WEBVTT - 2026 Update: Brandon 0:00:15.210 --> 0:00:23.690 Pushkin. Hello, Hello, welcome to the studio. 0:00:24.250 --> 0:00:27.050 Are you going to tell people who I am? Before that? 0:00:27.210 --> 0:00:29.530 Even I was going to apologize for the smell of 0:00:29.530 --> 0:00:33.170 egg salad. I don't know why it smells like egg 0:00:33.210 --> 0:00:35.089 salad in here. It's not like I was eating an 0:00:35.090 --> 0:00:37.489 egg salad sandwich or anything. 0:00:37.570 --> 0:00:41.250 But what's those little pieces of yolk that are stuck 0:00:41.250 --> 0:00:42.129 all over your beard? 0:00:42.330 --> 0:00:42.690 Nothing? 0:00:42.769 --> 0:00:47.410 That's total circumstantial evidence. You can't hang someone for circumstantial evidence. 0:00:48.129 --> 0:00:53.209 I did see Malcolm Gladwell exiting the studio strutting around 0:00:53.250 --> 0:00:55.810 with an egg salad sandwich pocon add of his fanny 0:00:55.890 --> 0:01:01.850 pack like he owned the joint. So there's some circumstantial evidence. 0:01:01.890 --> 0:01:08.449 You might want to investigate, you intrepid reporter. You so hello, 0:01:08.569 --> 0:01:12.289 Stevie Lane, producer, Yes, of. 0:01:12.569 --> 0:01:17.450 The of the episode that we're about to listen to Brandon. Yeah, Brandon, 0:01:17.890 --> 0:01:20.209 I will say, And he doesn't even know this. He's 0:01:20.250 --> 0:01:22.810 not even gonna know this till he listens to this. Yeah, 0:01:22.850 --> 0:01:27.690 one of my all time favorite guests. I think, really, yeah, 0:01:27.730 --> 0:01:29.530 I don't know. He just had such a nice attitude, 0:01:29.570 --> 0:01:31.450 and I feel like I feel like the two of 0:01:31.450 --> 0:01:34.410 you had a really lovely rapport. 0:01:34.690 --> 0:01:36.850 Yeah, and it was like an example of how sometimes 0:01:36.850 --> 0:01:40.090 a small question can have like a lot of emotional 0:01:41.290 --> 0:01:44.450 impact and can just really echo through the years. And 0:01:45.330 --> 0:01:48.690 you know, with these updates, a lot of times I 0:01:48.770 --> 0:01:51.690 start off by saying that the subject of the episode 0:01:51.730 --> 0:01:54.330 has gone through a lot of changes. But in the 0:01:54.370 --> 0:02:00.050 case with Brandon, I will say that change seems like 0:02:00.050 --> 0:02:02.410 too slight a word. I would say that Brandon has 0:02:02.490 --> 0:02:04.370 gone through some transformations. 0:02:04.970 --> 0:02:05.210 Hmm. 0:02:07.130 --> 0:02:08.850 So here's Brandon. 0:02:09.450 --> 0:02:10.450 Yeah, it's a fun one. 0:02:10.770 --> 0:02:13.570 It is a fun one. And after the episode, if 0:02:13.609 --> 0:02:15.570 you stick around, I'm going to catch up with Brandon 0:02:15.570 --> 0:02:18.610 and we're gonna see who Brandon has become since we 0:02:18.690 --> 0:02:28.610 last spoke, Jackie, I have some good news. Well, it 0:02:28.610 --> 0:02:31.690 seems like there's some interest in turning the Heavyweight podcast 0:02:31.730 --> 0:02:33.730 into a TV show. So I was just calling to 0:02:33.770 --> 0:02:36.650 see who maybe you know who you want to play, Jackie. 0:02:36.650 --> 0:02:40.810 I was thinking, you know, maybe Rita Marino, Don John 0:02:40.930 --> 0:02:42.010 No one's gonna watch your show. 0:02:42.050 --> 0:02:45.690 Baby, what did you just say? You heard this? 0:02:46.210 --> 0:02:48.810 Wait, I'm confused on two counts. A that you would 0:02:48.810 --> 0:02:52.850 say something so cruel and that b you would punctuate 0:02:52.890 --> 0:02:57.690 it with babe. You know a lot of people believe 0:02:57.690 --> 0:03:08.090 in this project. Why would you laugh at that? 0:03:09.410 --> 0:03:11.370 A lot of people believe in this project. 