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Speaker 1: Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,

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Speaker 1: your host, narrator and author. We hear at the ten

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Speaker 1: minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or

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Speaker 1: rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to

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Speaker 1: pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human

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Speaker 1: condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.

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Speaker 1: This week we meet Gary Gary Edward Earl, better known

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Speaker 1: as Gas, Gas and Earl. He's been tasked with fixing

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Speaker 1: the supply chain problems. He could do the job from

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Speaker 1: his home office in the Garden State suburbs, but what

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Speaker 1: fun would that be. Gas wants to hit the road,

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Speaker 1: get out of town. Everywhere he goes, it's hot, hot, hot,

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Speaker 1: broiling hot, and humid despite it being late October. But

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Speaker 1: no big thang. AC's hummin' baby, it's humming, pushing out

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Speaker 1: its cool dry air limos, airport terminals seven eighty seven's

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Speaker 1: office buildings or restaurants, hotel lobbies, hotel suites. It's hot,

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Speaker 1: but hell, it ain't that hot. Gary Edward Earl steps

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Speaker 1: out of his asphalt shingled macmansion, cooled to a brisk

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Speaker 1: sixty eight degrees on this crazy hot and humid October morning.

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Speaker 1: The calendar says fall, but the weatherman's saying hotter than

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Speaker 1: a witch's temper out there, more like the dog days

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Speaker 1: of August. Gary doesn't stay there long. He slides into

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Speaker 1: the back of the company limo, cold enough to store potatoes.

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Speaker 1: Gary needs a sweater. Gary, He's feeling good, looking forward

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Speaker 1: to this trip to Singapore and Zurich to check on

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Speaker 1: the supply chain. The higher ups at corporate have been

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Speaker 1: bitching about delays and getting their meds to market, especially

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Speaker 1: their latest and greatest high priced anti anxiety and anti

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Speaker 1: depressant meds. All the rage among high school and college

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Speaker 1: students post pandemic. Fix the goddamn chain. Gas, Gary Edward

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Speaker 1: Earl's boss told him a couple days ago, got to

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Speaker 1: get the engine running, smooth man. Got to get it

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Speaker 1: run and smooth and make that money. Gas. That's what

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Speaker 1: his teammates nicknamed him nearly three decades ago when he

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Speaker 1: ran the offense for his prep school hoop team. Gas

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Speaker 1: and Earl Gas was and still is high energy type

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Speaker 1: a go man, go pedal to the metal, step on

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Speaker 1: the gas and lets get her done, Gary Gas and

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Speaker 1: earl a thoroughly modern, happy, successful man. Eehah. He could

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Speaker 1: easily take care of the problem from the comfort of

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Speaker 1: his home office. Some phone calls and a handful of

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Speaker 1: zoom conferences would undoubtedly get the supply chain or run

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Speaker 1: unsmoothly again. But what fun would that be? Gas wants

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Speaker 1: to hit the road, get a little breathing room between

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Speaker 1: his self and the family, between himself and the wife

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Speaker 1: and the kids, take a little break. So at the airport,

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Speaker 1: Gas spends mere seconds in the heat and humidity before

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Speaker 1: passing into the enormous high ceiling terminal that maintains a

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Speaker 1: year round temperature of sixty nine degrees no matter if

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Speaker 1: it's four below zero or forty degrees celsius around one

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Speaker 1: hundred and two fahrenheit outside. Gas relaxes in the superbly

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Speaker 1: air conditioned VIP lounge for an hour or so before boarding.

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Speaker 1: He SIPs espresso and sends a few emails on his laptop.

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Speaker 1: He feels excellent, cool and composed, on top of the

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Speaker 1: world and elite frequent flyer, Gas boards early and settles

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Speaker 1: into his first class berth. It's a grueling nineteen hour

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Speaker 1: non stop flight to Singapore. But no matter. Gas has

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Speaker 1: a wide, comfy seat that turns into a bed, a

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Speaker 1: good looking flight attendant to bring him various foods and beverages,

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Speaker 1: plus movies and sports on a high res video screen. Hell,

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Speaker 1: Gas even brought a book. He has meds to help

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Speaker 1: him sleep, and more meds to wake him up. And

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Speaker 1: so away, Gas goes up, up and away into the

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Speaker 1: clear blue yonder. It's only going to take that airbus

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Speaker 1: around seventy thousand gallons of seven dollars a gallon jet

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Speaker 1: fuel to haul Gas and his fellow travelers from Newark

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Speaker 1: to Singapore. That's right around a gallon burned per second.

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Speaker 1: High above the world, Gas googles the high res photos

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Speaker 1: of his soon to be delivered contender thirty two st

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Speaker 1: deep sea fishing boat. She's not brandy new, but she's

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Speaker 1: awful pretty, especially with that pair of Yamaha XTO four

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Speaker 1: twenty five outboards hanging off her Stern pump A few

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Speaker 1: hundred gallons of high octane fuel into the twin tanks

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Speaker 1: and the st will haul Gas and his buds out

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Speaker 1: to the canyons in record time. Sure, the ST burns

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Speaker 1: through a gallon in less than a nautical mile. But

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Speaker 1: the faster Gas gets bait in the water means more

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Speaker 1: time time fishing and less time boten. Gasl be able

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Speaker 1: to tie her up right in front of his house

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Speaker 1: on the canal, just a stone's throw from the Manasquan Inlet.

