yeah. You didn't check it. You were just carrying a mop. I carried a mop on the plane. I think. I don't even remember that. think you could do it nowadays. think they would call that a weapon. You would have to check it. Like, pay $100 for checking a mop. So that's my mop story, and this is a true crime of history in a comedy podcast. We should probably say that. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. And send us suggestions, people. Jeffandsamshow at gmail.com. We'll take them. We'll take any suggestions you have. You can message us there. What else? What's new? What's happening? You had a burger to today?
Speaker: yeah. It was good. It was good. Yeah, today was a good day. um You know, I've been working a lot. I had some stuff going on, and then I had the vacation that was already planned, so I was not going to miss that, right? So then I go out of town.
Speaker: And then I came back from the two weeks abroad and was off for one day and then jumped right back into work. And since then, I've had today is my second day off since returning on the 9th of August.
Speaker: So it was a good day. I got to hang out with Britt and her little tiny. Mm-hmm. It was magical. Like I will show you pictures and videos. She was just, she's such a personality she is and I'm so obsessed with her and her little voice like, Oh my god And she was asking for Jolene at nine to five.
Speaker: So I have like a whole speaker system. Like ah for me, obviously music is a very large part of my life. So this move that I'm making, one of the first things that I brought to the house was a whole bunch of different speakers. and my Alexa things that can blast music. And then obviously the cheese and then also candles because smells. So priorities. ah So I asked Alexa, I said, Alexa, play Jolene. And like, is she listening?
Speaker: I just knew my Alexa would play that when you said that. No, no. well I don't think we need it. I've had that song so many times in the last like.
Speaker: Yeah, but you know what came on on the way over here? That just like from the first note, why'd you come in here looking like that? Oh my God. And every time that comes on, don't care what I'm doing.
Speaker: It just kind of makes me like. That's such a good one. It's such a good one. I told you what my favorite one is. You have a bunch. um Well, specifically. Two Doors Down.
Speaker: Two Doors Down. Yeah. That song just makes me happy. It's like Garth's song, Colin Baton Rouge.
Speaker: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Speaking of which, I bought some cowboy boots. I heard. You saw. i saw. I just went to that store the other day and thought, okay, I got these old cowboy boots that no longer fit me.
Speaker: Wait, why don't they not fit you? I don't know, they're too big. they yeah Wait, did you used to have fat feet? I don't know. Have you lost weight in your feet? I don't know. How do you fit in cowboy boots with your calves?
Speaker: Do they just sit right under that very large muscle? Like, are they short? This one sits right under the muscle. Right here. Do what, Sam? This one sits underneath the muscle.
Speaker: i can't wait to see this. Immediately, i texted Christopher and said, these are my boots. And Chris was like, shut. Are we best friends now? Because these are my boots. He has the same pair of boots. Yes. Yes, he does.
Speaker: Yes. So we're going to be using them soon. i cannot wait. I cannot wait. um Anything else? Oh, a show that I've been watching. I ask you, then I answer the question. Do you like how I did that? I do. That's kind of what we do.
Speaker: The Terminal List. Have you seen it? I don't think so. It's so good. If you want something that is like, you don't have to think a lot. It's like a good bit of action. Navy seals The Terminal List, Dark Wolf. yeah Can I just tell you, good God, the actor Tom Harper. i know that we don't have that in common, Sam, but you can appreciate. can appreciate.
Speaker: can you Can you Google him? Gay not blind. Yes. I can appreciate attractive people, whatever gender. i just, it doesn't it doesn't do it for me in the town Tom Harper.
Speaker: Tom Harper. The beauty of Tom Harper. Jesus Lord. Tom Hopper? Harper. Oh, maybe it's Hopper. I think it's Hopper. Tom Hopper plays Rafe Hastings. Yes, Rafe.
Speaker: Rafe, save me. I'm in distress.
Speaker: ah yeah Have you got to a picture of him yet? my. Thank you. Thank you. thank you Oh, he's like he's like a really pretty, see that handsome white dude. You know, I thought you would appreciate that because i think that's... Holy jawline. Thank you. Hello. God bless. America.
Speaker: Only he's British. God bless Britain. Look at that jawline. Cut cheese on that. Beautiful. He's very pretty. He's beautiful. he has very thick, full hair. i love that for him. He's just... Wait a second. I recognize this face. I know you do. Hold hold on, hold on.
Speaker: The Umbrella Academy. yeah Oh, i forgot about that. Black Sails. Resident Evil. Yes, I know him. He is so scrumptious.
Speaker: Scrumptious. Oh, and then I'm waiting like... And the Hitman's body gird. You know who i'm talking about. You've seen him before. i have. He's tall too. And in this movie, he's tall and lean. I think he's always lean and probably always tall.
Speaker: But like, damn. But they're ah it's a cast of like beautiful men Well, because, yeah, they're Navy SEALs. Yeah. They got that gruff thing about them, like the full beard.
Speaker: And they're like bald completely. But they're all like pristine fitness. And like you can see all of their muscle fibers moving. a little bit emotionally disturbed, which I find very attractive. You know what I mean? got to call it your therapist.
Speaker: She quit. My therapist therapist quit. Ha, ha, ha. oh You bitch.
Speaker: ah But the worst part about her quitting was that she did it the day before Dolly died. And ah I got the news that Dolly died and i was like, I don't have a therapist anymore. She quit. This is one of those things. That's me. I can help you. Yeah, that's why you're here. I it was an i texted you and I was like, hey.
Speaker: I know the answer to this. Like, are you okay? No. And you just said, no, I'm not. No. said, okay. But then I feel like I have to like specify, okay, no, I'm not okay. Because I think like 17 people asked me if I was okay. But then when I just say, no, I'm not okay. Then I have to also say,
Speaker: caveat i mean i'm okay okay but like but you didn't have to say that to me right i don't think i did i don't even think i did you didn't no it was simple i just responded back with if there's anything i can do to help and for clarification the therapist didn't quit me she just quit the company it wasn't that bad can you imagine jeff you suck so hard i'm i'm leaving you I just had a conversation with someone about this thing, about firing patients. You know, because in the ER, you can't actually fire a nurse, right? like That's not a fucking thing.
Speaker: You get what you get. Goodbye. You can request another nurse, but that's probably going to make things worse for you. Same thing with a doctor. But in specialty private practices, you can be fired as a patient and you can fire your provider.
Speaker: had to go through this whole thing about like, how how much do you beat your head against a wall with your patient who's in therapy?
Speaker: Like there's a thing. You go to therapy because you want to stay good. You want to know that if things go bad, you can get better and you have the support system and that kind of thing.
Speaker: You make choices to improve yourself. But there are people out there who boldly refuse to take medical or mental.
Speaker: Do you think they're the people that like are forced to go to therapy? I think
Speaker: yes, but I think in this situation, when you think about like um specialty populations, right? um
Speaker: Mom and dad are paying for you to go to therapy. Mom and dad have to take accountability. They have to be accountable for following through with the shit that they're paying for. Like if you are my therapist and my parents brought me to you because I am fucked up and I'm a child, if the therapist says, hey, you guys need to do this. This is part of the plan. oh Mom and dad need to do that. They can't just be like, well, she doesn't like it or he doesn't wanna do that.
Speaker: Well, you're part of the problem. So you have to find your limit. How long as a therapist are you going to run into a brick wall before you finally say, listen, this is only going to end in tears and i want nothing to do with it.
Speaker: Or do you maybe like give them a heads up? Hey, listen, this is like the second time that we've tried this. Yeah. I don't have any more times left in me. There's an entire there's an entire process. Oh, right. Like you can't, you can't just say like, wake up one day and be like the fuck you're out.
Speaker: No, there's, there's like the whole patient abandonment and all that kind of stuff. Like you have to set them up with something else. You have to start the process to get them where they need to be.
Speaker: Oh yeah. You do the best that you can. And again, like if they don't want to follow those recommendations, once you have made the the steps and started the process to get them where they need to go, you can wash your hands of it safely without being liable for whatever happens in the interim. you know Interesting, mine just quit me.
Speaker: Yeah, she said you fucked up. She said you suck. Wait, maybe she knew Dolly was going to die. and Maybe. And she was like, you know, also the company that she worked for, they texted me like two weeks before. and they were like, hey, your therapist is quitting.
Speaker: But we can set you up with another therapist and let us know what we can do to help you. So they were like kind of proactive about it, but you know, I said I really just, I was going to do it for the year, right? And that was the year mark.
Speaker: Kind of perfect timing. Except for Dolly. And then Dolly happened. Then Dolly happened. God lover. Yeah, he does.
Speaker: He really does. What are we drinking? Uh, because you love me, I'm drinking an Alpine Blast poppy. Oh. Because It just tastes like a lovely fall in the mountains. Until this very moment, I had no idea what the flavor was of this one. i just really thought it was a pretty can. Oh, i love that.
Speaker: But it is punch pop. Sounds about right. wonder if it's like fruit punch. Super gay. Super gay. Are you calling me gay?
Speaker: Cheers, quiz. Woo, almost drank a sip. I saw Cheers, quiz. I should have let you. And then I should have acted flabbergasted. Is it fruit punch? Yeah. you know when I was in middle school? punch Thank you. When I was in middle school, I would have a fruit punch at the concession stand. Did you say hands?
Speaker: Yeah, i did I did. I did. I think I was an insect dog that actually came out. I'm sorry. You can't help it. I can't either. hit My hands went up because I'm about to describe a story. like You went like this and then you started doing this.
Speaker: cam for modern family anyway like middle school i was at the concession stand it was break time and i was having a fruit punch because that's what i would get for break my english teacher mrs davis walked up to me and she's like those are gonna make you so fat one day i was like what what miss i never had another one was she fat no oh okay because i always had like even in nursing school i had some of my all except for one of my professors was incredibly, like classified as morbidly obese. okay And just, you'd see them riding the elevator up the one floor with their like fried chicken. o And it was just something that like made it very easy for me to never go to class because I was like, nope, I want nothing to do with you.
Speaker: Well, I'd never want to go to gym class. So what I would do, especially when it was hot outside. So what I would do was forge a note, allegedly.
Speaker: And the gym instructor would like take it. I don't even know how I got away with that. But then I would skip class. Does Ronnie know about this? Probably does now because he's listening. Oh, God. Oh, dad. I'm so sorry. You delinquent child. Such a delinquent.
Speaker: Listen. Um. Okay. Yeah. That's my story of juvenile delinquency. huh Ready?
Speaker: Yeah. ah Today is um an odd day for us. Typically we will do each a story, but um things have been a little wonky. Again, I've been working too much and traveling and having surgeries and stuff. So I've been off my game. So we are kind of doing things on the fly. So Jeff is going to tell me a story that he has been talking about for fucking ever.
Speaker: You know, we don't have to make excuses, right? you we just We have one story for you today. That's all we got. But um I'm honestly very nervous to tell this story.
Speaker: i'm like i can feel it coming off you. Yeah, and you'll know why. Take it easy. um I'm going to take it easy. Shake it out. Shimmy. Shimmy it out. Okay.
Speaker: Ooh, that felt kind of good. Pop my back. Okay, I'm gonna start off with a quote that I found, okay? There's a lot of quotes about this, but most are about politicians, and I don't wanna quote a politician. Absolutely not.
Speaker: So this quote is by an unnamed person. oh On this day, and it was done a couple years ago, because it says 19. So on this day, 19, now 25 years ago, September 10th, 246 people went sleep in preparation for morning flights. 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation work morning.
Speaker: two thousand six hundred and six people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shifts. 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for their morning patrols.
Speaker: Eight paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift. But none of them saw past 10 a.m. September the 11th, 2001.
Speaker: two thousand and one And Sam, this story comes out on September the 10th, okay? Mm-hmm. I'm not going to tell you the whole story because we know the story, you know, but the one I'm going to, the story that I'm going to tell you about today is the heroic people. I'm not going to handle this well. and So I'm sorry in advance, but i know I'm not going to be able to make contact with you. But it's like so much falls into that category of a story worth telling. You know what i mean? um But this is about the courageous men and women on United Airlines flight 93. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: okay yeah So i had so many sources for this show, Sam. So many.
Speaker: And I actually, when I texted you the other day, i stopped what I was writing because it was too much. And I redid it all. Because like this is not, like I remember when this happened on TV. I was 25 years old.
Speaker: And I was just like, glued to the TV and i could not after that look at any more things about 9-11 you know what I mean could not look at any more things about nine eleven so I didn't I avoided it when I lived in New York I didn't go to the museum that they have have you been there nope I couldn't do it the footprint of the towers I did see that, but I didn't want to see the other stuff, you know. And so this week when I was kind of writing this up, I just, it was it was hard.
Speaker: But so I even read the 9-11 commission report titled, there was a paragraph, chapter eight. of the commission report said the system was blinking red.
Speaker: That details the unprecedented wave of threat reporting regarding Al-Qaeda during the spring of 2001 and the summer of 2001. Between January and September 10th, 2001, the US intelligence community received a massive volume of intelligence reporting.
Speaker: including dozens of items in the presidential daily briefs indicating that Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda network were planning a major catastrophic attack, critical clues, warnings, and leads failed to be aggressively shared or connected across organizational boundaries between several different agencies.
Speaker: So there was a lot of information, but they weren't it was very fragmented, okay? The coordinated terrorist attacks of September the 11th, 2001 unfolded at nightmarish speed.
Speaker: At 8.86 AM, the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. 16 minutes later, a second jet hit the South Tower, and at 9.37, an airliner hit the Pentagon.
Speaker: Within hours, thousands had died, including hundreds of first responders who had rushed to the scenes to help. But after the events quieted and the scope of the damage came into the relief, it became clear that there was at least one element of the Al-Qaeda terrorist plot where the damage had been mitigated, and that was with the fatal crash of United Airlines Flight 93.
Speaker: Like the three other planes hijacked on September the 11th, Flight 93 was overtaken by Al-Qaeda operatives intent on crashing it into the center of American power. In Flight 93's case, likely that was gonna be the White House or more likely it was gonna be the US Capitol.
Speaker: But instead of hinding hitting its intended target, the United Jet went down in a field in rural Pennsylvania. While all 44 people on board were killed,
Speaker: Countless people who might have perished in Washington were spared because of the passenger revolt. A heroic struggle undertaken with whatever low-tech weapons they and the cabin crew members could muster, and this is the thing that gets me, the people on that plane knew that they were gonna go down.
Speaker: They chose to pick an area that was not as populated. And ever since the word, they were heroes. Despite the fact that Flight 93 is one of the greatest stories of American courage, and the story of courageous passengers and the crew of Flight 93 is not as well known as the Twin Towers,
Speaker: Most well-known is the name of just one of the passengers and a single stirring line. Almost unknown are the names of the courageous deeds of Deborah Welsh, Jason Dahl, Thomas Burnett, and Mark Rothenberg, Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, C.C. Ross Lyles, and many others.
Speaker: Though a story of great horrific and poignant tragedy, the story Flight 93 is so much more than just a simple tragedy. If, in addition to the memories of its defeats and disunity, America is to retain the memory of its triumphs and the knowledge that, in spite of its flaws, deep down America is full of good people, the story of Flight 93 needs to be widely retold.
Speaker: Perhaps more importantly, the story of Flight 93 is a story of courage and righteous struggle that should be uplifting and inspiring not only to Americans, but to all people.
Speaker: It's a story of faith and love and courage and overcoming evil. And there is a great debt that we as people owe to the heroes and heroines of Flight 93. Inextricably intertwined with the larger story of 9-11, the story of Flight 93 also begins on what seemed like it was going to be this beautiful, sunny, warm, late summer day. i can I can feel it right now. Can't you? yep It was perfection outside. it's The details.
Speaker: The four hijackers, hijacked teams, planned to stage a coordinated attack that would cripple and even perhaps decapitate America. For the hijackers, coordination was vital both for maximum destructive effect and so that the passengers and crews of the hijacked planes would not be able to recognize the hijackers' true intentions.
Speaker: Though the hijackers were able to deceive the passengers and crews of the first three flights, the three hijacked planes, a delay at Newark Airport gave the passengers and the crew of Flight 93 the time necessary to discover the hijackers' true intentions.
Speaker: What at the time was still unknown to everybody was how an unarmed group of passengers and crew that had just experienced an unexpected and violent hijacking would react to the knowledge that their plane was now on what Flight 93 hero Thomas Burnett Jr. would realize was, quote, a suicide mission.
Speaker: What the hijackers also did not know was just how exceptional a collection of seemingly ordinary Americans and citizens from a few other great nations they had invertently inadvertently stumbled upon.
Speaker: They also could not have known how heroically that unique group of passengers would fight to thwart their evil intentions. For among the passengers and crew were not only people of great accomplishment, but a surprisingly high percentage of people with great generosity, faith, we know now, courage.
Speaker: There were volunteers with animal animal shelters and the Special Olympics. And in addition to Deborah Welsh, the flight attendant who always saved the uneaten in-flight meals for the homeless, there was an outspoken advocate for the disabled, one of the principals behind the corporate angel network.
Speaker: There was also... i love this part because I get to say their names. There was also a literal pantheon of decent Americans and other nationalities who had previously known battle in one arena or another.
Speaker: For although there were only 33 passengers and seven crew members on board a plane that held 150, those included Jeremy Glick, a collegiate ju judo champion, Mark Bingham, another former college athlete who had once taken a gun away from a mugger, and who had ran with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Boo-yeah! Boo-yeah!
Speaker: Another was a former paratrooper. There was a New Zealander living in San Francisco, his name was Alan Beaven, he had previously worked at Scotland Yard.
Speaker: He was headed to San Francisco to try one more case as a law lawyer before heading to an ashram in India for a year. Todd Beamer was another former college athlete known for his fierce competitiveness.
Speaker: Richard Guadano was a federal wildlife enforcement officer. Thomas Burnett Jr. was a former high school quarterback who had taken his small school team to the semi-state finals.
Speaker: C.C. Ross Lyles was a former Fort Pierce, Florida police officer. Another was a former paratrooper with a 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles.
Speaker: There was an Air Force veteran who had studied karate for 10 years. There was another Air Force veteran a veteran and an Air Force Academy graduate, as well as a Navy veteran of the Korean War and national and Air National Guard veteran, an Army veteran of the post-World War twoi occupation of Japan, and current members of the reserves.
Speaker: Flight attendant Deborah Welsh had once overpowered a drunk passenger. Don't fuck with the flight attendants. You know what I mean? yeah She had once taken a drunk passenger down.
Speaker: Diora Bodley had been captain of her high school basketball team and Hilda Marcin, who had once, she had beaten up a purse snatcher. The only Japanese passenger, Toshiya Kuge, had played American football as a linebacker.
Speaker: EMT Linda Gronlund had once set, her she had once set her own broken kneecap. Handicapped advocate Colleen Frazier had once commandeered a paratransit bus to get to Washington, D.C., where she would lobby the Senate into passing the American with Disabilities Act.
Speaker: That's who these people are. You picked the wrong plane. You pick the plane with the best of the best on it. All of them were the planes with the best of the best, but this is the one I'm talking about today.
Speaker: While most of us know that Flight 93 did not hit its intended target, the White House, or probably the U.S. Capitol, because of the passenger revolt, We're less likely to know that it was four calls between passenger and Flight 93 hero Thomas Burnett Jr. and his wife, Dina, who watched the events of 9-11 unfold from their home in California.
Speaker: That alerted the passengers to the hijackers' true intentions. Despite that fact, tragically, their... were no survivors on Flight 93.
Speaker: The record is not completely inaccessible. In what likely was his dying act, Flight 93 pilot and hero Jason Dahl managed to push a button which, unbeknownst to the hijackers, caused everything said in and all sounds from near the cockpit to be broadcasted.
Speaker: And of course, there were some 30-something phone calls placed from Flight 93 that day. In some cases, those calls were recorded, often by law enforcement agencies. In those cases, the calls were presented verbatim.
Speaker: In other cases, the calls were not recorded but have been reconstructed from the memories of loved ones and others that received the phone calls and subsequent press reports.
Speaker: Flight 93 heroine Honor Elizabeth Wainio recognized that she was very likely to die, and instead of worrying about herself, she sought to comfort her stepmother during that last phone call.
Speaker: Todd Beamer and his wife Lisa and their two children had just returned from Italy on September the tenth Todd had to go to California for work, and he could have flown to California the night of September 10th, but he wanted one more night with his wife and his two children, and his pregnant wife because she was pregnant with their third baby.
Speaker: So he booked the United Airlines Flight 93 the next morning. also Talk about Todd Beamer. He was a huge baseball fan and he bought his youngest son the entire baseball uniform.
Speaker: And his son was three at the time. He even wanted to buy his son the catcher's mitt, but Lisa, his wife, was like, he can't play yet. yeah He's three. He cannot play yet 25 years later, do you know where that kid is? Where? I don't know. I don't, he's 28 now. I don't know.
Speaker: I hope he's, did he play baseball? I don't know. I don't know. Um, So, yeah, he bought the three-year-old the baseball outfit, but she was like, he can't play, don't buy him the catcher's mitt. probably looked so damn cute. Yes. and what perhaps In what was perhaps an attempt to get a message to his wife, Todd Beamer used the Airphone, the Verizon Airphone, in the back of the seat to call Verizon Airphone Operator.
Speaker: The woman he spoke to her name was Lisa Jefferson. Lisa stayed connected with Todd until the end. Lisa said the Lord's Prayer with Todd and she comforted him.
Speaker: Todd asked Lisa Jefferson to give a message to his wife Lisa, a message that apart from his wife Lisa, she has never shared with anyone else. And then toward the end of their conversation, she heard Todd say, quote, Are you guys ready?
Speaker: Okay, let's roll. He said those words to his fellow and fellow fellow passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 right before they fought back against the Al-Qaeda hijackers, preventing the plane from hitting its intended target in Washington, D.C.,
Speaker: Another heroic passenger from United Airlines Flight 93 is Jeremy Glick. Jeremy called Elizabeth, his wife, from a plane from the plane, and he said to her, quote, I love you. You're the best wife, the best mom.
Speaker: I know you'll do a good job. Have fun, raise our daughter, and I'll be with you forever.
Speaker: Someone who wrote that, what a loss we've had, right? The last words he said to his wife on that call were, quote, we're going to rush the hijackers, and then the line disconnected.
Speaker: Flight attendant C.C. Lyles called her husband at 9.47, leaving a message for him saying, quote, They've hijacked the plane. I'm trying to be calm. We're turned around, and I've heard that there's planes that's been been flown into the World Trade Center.
Speaker: I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. i love you, end quote. Shortly before 10.03 a.m., she placed a second phone call to her husband, Lauren, and was able to connect with him.
Speaker: During their conversation, she mentioned that she and the other passengers were devising a plan to take back control of the plane, which included throwing boiling hot water at the hijackers.
Speaker: After saying a prayer together, Lyles ended the conversation with Lauren saying, quote, we're getting ready to do it now. It's happening. End quote. Although there is an extensive record of what happened moments before the plane crash, mysteries remain.
Speaker: One of those is just exactly what occurred in the bloody chaotic moments when the hijackers took over the cockpit. Some believe that one of the hijackers had been extended, what, in pre-9-11 time, a commonplace courtesy.
Speaker: That is, some speculate that the hijacker was sitting in the jump seat, A courtesy then often extended to passengers who are also pilots or student pilots.
Speaker: The evidence for that view includes Jeremy Glick's call mentioning only three hijackers and might explain why co-pilot Leroy Homer Jr. didn't respond to a message from his wife.
Speaker: There were also attempts by 9-11 hijackers to get to fly and jump seat on airlines prior to 9-11. Some succeeded, some did not. Flight 93 Captain Jason Dahl had even asked air traffic control for additional information regarding the previous hijackings, but that information was not transmitted to the passengers until the second call from Dina Burnett to Thomas Burnett.
Speaker: That seems to suggest that the hijacking took place during ah the very brief period. In the takeover, the hijackers likely murdered or badly wounded first-class passenger Mark Rothenberg, flight attendant Deborah Welsh, co-pilot Leroy Homer, and pilot Jason Dahl.
Speaker: Passenger mark rothenberg rock Mark Rothenberg most likely died a hero attempting to save Deborah Welsh. Flight 93 then made a precipitous drop of 700 feet in altitude, likely from the struggle from the cockpit.
Speaker: From the pilot's seat, the hijacker broadcasted to the surviving passengers and crew as well as to the air traffic control that there was a bomb on board and that the hijackers would be flying the plane to the airport to quote, make their demands.
Speaker: It seems likely that the passengers were forced into the coach area and the back of the plane, which ironically gave them greater access to secret communications and potential weapons.
Speaker: While we know that the passengers took a vote to decide on their course of action, we have good indication from the calls to and from Thomas Burnett, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Jeremy Glick, C.C. Ross Lyles, Sandra Bradshaw, and Todd Beamer that the passengers were going to attempt to take back the plane.
Speaker: It's believed that the crew had somebody else, Donald Green, that they thought could fly the plane. Because everything in and near the cockpit was broadcasted, there was a comprehensive record of the desperate struggle for the cockpit.
Speaker: The hijackers attempted to foil the passenger revolt with aerial maneuvers designed designed to throw the passengers off balance, resulting in the loud sounds of breaking dishes and metal-hitting metal metal.
Speaker: We know that as the passengers came closer and closer to breaching the cockpit door, the hijackers became increasingly desperate, calling for cutting off the oxygen to the passenger area, standing at the cockpit door with an axe, and finally the crashing of the plane in rural Pennsylvania, far short of its intended target of Washington, D.C.
Speaker: The last entry on the voice recorder was made 10.
Speaker: o three The last piece of flight data was recorded at 10.03 and 10 seconds. The 9-11 Commission report concluded that, quote, the hijackers remained at the controls, but must have judged that the passengers were only seconds from overcoming them.
Speaker: Many of the families pass the family members of the passengers, having heard the audio recordings, believed that the passengers breached the cockpit pit and killed at least one of the hijackers guarding the cockpit door.
Speaker: Some interpreted the audio as suggesting that the passengers and hijackers struggled over control. At 10.03 and 11 seconds near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the plane crashed into a field about 20 minutes away by flight from Washington, D.C.
Speaker: The National Transportation Safety Board reported that the flight impacted at 563 mph and the impact left a crater 8 to 10 feet deep and 30 to 50 feet wide.
Speaker: Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, people can visit a memorial called the Tower of Voices dedicated to the heroes of Flight 93. The Tower of Voices serves as both a visual and audible reminder of the heroism of the 40 passengers and crew of the United Flight 93. The tower is conceived as a monumental 93 feet tall musical instrument holding 40 wind chimes representing the 40 passengers and crew members.
Speaker: That's the story of the heroes on United Flight 93. But for me, one one memory that has been etched into my brain that I never looked up after this is there's another picture that was etched into my brain. So I thought I'm going to use this to tell that story of that person too. and This is very short, but it's just I'm going to add a little story on to this, okay?
Speaker: i want to tell you one more story about one more person. a person I have thought about since 9-11 because I saw the picture, but I didn't know anything about him. And the article starts like this and the thing that I read on him from actually, read it on the Catholic register website.
Speaker: This is all from the Catholic register. i know.
Speaker: The offering placed at the altar on September 11, 2001 was like any ever seen at St. Peter's Catholic Church in manhattan Manhattan's Financial District, the lifeless body of 68-year-old Franciscan Friar and New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Michael Judge.
Speaker: Father Judge was at the North Tower Command Center administering prayers on 9-11. After the South Tower collapsed, he was fatally injured and needed to be carried out of the building.
Speaker: NYPD Officer Lieutenant Jose Rodriguez performed the last rites on the beloved chaplain moments before the North Tower collapsed. One of Father Judge's friends, Michael Daly, said a Father Judge, quote, he loved the firemen and they loved him.
Speaker: For him, they were the purest religious order. And his feeling being that they were ordinary people, but when that alarm came in, that kind of grace descended upon them.
Speaker: Father Michael Judge's comparison extended far compassion extended far beyond the fire department. Father Judge made a point of remembering personal details about each person he met and providing all with spiritual support.
Speaker: From New York City's mayor, to the homeless, to those most in need during the AIDS crisis, Father Judge was there offering his help. Father Mullen, had a friend or he was a friend of Father Judge, said of him, quote, he engaged you fully.
Speaker: He was not looking around for who he could talk to next. He was fully present to you. And that's what it made it that's what made a difference to a lot of people about Michael Judge.
Speaker: They could talk to him. They could bear their souls to him, share their good news and share their bad news. And he was going to be there for them. Father Judge walked the streets of New York City in his brown Franciscan habit, greeting homeless people by their first names, praying with them, and they then giving them neatly folded cash.
Speaker: Daly also recalled Father Judge often worked 16 hour days ministering at fires and rescues, counseling firemen, their families, and the victims, and that he gently tended to AIDS patient and it aids patients in an era when medical staff would not make physical contact with them.
Speaker: After Father Judge's death, his close friends and associates revealed that he was indeed gay, but by all accounts, never really mentioned it. The response of Kevin Shea, a firefighter at FDNY Engine 40 Ladder 35 in Manhattan's Lincoln Square, apparently typified the reaction of the other first responders when he said, quote, well, if you tell me Michael j michael Judge was gay,
Speaker: I'll tell you, I just had my first gay friend. While not, quote, out in the fire department, Daly said Father Judge told Fire Commissioner Thomas von Essen about himself who was struggling with his own son's gay identity.
Speaker: Shortly after his death, Father Judge's body was found and carried out of the North Tower by five people. Firefighters Christian Woe and Zachary Voss, and NYPD Lieutenant William Cosgrove, civilian John McGuire, and FDNY EMT Kevin Allen.
Speaker: shortly before the tower collapsed at 1028. This act was photographed by Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton and became one of the most famous photographs taken during the attacks.
Speaker: And it was also nominated for Pulitzer Prize. And that was the photo that seared its way into my mind after these attacks.
Speaker: Didn't know anything about him. Father Judge was later numbered victim 0001-01 of the 2,753 souls eventually tallied in the New York City area after the World Trade Towers crumbled into an infernal landscape of fiery and smoking rubble.
Speaker: Father Mullen also said in the Catholic Register, The 25th anniversary is gonna be a very solemn time, and I hope we have that consciousness still alive in our country, that this is very, very painful, especially for the families, because a lot of people have just taken this event for granted. Quote, well, that's history. It happened, it's over, but it's never over for those families. Never, ever over, end quote.
Speaker: to finish that quote that I started at the beginning of the story. quote, in a single moment, life may never be the same. As you live and enjoy the breaths that you take today and tonight before you go to sleep in preparation for your life tomorrow, kiss the ones you love, snuggle a little tighter, and never take one second of your life for granted.
Speaker: And that is the story of some of the normal yet heroic people that we lost 25 years ago on September the 11th, 2001. That was, I'm sorry.
Speaker: Well done. Thank you.
Speaker: I grappled with that.
Speaker: Understandably. Yeah. I thought it was important, you know, just really, ah had like, A detailed article, a detailed story about, like, the events that happened. And i was like, i don't I don't want to do that. Like, i just want to really celebrate the people that were on the plane, you know?
Speaker: I appreciate that. Yeah. Because we all know the story, you know? But also, I'm aware that there are people that listen to this show that were not born then that may not know the story. Yep.
Speaker: Because there's 100 million Americans now that weren't alive. September 1st. September 11th, 2001. 100 million people.
Speaker: That's wild. Yeah, they read about it in history books now. Yeah, it's a history book thing now. Yeah. Yeah. Well done, Jeff. Thank you.
Speaker: Okay. Yeah. Let's end with something happy. Do you want me tell you my quick two pager? Yeah, I can hardly hear you though. I know. I know. I don't want to be sniffling on the fucking microphone. sniffle on the microphone. It's okay. I do it all the time. crawl all the time. You don't. You always keep it together. But this, that, this, I don't know.
Speaker: right. So we're going totally flip. Did you know that I love sea turtles? Yeah, do. do.
Speaker: Sam, that's so perfect. That's what we do. that's it Save me from this. Yeah. Save me Save me. Lepidushellis kempi, also known as Kemp's Ridley turtle, ah is the smallest and most critically endangered sea turtle that exists.
Speaker: These little flappy water nuggets are typically only...
Speaker: That's the only thing I can describe them because they're flappy water nuggets. Yes, please tell me more. I want to hear more about the water nuggets, please. Flappy water nuggets. Excuse them all, flappy water nugget. You're a flappy water nugget. Yeah. Tell me more Honestly, I think I'm part sea turtle. I think you are too. Yeah. um So...
Speaker: They are typically only like 70 to 110 pounds. that's it's That's my size, okay? And they measure only two feet in length. Comparison.
Speaker: The largest species of sea turtle is the leatherback that can measure up to eight feet in length. Eight feet, motherfucker. okay And can weigh pounds.
Speaker: 2,000 pounds at 8 feet. That's insane. That's bigger than a car. Okay. Come on. That's... That's insane. Yeah. ah So, just comparison. So, these guys, you might look at 110-pound, two-foot turtle and be like, that's big.
Speaker: No, it's not. There's little babies. Oh, God. Okay. So, the Kemps are the only sea turtle with an upper shell that is almost entirely circular.
Speaker: Females lay approximately 100 eggs in each clutch, which is a group of eggs, and the males never return to land after hatching unless they are dying or injured.
Speaker: In the 1940s, these turtles numbered in the tens of thousands, mostly located in the Gulf of Mexico. By 1980, mid-1980s, because of bycatching and fishing gear, intentional disruption and destruction of the nests, with theft of the eggs,
Speaker: climate change, ocean pollution, and the destruction of habitat. The population plummeted to just several hundred. Okay. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. Are you going to tell me they're like thriving again? Okay, I'm so excited.
Speaker: ah Implemented intensive conservation efforts, and the population had a steady rise between the mid-1990s to 2009. After 2009, there have been fluctuations in population, again, because people don't care, so they continue to like go into the nests and take, it's just fuck people, right? yeah um So the adults tend to be mostly located in the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic coast of the United States. Males stay closer to breeding grounds, so they're like right there. They're ready for the ladies when it comes time, you know?
Speaker: And because the the breeding grounds are always the same place, they're not just like bebopping around going to different places. Like they know that everyone's coming back to these beaches, okay? They can also be found in smaller numbers near the Azores, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the waters near Morocco, and occasionally near the United Kingdom.
Speaker: The Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current is thought to be primarily responsible for the sightings of these species in places like Newfoundland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Malta because they catch a little wave and off they go.
Speaker: The Kemp's Ridley has an incredibly unique synchronized nesting habit. 95% of the species is known to share the nesting grounds on the 16-mile stretch of beach in Rancho Nuevo in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Speaker: or on a beach in Padre Island, Texas. So 95% of the species is laying babies right there, right? Um, typically between one to three times during each nesting season, the females come ashore in a massive group. like they, they like all meet up. They're like, i don't I send a text and they all just show up in the water outside. And then they're like all right, you guys ready?
Speaker: And in what is known as the Arribadas, which is arrivals, as you know, uh, they just all head out water. Like a imagine watching that. Like,
Speaker: thousands of female sea turtles just like, meep, right up the beach. so Yeah, so cool. And it's the the like, yeah.
Speaker: This pattern is only seen in the Kemps and the Olive Ridley turtles. So only two species out of all of the species of sea turtles that are out there. And these ones are like very small in numbers, right? But they...
Speaker: They do it. It's amazing. And it's very unique. um Scientists have no idea what causes it. They've tried to study it. They've tried to figure it out. They're like, maybe it's pheromones. Maybe it's water temperature. Maybe it's just whatever.
Speaker: Have no idea. um Also unique to Kemp's Ridley is the habit of nesting during the daytime, which is incredibly different from all other sea turtles who nest after dark. Huh.
Speaker: Uh, and by the way, they're like you, Sam, you kind of sleep in the daytime sometimes. Yeah. Party at night. Work at night.
Speaker: Yeah. Work at night and take little naps. Yeah. Uh, so, but also did you know, um, the temperature in the nest determines the hatchling sex?
Speaker: Which one do you think is male? Which one do you think is female? Cold is male, warm is female. Indeed. Shut the fuck up. Did I get that right? Indeed, you did. Why would that, why do I think that? Because women are warmer.
Speaker: Yeah, obviously. Women are just warmer. Yeah. And that was fucking subconscious that you just pulled that out of your ass. Like it just, no hesitation. That was good. Yeah, no hesitation. But, so like the cool thing too is that you don't have a nest of just one sex. You have in the, the inner parts of the nest, because it's 100 eggs in each catch, right? So you're like, if this whole big blob, these outer ones have less thermal heat generation because they're more spread out and they don't have the impact. Yeah, yeah. So...
Speaker: It's not like you lay them and you know what they are already. It's like you're not putting the women in the front or in the middle. You're, you know. So as they're cooking, just the ones that cook a little warmer are in the center of the nest. That's amazing. Yeah. So you've got a nest and it's males and females and it's just so cool.
Speaker: um The juvenile turtles sometimes adventure out of the warmer climates and can be found in water spanning great distances. They typically spend... Do-do-do-do-do. Yeah. Do-do-do-do-do. Huh?
Speaker: They typically spend the first, like, one to two years wandering around with floating sargassum algae, which can be found in the more northern Atlantic Ocean, like Cape Cod and the Canadian waters.
Speaker: Huh. Sargassum algae. Uh-huh. Huh. They then migrate closer to the south and can be found in Louisiana, the Texas coast, and then they make their way back, like, back, you know.
Speaker: With water temperatures changing, know, Climate change is real. Ask the fucking turtles. ah The migration seasons are lengthening. Sometimes things go a bit awry with the little wayward juveniles. We're like, I'm out. I want to spread my wings, launch myself out of the nest, and explore the world. Well, they fucking do sometimes accidentally.
Speaker: So in December 2023, a woman was out walking her dog on a beach near Rosniger on Anglissy in Wales. Her dog, Meg. Yeah, I'm here already. A black lab. Yeah, named meg they Meg. Spotted and investigated what turned out to be a tiny 22 centimeter, only nine inches, Kemp's Ridley sea turtle that weighed less than a kilogram, 2.2 pounds, and was on the brink of death. The little guy was taken to Anglesey Sea Zoo, and actually...
Speaker: thought to be a female at the time, ah its an surprise but and was diagnosed as cold stunned, which is a condition that describes the sickness and the near death or death that comes from exposure to the cold, frigid North Atlantic water temperatures. You are these people. You are this turtle. I am this turtle. I've seen you cold. gold stu Cold stunned. Cold stunned before in Norway this summer.
Speaker: It literally takes your fucking breath away. Like, put me in the Bahamas. Put me an Aruba. Shit. I'm thinking of the moment you come up out of the water and you did this sound. oh I have it on video. like it was And then it was immediately followed by a fuck that's cold. Oh my God, you're one of these turtles, Sam. thank you. You've been cold stunned. I've witnessed it. I do belong on a beach in Mexico. warm one. Surrounded by other turtles. ah Fuck, that would that's my dream.
Speaker: love Okay, when i take you to yeah when I take you to Hawaii, when we go to Australia, i swear to God, you and I are going to fly over to Maui for like a day.
Speaker: And there was one restaurant I wanted to take you to, but that all burned down. no But there's a little area called Ho'okipa. it one time. Ho'okipa. I'm never going to be able to do that. ho Whatever. ho ok keeppa i can only do it because I live there. But there it's an area where all of these turtles are on the beach. It's incredible. here's the problem.
Speaker: Here's the problem. yeah can't take them home. Yeah. I know. Okay. But also, I'm worried that I might actually, like my heart might explode. So we need to mitigate that. don't know, give me like multiple Xanax. I don't know. Do something to like keep me from just exploding, like spontaneously combusting with just pure fucking joy. Because I can already feel it bubbling up just at the thought. So we're going have to make sure that, because I'm going to lose my shit. I might faint. Can't touch them. ah You might have to handcuff me and put me on a leash.
Speaker: I will you. Full-blown striped jacket. But they're so beautiful. They're so cool. And there's tons of them on that beach. Tons of them. My heart's exploding already. Yeah.
Speaker: I love turtles. I know you do. I bought you a whole book. I know, and it's so beautiful. Is that going to go in our pod lab? Yeah. Okay. Okay. With our dolly corner. We gotta have a turtle book in there. Yeah, we'll do it. Okay.
Speaker: Especially after this story, you're gonna love it. So, 22 centimeters, less than a kilogram, cold stunned, tiny little total, okay? The first two weeks of his time at the zoo were touch and go. They genuinely didn't think that he was gonna survive.
Speaker: And they say 99% of the time when these turtles accidentally wash up in these like frigid northern parts, they die. So, yeah. ah For two and a half years, Rossi, as he was named, when they realized he was a boy, they named him after the beach that he was found on, began the first stages of his 5,000-mile journey in his private helicopter and free of charge,
Speaker: Darren Briggs, the CEO of the Pembroke Shire-based fuel company, the Ascana Group, flew Rossi the 1.5 hours from Anglesey to Denham Aerodome in Buckinghamshire.
Speaker: the the he His private helicopter, he got specially remodeled, took all the seats out so that they could fit Rossi's climate-controlled transport crate.
Speaker: Okay? Next, he was transported by truck to London's Heathrow Airport. Once there, he boarded a British Airways cargo flight to Houston, Texas.
Speaker: The entire journey was impeccably planned. They had caregivers who would maintain the integrity of his kate to but crate to prevent dehydration or injury and apply Vaseline and KY jelly to protect his little skin and his shell and his eyes.
Speaker: ah Yeah. So ah he arrived in Houston where the zoo sea turtle staff was ready and waiting for him because there's so many sea turtles and blah, blah. Houston has this whole fucking specialty sea turtle staff, okay?
Speaker: Fuck yeah. And yeah, so Rossi, he was nursed back to health those first two and a half years. He ended up at 77 centimeters, 30 inches, and weighed 21 kilograms, 46 pounds.
Speaker: And while he was there in Angles, he still, they didn't put him in any like public eye. They didn't make a spectacle out of him. They wouldn't let any of the public see him. He was contained. They didn't want to increase his stress. They wanted to guarantee that he was going to recover. So when he finally got the fit to fly on August 2nd, uh, 2026. shit.
Speaker: oh said Yeah. Oh shit. Yeah. Uh, the, with a massive international collaboration, he started. Okay. So he gets on the private helicopter and,
Speaker: So Darren Briggs, the CEO, the big love him. Don't even know him. But the best part is that his daughter is obsessed with like marine life and sea turtles and all that kind of stuff. And so he said that when he heard about this, he did not hesitate at all. He didn't ask for anything in return. He just said, of course, I'm gonna do my part. Because his daughter loves these.
Speaker: yeah Yeah. And he just, he yeah hearing him talk about it, like, It just, like, faith in humanity restored, you know? Right, yeah. cargo plane, he's got private caregivers who are putting Vaseline on him, making sure the crate is appropriately temperature and climate. Everything is perfect for this little guy. arrives in Houston. They, the Houston staff is waiting for him. They perform, like, a rapid triage, basically, but then they, like, blop.
Speaker: put him in this like deep water, sea water tank thing so that he could acclimate. um And they let him there for a little bit. They didn't want over overwhelm him.
Speaker: Dr. Joe Flanagan came out of retirement to perform Rossi's comprehensive medical exam. I want you to look up a picture of this dude because he is a fucking big ass motherfucker. Okay. Joe Flanagan? Yep. Dr. Joe Flanagan veterinarian. Okay.
Speaker: Um, after assessing organ function, eyes mouth, shell, flippers, the doc had x-rays and CT scans done to look more closely at his lungs. He was repeatedly described as healthy, active, and vigorous, very strong. And Dr. Flanagan reported he swims normally, he dives, he surfaces, he breathes fine.
Speaker: The in-depth assessment did indicate that Rossi was still fighting a lingering pneumonia. So his return to the wild is a little bit delayed. So as of a couple of days ago when I was writing this, or a few days ago, this was last week.
Speaker: Yeah. They still hadn't released him into the wild yet, and I am checking every fucking day for updates, just so you know. ah They want to get him back to full full best health to give him his best chance of survival. So even though he looks really good and he's doing all the normal sea turtle things, they're not willing to just release him back to nature.
Speaker: Hopefully... In just a few years, when he reaches maturity, he will be able to do his part to bring the Kemp's Ridleys back from the verge of extinction. The dedication and care provided by multiple agencies, non-profit organizations, and individual volunteers that just came out fucking woodwork highlights the impact teamwork and kind collaboration can have on wildlife and marine life conservation effort efforts.
Speaker: The rescue and rehabilitation of Rossi marks the fourth sea turtle saved at the Anglesey Sea Zoo. The owner and the staff are currently working on plans to build a special sea turtle rescue center to help other turtles who get lost in the cold waters on the Welsh coast. That's amazing.
Speaker: Perfect.
Speaker: He's so cute. And the man's big. He's a big motherfucker. And this is, want you look. This is Ho'okipa, okay?
Speaker: Let me watch that whole video. Okay. It's of Ho'okipas on the north shore of Maui. Oh my God, they're all just.
Speaker: little bitty spot where all the turtles go. and it's amazing. it just It looks like a rocky beach, but they're turtles. It's incredible. Holy shit. when we go to Hawaii on our way to Australia, we're gonna go we we will take a day trip.
Speaker: You know, sadly, remember Lahaina, the town of Lahaina on Maui burned down, took the whole town. And that was a tragedy beyond tragedy. and a lot of people left their stuff. And so it's a little different, I'm sure, now than when I used to go. yeah but I bet that's still there. And I bet we're going to go because we will we will do a day trip just so you can see these turtles.
Speaker: I might die. Yeah, I won't let you die. i'm good at my job. Listen, if I die that way, I'm okay with that. I'll just send you out to sea. Yeah, please do. be with the turtles. Yes. That's all I need. That's incredible, isn't it? Yeah.
Speaker: And then then we can go to that beach and just chill. oh Yeah, I'm ready. You know, when I started, when I asked you if you wanted to do a podcast, this show that we did today was the perfect example of what I wanted this show to be.
Speaker: Me literally crying from the moment you started talking? mean, you know what? That's a hard story. It is. And i I cried so much this week because of it. But, like, I don't regret it. It's a story that i I think they're fucking amazing, these badasses that were on this plane. But you know what's funny is like you forewarned me. You're like, it's it's it's time sensitive. it's it's and and But what I was thinking of was it's coming out on the 10th. What fucking happened on September 10th? I know. I did not go the day beyond. i know. Never would have gone there.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, ah what yeah they're just amazing people to talk about. it was that It was hard. It was hard. i could never have done it. It was hard. But then in the next sentence, this is why i love doing this show with you.
Speaker: And because that's how our brains work, right? The very next sentence after I read about Father Michael Judge and what a fucking great guy he was, you are like the turtles.
Speaker: you love turrtles that's what I That is what I wanted this show to be when we started this show. It's perfect. It was a good show. i know it was well done. Sorry, it was such a sad story. That's fine.
Speaker: But it was more about like needed the amazing people. a story worth telling. Yes. And we can't shield ourselves from the the hard ones. We can't, but we can remember the good ones, right? We can fucking remember the good ones.
Speaker: And that's why I did it. And you did very well. Thank you. And you kept it together. i did not. i push I had to push the fucking microphone away. I kept it together only because before you came over, i read it out loud to myself. Oh.
Speaker: Does that make sense? Out loud to myself? Yeah. Yeah. out loud i mean unless your demons were also listening they are but like i ignored them you know what i mean but i read it out loud so i could be desensitized a little bit just so i would not cry just for that yeah well don't worry i cried enough for both that's okay that's it was not you know that's not running down my i heard it i saw it at one point and then i was like ain't gonna look at her anymore i couldn't i didn't look at you once i couldn't do it from the moment you started talking i just i didn't I looked at you maybe three times during that, and I was like... Tears streaming down my face. Yeah. Okay. All right. You did good.
Speaker: You did good, too, with your turtles. That's how we're supposed to do this show. Crossing. Fucking it right there. And I will try and keep everyone updated. i am, i'm like I said, I'm checking every day because he had an incredible journey.
Speaker: i love him. I love the guy that flew his helicopter. And it's funny because the day that I wrote this, it was... I was on the other team, but, um, smash and the girls came to visit me at work and they came into the triage room and I was looking at the screen and like, it's a picture of this sea turtle on a CT scan table with like that staff around him. But like,
Speaker: Gabby looks at it and goes, ew, what is that? I was like, it's a sea turtle. What do you mean? Because he's just like a, you know, like they're majestic. But like when you look at them you're like, oh, it's it's kind of gross. It looks like 480 years old. Yeah. I'm going to send you all the pictures right now that I have on my phone of the sea turtles, including the video. And you can send it to your nieces. Okay. I will i will do that.
Speaker: Tell them, look what you just did. ah just saw all these turtles. I saw all them turtles. All right. That's it. Let's wrap this thing up. Yeah. Do you have anything else? I don't.
Speaker: don't either. But hey, cheers sit che two the heroes. Cheers to the heroes. is September 11th comes. Remember them. Remember them. Remember them. And remember what we became after that for the for the few weeks after that, the country was something that has not existed in a long time. Before all the fucking politics took over. Conspiracy theories. the conspiracy theories where people think that there was bombs inside the world.
Speaker: Whatever those stupid conspiracy theories Well, yeah, because, I mean, obviously our politicians and our leaders are trying to start wars so badly that they sacrificed 3,000 Americans on American soil. because they can't think of any other reason to go to war, so like why not kill a bunch of us? So, yeah, that happened with a family member of mine recently, and they were talking about how those buildings just wouldn't you know do that, and it's a kid that was not alive back then. and
Speaker: um Anyway, but this kid, yeah I was like, no. it's it's something It's something that... But just so you know, for the people that were not alive back then, the country became for two weeks so united.
Speaker: and ah his phrase, let's roll, became like a... Mantra. An uplifting mantra for the country. And it was like, for two weeks, it was an America that I haven't seen since, you know? Yeah. And and it came at a horrific cost, but... yeah The things that we saw in those weeks after, like, it was beautiful.
Speaker: People helping people. People didn't care about the color of any skin, their religion, like, and then everything went to shit. but But before that, Martina McBride singing the Starspringles, honey.
Speaker: I only like a couple of versions of the Star Spangled Banner. Whitney and then Martina. Martina sang that song. I'm sorry. I'm just talking about Martina McBide. I know, but it so beautiful. she sang that song.
Speaker: God damn. She was good. I was proud. It's being an American. And I am still proud because Americans, they're we're full of good people. that's what That's what other countries see in us when they come here.
Speaker: that you know we're good people just like them, but it's our sometimes the politicians don't make it look that way. The people who are the face of the country don't put on the best view. Yes.
Speaker: But you know you see it with the World Cup, and and everyone's coming, and you're like, look at these people. They're out playing soccer in the streets. There was a ah quote that was like, um we're all cousins. like Do you know the quote I'm talking about? Like, Americans and Norwegians and British people and South Africans and Africans, we're all cousins whose parents don't get along. Yeah. Shame on them. That's true.
Speaker: We're not po political here. No. But that's it. We're here for a good time. Not a long time. Bye.