0:03:21.970 --> 0:03:26.570 From Gimblet Media. I'm Jonathan Goldstein and this is Heavyweight. 0:03:27.330 --> 0:03:37.410 Today's episode Brandon right after the break. 0:03:48.530 --> 0:03:50.370 Yeah, we'll just roll in there and see what's going on. 0:03:51.770 --> 0:03:55.130 This is Brandon. He's thirty three years old in wearing 0:03:55.170 --> 0:03:58.730 a suit and string tie. His wife, Megan is in 0:03:58.770 --> 0:04:02.130 a sun dress, and together they're about to enter the 0:04:02.170 --> 0:04:14.450 New Palestine High School prom. Megan is the school's our teacher, 0:04:14.730 --> 0:04:18.609 but tonight she's chaperoning with Brandon as her date. She 0:04:18.690 --> 0:04:26.089 introduces him to the other teachers. At a certain point, 0:04:26.250 --> 0:04:30.009 they're interrupted by the announcement of prompt King and Queens. 0:04:32.010 --> 0:04:32.809 A students. 0:04:40.450 --> 0:04:43.249 While Megan congratulates her students and makes small talk with 0:04:43.289 --> 0:04:47.489 her colleagues, Brandon wanders off and observes the kids. Some 0:04:47.570 --> 0:04:49.929 are dancing, some are lined up for the photo booth. 0:04:50.409 --> 0:04:53.969 There are kids talking to teachers and others gossiping among themselves. 0:04:56.409 --> 0:05:00.330 But then Brandon's gaze lands on another subset, those aimless 0:05:00.369 --> 0:05:04.289 kids wandering along the margins alone. They remind Brandon of 0:05:04.369 --> 0:05:09.569 himself when he was a teenager and his own prom 0:05:09.690 --> 0:05:13.089 Brandon thinks about his prom a lot and the improbable 0:05:13.130 --> 0:05:15.969 path that led him to it, which began when he 0:05:16.049 --> 0:05:17.010 was just a little kid. 0:05:18.169 --> 0:05:22.850 Through middle school and junior high I had a lot 0:05:22.849 --> 0:05:24.170 of bullying problems. 0:05:24.810 --> 0:05:26.249 That was kind of an easy target. 0:05:27.210 --> 0:05:28.970 There were a number of things that made him run. 0:05:29.729 --> 0:05:32.570 First, I'm like still a big guy now, but I was. 0:05:32.969 --> 0:05:36.450 I was at my biggest in high school, heaviest. 0:05:37.489 --> 0:05:40.890 Second, Brandon tried too hard to fit in, Like the 0:05:40.929 --> 0:05:43.289 time he shaved a Nike swoosh into the back of 0:05:43.289 --> 0:05:43.769 his head. 0:05:44.130 --> 0:05:46.609 I just thought, like sports, that's that's cool. 0:05:46.929 --> 0:05:50.250 So it made your head look like a running shoe exactly. 0:05:50.529 --> 0:05:50.729 Yeah. 0:05:50.770 --> 0:05:53.010 I sat in front of this kid named Cyril, and 0:05:53.130 --> 0:05:56.609 he said it looked like a hockey stick, and that 0:05:56.729 --> 0:05:58.930 was enough that everyone was like, that's a hockey stick, 0:05:58.969 --> 0:06:00.849 that is not a Nike swoosh. 0:06:01.169 --> 0:06:04.969 Finally, Brandon was a Coda, a child of deaf adults. 0:06:05.570 --> 0:06:07.969 His family attended a deaf church and spends a lot 0:06:08.010 --> 0:06:10.609 of time in the deaf community. He says he was 0:06:10.609 --> 0:06:12.129 brought up with different social. 0:06:11.849 --> 0:06:18.130 Norms like volume, like volume is not a concern around 0:06:18.250 --> 0:06:20.969 deaf people and in a deaf environment, and then of 0:06:20.969 --> 0:06:23.289 course it is around hearing people, So. 0:06:23.289 --> 0:06:24.010 What does that mean? 0:06:24.130 --> 0:06:29.770 Like any examples, Yeah, like school, where it's like time 0:06:29.810 --> 0:06:32.729 to be quiet. I was just constantly talking to myself 0:06:33.529 --> 0:06:35.489 or just vocalizing my thoughts, you know. 0:06:37.929 --> 0:06:41.929 Then in middle school, Brandon's parents divorced. There was less 0:06:41.929 --> 0:06:45.409 space for him, less attention paid to him. He drew inward. 0:06:46.169 --> 0:06:48.609 I think I wanted to put off a harder like 0:06:48.729 --> 0:06:52.290 you can't hurt me exterior than I really had on 0:06:52.330 --> 0:06:58.729 the inside. So wearing hot topic clothes, spiky things, black clothes, 0:06:59.409 --> 0:07:02.370 and trying to just like keep your hoodie on and 0:07:02.810 --> 0:07:03.609 get through the day. 0:07:04.690 --> 0:07:07.650 And for the most part, Randon succeeded in going unnoticed 0:07:09.130 --> 0:07:12.890 until the spring of his senior year. Brandon was sitting 0:07:12.929 --> 0:07:15.329 at the back of a classroom during a free period, 0:07:15.690 --> 0:07:19.770 eavesdropping on a conversation from across the room. Some classmates 0:07:19.770 --> 0:07:22.090 were talking about a prom, and among the group was 0:07:22.130 --> 0:07:24.970 a girl named Ali. She was going on about what 0:07:25.010 --> 0:07:27.170 a great night it was going to be, how excited 0:07:27.210 --> 0:07:27.610 she was. 0:07:28.410 --> 0:07:31.970 She had like long blonde hair with highlights, big features, 0:07:32.170 --> 0:07:34.730 like big eyes, She had a big smile. 0:07:34.850 --> 0:07:35.129 Hmm. 0:07:35.250 --> 0:07:37.850 Yeah, Like when she smiled, she looked really happy, hmm. 0:07:38.850 --> 0:07:41.449 And I think she kind of pulled me into the 0:07:41.450 --> 0:07:44.689 conversation by directing some of those questions at me, like 0:07:44.770 --> 0:07:45.810 are you going to prom? 0:07:46.130 --> 0:07:47.250 Who are you going to prom with? 0:07:48.130 --> 0:07:51.249 Brandon had no intention of going. He hadn't a girlfriend 0:07:51.290 --> 0:07:54.410 nor any prospects for a date, and he was confused 0:07:54.410 --> 0:07:57.730 about why Ali was talking to him. Brandon says they'd 0:07:57.730 --> 0:08:01.170 barely ever spoken. They were from totally different social worlds. 0:08:01.730 --> 0:08:05.530 Ali was in student government. She was popular and beautiful. 0:08:06.010 --> 0:08:12.450 She was just really well put together, clean and you hmm, No, 0:08:12.730 --> 0:08:15.210 that's not a word I've used to describe myself in 0:08:15.290 --> 0:08:17.489 high school. I mean like I would like smell my 0:08:17.530 --> 0:08:19.730 clothes before I before I put them on in the morning, 0:08:19.770 --> 0:08:20.970 you know, like I. 0:08:20.929 --> 0:08:23.290 Got dressed from the floor, okay, in my bedroom? 0:08:23.570 --> 0:08:27.610 No, I mean yeah. And yet Ali kept throwing questions 0:08:27.690 --> 0:08:30.650 at him. Why wasn't he going? If he did go, 0:08:30.890 --> 0:08:35.090 who would he take? Brandon answered in monosyllables, hoping she 0:08:35.170 --> 0:08:37.930 turned back to her friends and leave him alone, but 0:08:38.010 --> 0:08:41.850 instead she rose from her seat and began striding towards him. 0:08:42.050 --> 0:08:45.850 Inside, I was like, uh, like inflamed, do you know 0:08:45.850 --> 0:08:46.010 what an? 0:08:46.010 --> 0:08:46.250 I mean? 0:08:46.290 --> 0:08:48.290 Like my heart my heart rate was rising. 0:08:50.330 --> 0:08:53.890 With each question, Ali moved closer and closer until she 0:08:53.970 --> 0:08:57.050 was sitting at the desk in front of him, facing him. 0:08:57.410 --> 0:09:01.530 Then she did something that still flummixes Brandon fifteen years later. 0:09:02.130 --> 0:09:05.530 She just kind of outright said, take me to prom, Like, 0:09:05.570 --> 0:09:13.850 go to prom, take me, Let's go together. I immediately 0:09:13.930 --> 0:09:17.410 had questions, questions like, why, why me? 0:09:17.890 --> 0:09:18.570 What's going on? 0:09:18.690 --> 0:09:21.490 I guess I was skeptical, this is some kind of trick. Hmm, 0:09:21.490 --> 0:09:24.850 you know, why would you be asking me this other 0:09:24.930 --> 0:09:27.530 than to setting me up for a punchline or something 0:09:27.570 --> 0:09:27.890 like that. 0:09:29.050 --> 0:09:33.210 But no punchline really came, so I just agreed. 0:09:34.650 --> 0:09:36.690 On the big night, Brandon met up with Ali and 0:09:36.730 --> 0:09:38.850 her friends for a pre dance dinner at her friend 0:09:38.930 --> 0:09:41.530 Jen's house. He was in the fancier part of town. 0:09:42.370 --> 0:09:45.410 Brandon showed up wearing his rented suit with a corsage 0:09:45.530 --> 0:09:49.130 and a bright blue necktie that matched Ali's stress. Before 0:09:49.210 --> 0:09:52.090 leaving to the dance, everyone lined up for a group picture. 0:09:52.890 --> 0:09:55.650 Did you like just feel like saying, why the heck 0:09:55.650 --> 0:09:58.650 am I here right? What happened? Was this a mistake? 0:09:59.330 --> 0:10:00.170 Yeah? 0:10:00.290 --> 0:10:03.770 Yeah, I would have loved an answer to that question, 0:10:03.810 --> 0:10:06.810 but I would never have thought, couldn't fathom saying it. 0:10:07.050 --> 0:10:10.330 You know, do you still have that prom photo that 0:10:10.370 --> 0:10:10.970 you guys took? 0:10:11.610 --> 0:10:11.770 No? 0:10:11.850 --> 0:10:13.570 To be honest, I'm not even sure I ever got it, 0:10:13.690 --> 0:10:15.570 So I don't think I ever even saw that picture. 0:10:16.010 --> 0:10:16.210 Hmm. 0:10:18.250 --> 0:10:20.050 What do you think you would see in that photo? 0:10:22.290 --> 0:10:25.090 I mean, just imagining it makes me laugh? 0:10:25.610 --> 0:10:26.330 Yeah, why. 0:10:28.250 --> 0:10:31.490 It would be a line of like beautiful high schoolers, 0:10:32.170 --> 0:10:35.650 you know, and like me. There just feels like if 0:10:35.690 --> 0:10:37.810 your eyes set on me for a little too long, 0:10:38.090 --> 0:10:40.210 that maybe you'd be able to see that it didn't 0:10:40.210 --> 0:10:40.490 fit in. 0:10:41.610 --> 0:10:43.690 Ali and her friends looked like the girls in those 0:10:43.730 --> 0:10:47.370 movies about prom, and those girls always had guys who 0:10:47.370 --> 0:10:50.850 gave them the time of their lives. For Brandon, a 0:10:50.930 --> 0:10:51.970 sense of duty kicked in. 0:10:52.650 --> 0:10:55.890 It felt like a huge responsibility. It was like, this 0:10:55.970 --> 0:10:58.450 is going to be a big deal in Ali's life forever, 0:10:58.690 --> 0:11:00.890 and I have a big responsibility as her date to 0:11:00.930 --> 0:11:03.730 make sure that I live up to this position. 0:11:04.450 --> 0:11:04.730 Hmm. 0:11:05.250 --> 0:11:06.770 I was really really nervous. 0:11:08.170 --> 0:11:13.530 Did you guys did you nally slow dance? I pretty 0:11:13.570 --> 0:11:15.610 feel like I feel like when I asked these questions, 0:11:15.690 --> 0:11:19.850 I feel like Hannibal Lecter, Yeah, like I'm asking these 0:11:19.890 --> 0:11:22.250 questions from a straight jacket in a cell. Did you 0:11:22.290 --> 0:11:24.250 slow dance? Did you slow dance? 0:11:25.010 --> 0:11:28.050 I do remember slow dancing because I remember thinking, like, 0:11:28.810 --> 0:11:31.250 it's funny that in TV shows and in movies this 0:11:31.330 --> 0:11:34.130 is such a big deal. But it's just standing like 0:11:34.170 --> 0:11:37.450 you're kind of just like stepping slightly. Yeah, Like that's 0:11:37.450 --> 0:11:40.090 not hard. Like I was in like a hip hop 0:11:40.170 --> 0:11:42.890 dance crew and youth group. You know that was hard. 0:11:43.130 --> 0:11:45.210 Wait, you were in a sorry repeat that you were 0:11:45.210 --> 0:11:48.050 in a hip hop dance youth group. 0:11:48.090 --> 0:11:51.210 What Yeah, So the church I went to was just 0:11:51.210 --> 0:11:53.650 like through a lot of performances and. 0:11:54.970 --> 0:11:57.610 Hip hop dance that happened. 0:11:59.650 --> 0:12:01.650 Did you ever at any point break out any of 0:12:01.690 --> 0:12:04.610 your Christian youth group hip hop move on the dance floor? 0:12:05.250 --> 0:12:07.050 Do you do anything like on the floor like where 0:12:07.050 --> 0:12:09.810 you spin on your back or you didn't You didn't 0:12:09.810 --> 0:12:12.530 want to ruin the rental, wanted to get your deposit 0:12:18.930 --> 0:12:21.690 At the prom, Brandon popped for the Lord and locked 0:12:21.690 --> 0:12:25.130 for the Lord. He made Ali's friends laugh, And it 0:12:25.170 --> 0:12:27.530 was right there on the dance floor, the place one 0:12:27.610 --> 0:12:29.450 might expect a high school boy to feel the most 0:12:29.490 --> 0:12:33.090 self conscious that Brandon felt most the ease he was 0:12:33.130 --> 0:12:36.290 a part of the group of a group that. 0:12:36.410 --> 0:12:39.050 Kind of felt like a resolution of what all of 0:12:39.130 --> 0:12:41.450 grade school was like for me. You know, I never 0:12:41.530 --> 0:12:44.610 felt safe enough to bring my true self into that space. 0:12:45.330 --> 0:12:49.130 But like, dancing around at prom with your peers is 0:12:49.210 --> 0:12:50.930 like one of the most vulnerable things you can do, 0:12:51.370 --> 0:12:52.970 and it came out on the other end of it, Okay. 0:12:58.810 --> 0:13:00.850 At the end of the prom, Ali and all her 0:13:00.850 --> 0:13:03.490 friends headed to one of their classmates houses for the 0:13:03.530 --> 0:13:06.450 after party, but having never been to a house party, 0:13:06.810 --> 0:13:10.130 Brandon decided not to go. Do you remember saying goodbye 0:13:10.130 --> 0:13:10.450 to Ali? 0:13:11.410 --> 0:13:11.650 No? 0:13:12.410 --> 0:13:14.730 And then what happened after that? Do you recall speaking 0:13:14.770 --> 0:13:17.370 with her singer in school after that night. 0:13:18.370 --> 0:13:21.610 I had to have because we both went back to school, 0:13:21.970 --> 0:13:25.250 But I don't have any specific memories of talking to 0:13:25.250 --> 0:13:25.690 her again. 0:13:27.050 --> 0:13:29.170 Prom is supposed to stay with you for the rest 0:13:29.170 --> 0:13:33.290 of your life, and for Brandon it has, but eclipsing 0:13:33.290 --> 0:13:35.890 the dancing, the music, the last night out with his 0:13:35.970 --> 0:13:38.290 peers is a lingering question. 0:13:38.610 --> 0:13:40.810 Which was like, whind me out of all the people 0:13:40.850 --> 0:13:41.810 that you could be going with. 0:13:43.250 --> 0:13:45.850 Maybe it was one of those situations where all of 0:13:45.890 --> 0:13:48.130 these people out there are thinking, well, Ali's taken, She's 0:13:48.130 --> 0:13:49.970 totally going to problem with somebody already, I'll have to 0:13:49.970 --> 0:13:52.650 ask somebody else, you know, and then leaves her without 0:13:52.690 --> 0:13:55.010 a prom date. If that was what was going on, 0:13:55.250 --> 0:14:02.050 maybe maybe she just had a breakup. Maybe I was 0:14:02.250 --> 0:14:03.370 part of a charity case. 0:14:04.730 --> 0:14:07.010 So you want to ask her why why did she 0:14:07.610 --> 0:14:08.050 pick you? 0:14:08.770 --> 0:14:12.730 Yeah, exactly, I want to know that. Yeah. 0:14:12.770 --> 0:14:15.650 Without her, I wouldn't have gone to problem. It would 0:14:15.690 --> 0:14:17.370 have just been another thing on my list of things 0:14:17.370 --> 0:14:20.090 I regret from high school, you know, But it's not 0:14:20.130 --> 0:14:21.890 on that list. It's on the shorter list of things 0:14:21.930 --> 0:14:29.530 that I feel. Okay, Yeah, I'd like to think her. 0:14:30.210 --> 0:14:34.290 I'm just nervous, which is why Brandon has reached out 0:14:34.330 --> 0:14:36.410 to me. If you get nervous, I mean, I can 0:14:36.450 --> 0:14:37.450 always jump in. 0:14:38.050 --> 0:14:38.370 Sure. 0:14:38.730 --> 0:14:41.050 I've just assumed I'm going to be coming along to 0:14:41.170 --> 0:14:48.450 chaperone after the break I chaperonn Brandon back to high school. 0:15:09.130 --> 0:15:11.650 Before Brandon can ask Ali the question that's been on 0:15:11.730 --> 0:15:14.730 his mind since senior year, we first need to track 0:15:14.770 --> 0:15:20.010 her down. Her last name is Schmotz, Schmutz. I'm just 0:15:20.050 --> 0:15:23.290 making that up. Brandon's part of a Facebook group for 0:15:23.330 --> 0:15:26.210 his high school graduating class, and Ali's a member of 0:15:26.250 --> 0:15:29.010 the group as well. Does that mean that you can 0:15:29.090 --> 0:15:31.810 have a better chance of messaging or through that group? 0:15:33.010 --> 0:15:35.330 I mean, like, if I were going to use the group, 0:15:35.650 --> 0:15:39.490 it would be making a post for my whole graduating classes. 0:15:40.490 --> 0:15:42.890 Might as well go big, like say, hey, I'm just 0:15:42.970 --> 0:15:44.490 going to put this out there to everybody. 0:15:44.970 --> 0:15:47.010 Yeah, if you're not Ali, please don't read this. 0:15:47.330 --> 0:15:51.090 But Ali, I just want to say, hey, hit me up. 0:15:51.130 --> 0:15:53.850 Here are my digits. Everybody else, just lose this number. 0:15:55.530 --> 0:15:56.930 Maybe Facebook friend her. 0:15:57.490 --> 0:15:58.050 I could do that. 0:15:58.250 --> 0:16:00.210 Yeah, I'd have to change my name on Facebook. My 0:16:00.290 --> 0:16:02.650 name hasn't been my real name for a long time. 0:16:03.730 --> 0:16:09.890 What's what's the name that you operate under? Oak Tree? 0:16:10.370 --> 0:16:13.770 Just oak Tree, just oak Tree. I can't even find 0:16:13.770 --> 0:16:15.530 you as brand. I'd have to look up oak Tree. 0:16:16.050 --> 0:16:18.770 That's right. I was kind of playing with what kinds 0:16:18.810 --> 0:16:20.890 of words it lets me have as a name. 0:16:22.330 --> 0:16:25.170 Can you change your name from oak Tree to Brandon? 0:16:25.530 --> 0:16:26.930 Probably a good idea. 0:16:27.090 --> 0:16:28.930 Then you don't have to start with a whole rigmarole 0:16:28.970 --> 0:16:31.890 about how like my name's not really oak Tree. This 0:16:31.970 --> 0:16:34.690 is Brandon, by the way, you remember from high school. 0:16:35.930 --> 0:16:38.690 And so the mighty oak Tree sheds his leaves and 0:16:38.770 --> 0:16:43.090 his name and the mighty Brandon sends Ali a friend request. 0:16:47.090 --> 0:16:50.690 A week later, Brandon texts with an update. Ali has 0:16:50.730 --> 0:16:53.770 accepted his friendship. Now he just needs to send her 0:16:53.810 --> 0:16:58.530 a message. Okay, so you've crafted something already. 