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Speaker 1: That would be Gas and Earl's vacation house, not quite

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Speaker 1: as vast as his five thousand square foot macmansion up

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Speaker 1: in the wooded burbs, but still three or four thousand

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Speaker 1: feet demanding heating and cooling three hundred and sixty five

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Speaker 1: days a year. It's crazy hot here in Singapore, ninety

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Speaker 1: seven degrees a touchdown almost one hundred percent humidity. Not

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Speaker 1: that Gas connects even briefly with this tropical mass. He's

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Speaker 1: entered the International terminal at the airport through a portal,

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Speaker 1: never for a second encountering anything but dehumidified sixty six

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Speaker 1: degree air. Even the parking garage is air conditioned. Gas

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Speaker 1: slip into another limo and is whisked to the Park

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Speaker 1: Royal on Marina Bay. Almost cold in the lobby and

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Speaker 1: even colder in his premium two room suite with fantastic

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Speaker 1: views of both the city and the South China Sea.

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Speaker 1: Gas spends the next three days in meetings, he asks

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Speaker 1: a lot of questions and demands detailed answers. It's hard work, stressful, demanding.

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Speaker 1: Gas earns his exorbitant paycheck and bonuses and stock options.

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Speaker 1: He gets to the bottom of the supply chain mess

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Speaker 1: and immediately starts to implement changes that will quickly bring

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Speaker 1: order to the chaos. Gas stays cool during these long,

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Speaker 1: grueling sessions with managers and suppliers and foremen who work

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Speaker 1: the line, always cool and calm in his short sleep

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Speaker 1: button downs and wrinkle free khakis. Ah, I don't sweat

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Speaker 1: could easily be Gas and Earl's mantra. Always in every

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Speaker 1: office and every boardroom, every restaurant and hotel suite, the

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Speaker 1: air conditioning hums incessantly and pumps out its cool, dry

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Speaker 1: air gas lets it encircle his slim fit one hundred

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Speaker 1: and eighty pound frame. And then it's time to head

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Speaker 1: for corporate HQ over in Zurich, a quick twelve hour

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Speaker 1: flight across Asia and Eastern Europe, Gas again flies first

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Speaker 1: class with all the comforts of home. He spends his

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Speaker 1: time planning the family's Christmas getaway to the Islands. He's

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Speaker 1: thinking maybe Saint Lucia, maybe Jade Mountain. It'll be crazy

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Speaker 1: hot and the girls will get fiery sunburns. But with

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Speaker 1: the pools and the placid Caribbean, and of course the

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Speaker 1: entire resort resplendent with boone chilling ac even in the

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Speaker 1: outdoor dining venues, Gas feels sure he'll be able to

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Speaker 1: stay cool above all else. Gas likes to stay cool,

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Speaker 1: even Zurix hot mid summer hot in late October twenty

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Speaker 1: and more degrees above the normal high. But no big thing.

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Speaker 1: Limos hotels offices all icy cold. A sweater or a

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Speaker 1: jacket a must. Gas reports to the big wigs. Supply

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Speaker 1: chain problems solved well, they are all smiles and backslaps

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Speaker 1: and handshakes. Excellent job, Gas, well done, Well done, young man,

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Speaker 1: well done. Back home in the Burbs, the Earl family

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Speaker 1: decides to head down to the beach house for the weekend,

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Speaker 1: even though one of the kids needs to get back

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Speaker 1: early on Sunday for a soccer match. Gas says he'd

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Speaker 1: like to stay until Sunday night or Monday morning so

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Speaker 1: he can play with his new contender, take her out

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Speaker 1: for a spin, burn some petrol. So instead of the

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Speaker 1: Earl family of four all riding together down to the

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Speaker 1: beach house. They decide to take both vehicles. It makes sense,

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Speaker 1: much more convenient for everyone. Gas he drives his ram

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Speaker 1: fifteen hundred Laramie crew cab with its massive five point

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Speaker 1: seven liter V eight Hemi. The way Gas loves to

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Speaker 1: push that pedal to the metal means the Laramie will

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Speaker 1: likely average right around twelve miles per gallon for the trip.

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Speaker 1: His wife's almost as thirsty Chevy suburban with its four

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Speaker 1: hundred horsepower V eight and six thousand curb weight, will

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Speaker 1: do a little better, maybe as high as a whopping

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Speaker 1: fourteen miles per gallon out there on the Garden State Parkway.

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Speaker 1: So let's go, boys and girls, Let's roll on the

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Speaker 1: road with Gas and Earl and family. It's hot, but

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Speaker 1: Hell it ain't that hot, at least not yet. Hey,

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Speaker 1: thanks for listening to this original audio presentation of It's Hot,

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Speaker 1: but Hell it Ain't that Hot? Narrate it by the author.

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Speaker 1: If you enjoy today's story, please take a few seconds

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Speaker 1: to rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast, and then

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Speaker 1: go to Thomas William Simpson dot com for additional information

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Speaker 1: about the author and to view his extensive cannon. The

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Speaker 1: Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by Andrew Pleiglici and Josh

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Speaker 1: Collotney and as part of the Elvis Duran podcast Network

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Speaker 1: in partnership with iHeart Productions. Until next time, this is

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Speaker 1: Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller,