How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah BayerRemember Free To Be... You And Me? (with Gillian Jacobs)
This week on the podcast we are thrilled to be joined by actress, director and friend Gillian Jacobs! Gillian and Vanessa talk about co-starring along with Phoebe Robinson in the 2018 film "Ibiza," and give some crucial behind-the-scenes info about the production, including Vanessa's mission to take as much free stuff as possible. We also discuss Gillian's respect for the public library, get a few more physical and digital book scams from Jonah and hear why staying out of trouble as a teenager is actually a really cool move. Finally we dig into Marlo Thomas' incredible creative project "Free To Be... You And Me," which had a huge impact on all of us as kids—and also learn about the time Gillian interviewed Marlo all about the project for Glamour magazine. Finally we play a round of CHANGE DOT DORK where we discuss the merits of bringing back Taco Bell's brownie sandwich, changing "knitting to gnitting" for all you Palindrome-heads and if gym class should be optional for kids who have no interest in sports and are there to actually, you know, learn. Glad to have a friend like Gillian because this is a fantastic episode!
Hi.
I'm Vanessa Bayer and this is my brother Jonah.
We're two siblings who love to talk about our childhood and nostalgia and how shaped us into the people we are.
Today, who are really part of a community, if I do say so myself.
Welcome to how did we get weird?
So, Jonah, I was really excited for our guests today, not only because she's a friend, but because the reason I know her and the reason we became friends is from working together. And she's a real class act compared to me. And I'm going to give you an example of why. We filmed this movie Abiza together, and it was so much fun. We were in Serbia and Croatia together. And you'd think I would be telling a story from when we were in Serbia or Croatia, but I'm not going to. I'm going to tell you another story, which is that after we were on filming, we did a photo shoot.
I think it was in New York. It might have been in la but I think it was in New York.
And at the end of the photo shoot, they had like all of our clothes and everything that we wore in the movie at this photo shoot, and they said, if there's any clothes from the movie that you want, you can take them home. So I took home almost every single thing, okay.
I wore in the movie.
And Gillian took home like a pair of shoes, and she wore this unicorn onesie costume in the movie, and I was like, you're taking that home, right, And she was like no, what would I do with it?
And I was like, should I take it home?
But like, literally wouldn't even fit me, so I didn't take it home. I do think after she left, I took home some of her stuff, which again would not fit me, but I just couldn't leave it there. And I also took home a suitcase that we didn't even have during the shoot, but didn't have during the filming, but was just there for the photo shoot that I somehow talked them into giving me. It wasn't a way suitcase, you know, there's expensive anyways.
Those are nice suitcases.
So Jonah, should we introduce our guests now that everyone knows?
Yeah, yeah, let's get into it.
Okay, sounds good.
So our guest today is an actress and director who you may know from her starring roles in shows such as Community or Girls or films such as a Beza, which I got to work with this little sweetie on Please Welcome our friend Gilly and Jacob. Hi.
So, Gilly, do you remember this situation?
Yes, because I still do wear those shoes all the time.
They were nice shoes. You had nice shoes. I was smart.
But did you take anything home other than the shoes?
I did?
I took a few more things home. I took home a T shirt that I still wear all the time. Okay, a pair of jeans, yeah, I took. I took a few things home and I wear them a lot. We had really nice clothing on that movie.
Okay.
I think that your character, because you really were the main character. I think yours and I think your character's style was like a little more.
Elevated than that.
It is not to burn my character, okay, but I think you stuff was nicer. But also the fact that, like you could probably count how many things you took on one hand.
Yeah, that's fair.
I took so much stuff, and I think that the things that I've worn the most have been a pair of sweatpants that I took. Key and that's it. I took a T shirt, I took a card again, I had two of the same dress for like, because I was supposed to like eat all, you know, doing kind of like a lot of action in that dress, and took both home. I find stuff in my closet all the time that I'm like, where did I get this? And I'm like, oh, I took it home from from a visa and yeah, and have maybe worn the sweatpants and that's it. But and this is no burn to my character. Oh, I think I wore I had like to dress as a business lady once when my character was covering for your character at a business meeting, And I think I wore my business outfit once in an audition to play a different business woman.