0:16:58.290 --> 0:17:01.010 Yeah you could you read it? Sure? Yeah? 0:17:01.290 --> 0:17:07.169 Hi Ali? Good so far casual? 0:17:07.369 --> 0:17:09.570 Okay? Cool? Go ahead? 0:17:09.690 --> 0:17:13.129 Yeah, Hi Ali, maybe you'll remember me we were prompt dating. 0:17:13.850 --> 0:17:16.770 As Brandon reads me a draft, I focus my Keen 0:17:16.929 --> 0:17:18.609 podcast producer's ear. 0:17:18.730 --> 0:17:21.129 By my recollection. It was your idea for us to 0:17:21.169 --> 0:17:22.009 go to prom together. 0:17:22.290 --> 0:17:26.450 Now let me pause, sorry, let me hit pause there. Yeah, 0:17:26.490 --> 0:17:29.169 like the way that you're underlining your idea, you're not 0:17:29.330 --> 0:17:34.129 actually underlining that though I did italicize it. It was 0:17:34.369 --> 0:17:38.489 your idea for us to go to prom together. Is 0:17:38.490 --> 0:17:39.169 that what you're saying? 0:17:40.649 --> 0:17:42.409 Yeah? It sounds accusatory out loud. 0:17:42.609 --> 0:17:46.889 Yeah, so me, Yeah, maybe we'll do italicize that part. Okay, 0:17:46.970 --> 0:17:47.409 keep going. 0:17:47.689 --> 0:17:47.809 Uh. 0:17:48.250 --> 0:17:50.810 Brandon tells Ali that he still thinks about their prom. 0:17:51.369 --> 0:17:53.330 He says he wants to talk to her about it. 0:17:53.449 --> 0:17:56.129 Would you be up for that? Okay? Okay, let's take 0:17:56.129 --> 0:17:57.969 a look at this here. Okay, so maybe you'll remember. 0:17:58.010 --> 0:18:00.889 As Brandon and I pour over the message, a worry 0:18:00.970 --> 0:18:03.649 suddenly pops into my head. I wonder if there's a 0:18:03.649 --> 0:18:06.369 way to work in the fact that you're married, you know. 0:18:07.409 --> 0:18:11.129 How about just I'm married? But I'll just start with it. Hey, listen, 0:18:11.169 --> 0:18:11.889 I'm taking. 0:18:11.730 --> 0:18:14.249 Speaking as a married man. Me and my wife were wondering. 0:18:14.290 --> 0:18:16.649 That is my wife and I. We were wondering the 0:18:16.689 --> 0:18:18.169 other night after making love. 0:18:20.090 --> 0:18:26.490 Yeah's need to be doing good work, and I hope 0:18:26.530 --> 0:18:26.929 you're well. 0:18:27.169 --> 0:18:27.729 All the best. 0:18:28.570 --> 0:18:32.169 Once we've crafted the perfect message, Brandon readies himself to 0:18:32.290 --> 0:18:32.850 hits end. 0:18:33.090 --> 0:18:34.569 Should I go ahead and do it? 0:18:34.689 --> 0:18:37.330 Yeah, let's do it. Go ahead, HiT's end. 0:18:38.169 --> 0:18:39.330 Enter, it's sent. 0:18:39.850 --> 0:18:49.450 Congratulations, thank you. A week later, Allie writes back, she's 0:18:49.490 --> 0:18:52.570 willing to talk, So that's good. 0:18:52.649 --> 0:18:54.489 It's a positive response. 0:18:55.209 --> 0:19:01.009 I look at you. You're you're you're giddy, You're giddy 0:19:01.050 --> 0:19:01.850 with expectation. 0:19:02.850 --> 0:19:05.889 Yeah. Can you tell us to keep wiping my face 0:19:05.929 --> 0:19:07.009 and touching my eyes? 0:19:09.169 --> 0:19:13.009 Would it be fun to do it on a video call? Sure? 0:19:13.169 --> 0:19:14.010 Sure? Yeah? 0:19:14.169 --> 0:19:15.689 Do you still have the suit that you wore to 0:19:15.730 --> 0:19:20.210 your prom I'll be like I never took it off. 0:19:23.770 --> 0:19:25.889 Any things that you want me to bring up, just 0:19:25.970 --> 0:19:30.810 kind of like conversationally, awards or any upcoming projects, that 0:19:30.889 --> 0:19:32.210 you want to promote or. 0:19:32.649 --> 0:19:36.369 No, keep it organic whatever cool cool. 0:19:36.409 --> 0:19:37.929 I can keep it organic cool. 0:19:42.490 --> 0:19:42.730 Yeah. 0:19:52.250 --> 0:19:56.249 Hello, Hello, I'm getting a little bit of static on 0:19:56.290 --> 0:19:56.730 your end. 0:19:57.129 --> 0:19:58.449 Yeah. Hello better. 0:19:58.810 --> 0:19:59.290 Yeah. 0:19:59.730 --> 0:20:02.050 On the day of the video call with Ali, Brandon 0:20:02.090 --> 0:20:03.689 and I get on early and wait. 0:20:05.770 --> 0:20:07.929 It feels like I'm getting back into the psyche of 0:20:08.010 --> 0:20:12.649 my high school self. Like I'm hey, hi, Allie, Hi, 0:20:13.570 --> 0:20:14.689 how are you good? 0:20:16.530 --> 0:20:19.449 Allie smiles a big smile full of big white teeth. 0:20:20.050 --> 0:20:22.889 She's wearing a blue patterned blouse that matches the blue 0:20:22.929 --> 0:20:23.649 of her nails. 0:20:24.209 --> 0:20:26.050 I'll just tell you what I've seen on your profile. 0:20:26.129 --> 0:20:27.730 You live in Carmel, and you have a baby. 0:20:28.129 --> 0:20:30.609 I have two daughters, a three year old and a 0:20:30.609 --> 0:20:31.250 two year old. 0:20:31.409 --> 0:20:33.090 Awesome, they're right here. 0:20:32.929 --> 0:20:33.489 On my wall. 0:20:34.290 --> 0:20:35.690 Brandon and Alley catch up. 0:20:35.850 --> 0:20:37.889 The Midwest is just such a nice place to raise 0:20:37.889 --> 0:20:40.609 a feat. It's recruiting, but there's like a sales element. 0:20:40.730 --> 0:20:42.369 And then of course the grandparents are here. 0:20:42.530 --> 0:20:44.889 Yeah. I figured that was part of it. Just a family. 0:20:45.050 --> 0:20:46.850 It's a huge reason they're. 0:20:46.369 --> 0:20:47.210 Always willing to. 0:20:49.490 --> 0:20:53.169 Brandon's question hasn't gotten any easier to ask since high school. 0:20:54.090 --> 0:20:57.489 In fact, it's gotten harder. After a pause, of a 0:20:57.530 --> 0:21:01.369 few minutes or even a few days, one can feign casualness. 0:21:01.850 --> 0:21:05.289 By the way, why do you choose me? But to 0:21:05.330 --> 0:21:08.449 ask after fifteen years, there's no way to buy the 0:21:08.449 --> 0:21:13.010 way your way through it. But eventually, so. 0:21:13.010 --> 0:21:14.170 Can I ask you some questions? 0:21:14.330 --> 0:21:14.929 Absolutely? 0:21:16.449 --> 0:21:19.409 I guess first, like, what are your memories of me 0:21:19.649 --> 0:21:20.369 in high school? 0:21:20.730 --> 0:21:22.770 Yeah? So I was trying to think of this. Did 0:21:22.810 --> 0:21:24.970 we ever have any classes together? 0:21:25.689 --> 0:21:26.449 Probably not? 0:21:27.209 --> 0:21:29.810 Yeah, so we met senior year, right. 0:21:30.330 --> 0:21:30.850 I think so. 0:21:31.850 --> 0:21:34.889 Allie doesn't remember much, but one thing she does remember 0:21:35.209 --> 0:21:37.570 is that day in the back of the classroom. 0:21:37.490 --> 0:21:39.689 We were talking about prom, you know, as seniors do, 0:21:39.929 --> 0:21:42.010 and I think you had you were like not into 0:21:42.169 --> 0:21:42.850 going to prom? 0:21:42.929 --> 0:21:44.609 Right, You're like, no, I'm not going to go. 0:21:44.929 --> 0:21:47.050 Yeah, I remember like you had to really spell it out. 0:21:47.129 --> 0:21:49.330 You were like are you going to prom? 0:21:49.889 --> 0:21:50.290 You're not? 0:21:50.730 --> 0:21:53.330 Okay? Like if you were, would you be going with someone? 0:21:54.050 --> 0:21:54.250 No? 0:21:54.369 --> 0:21:54.649 Okay? 0:21:54.730 --> 0:21:57.330 And then eventually you were like you and me can 0:21:57.369 --> 0:21:59.649 go to prom? Like why don't we go to prom? 0:22:00.609 --> 0:22:00.769 You know? 0:22:02.649 --> 0:22:06.170