It's important to have a business woman audition outfit.
Yeah, so that was actually a good thing for me to take, right, Yes, that's key. But I feel like throughout the entire shoot, there's so many examples of you being much classier than me. But also I think it really came to a head and sort of like really was a very clear distinction at the end of that photo shoot.
I don't see it that way at all, But I take the compliment, but that's not how I see it.
Well, the well I think that's how I see it.
And the other thing that I just thought of because I'm wearing the dress that I was talking about that I had two of. I don't know if you remember, and Jonah, you weren't here, but there were like a lot of like billboards and stuff going around LA that had like a photo of Gillian and Phoebe and I, you know, promoting this movie. And do you remember how I mean, I'm not trying to objectify.
You have really nice arms. My arms.
They made my arms so thin that it looks like it's so crazy how thin the pot I saw the posters and I was like, oh my god, my arms look really good in this. And then I was like, wait a second, nobody's arms are like are like straight across like that, like where there's no like muscle definition. It's just I would draw arms like that like in middle school, if I was like drawing a person like almost like stick figure arms. If you see my arms in this thing, they've really done quite a number.
I don't have a vivid memory of that. I'm gonna have to go back and look at it. But I will also say that that movie is how I know you as well. Jonah because we got to hang out in New York. We finished filming the movie in New York, and we all went over to your apartment, Vanessa, and that's how I now know both Bear.
And I remember too.
I remember you would always be like, I'm such a dork, you know how like people say that, and You're like, you're really cool, and you're saying you're a dork and you can cut it out now.
But and I'm not saying you're a dork, Gilly.
And this is kind of like leading up to but I remember when we were at my apartment, you spent so much time looking at my bookshelf. You were so interested in the books I had in a way that I was like, hey, Gili, and most of these books are for show.
I've read about half, just kidding two thirds.
But I remember having you over and we had a fancy pizza party and that was so fun. And actually, this might be crazy, but that might be the night that I met your now wife, Jonah Vicki.
So it's possible. I was thinking about this before the podcast.
It's possible that Gillian and I both met my now sister in law on the same night.
I think it's yeah, I think that is true.
Isn't that crazy?
It was a momentous evening.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And my wife Vicky is an English professor, and I think you two were talking because Gill and your parents were English or somehow involved in literature something with you're just really books.
Okay, I'm a dork who likes books.
Okay, you said you were a dork and you proved it.
That's not that didn't come up right, quite.
Right, No, but it is.
It is a bad habit I have of like when I go to people's homes of just compulsively looking at all the books on their bookshelves. So yeah, I don't know if that's like certifies me as a dork or not, but yeah, I can't think that's.
Such a great quality to be interested in stuff like that and not just Yeah.
I went to a Halloween party once and I didn't know anyone there. I knew the person throwing it, but didn't know anyone else. And it was like kind of a pagan like a celebration of Halloween. Like they were reading stuff and people had really elaborate outfits, and I went by myself, didn't know anyone was just like focused on these books, like and then it started and I was like, I gotta go, but my jacket was in like another room, and I had to like they were doing this whole ceremony. I had to like sneak in, get my jacket, get out. But I remember just, yeah, the books is a good move. But after a while you start to be like, I have to talk to someone, but I don't know how well.
I like to think that Gillian was in a different position because she was at your apartment with a bunch of our friend So I don't think I don't use a difference s yeah, but I hear you.
And you know what, that just gave me a flashback to too.
That really stresses me out, you know how, Like I don't know why, because I guess we're adults now this doesn't happen as much.
But do you.
Remember in college and even like earlier twenties, like going to parties at people's houses and everybody would put their coat on like a bed in a room, and then like at the end of the party, you'd have to go through all the coats and it was so stressful and sometimes you'd be like, oh, I think my coat's gone, or I like I don't know which one is my I just had a flashback to that of like going and getting your coat and that being the most upsetting thing.
And then the first time I went to a party where someone had a coat rack in the hallway outside their apartment, and I was.
Like, ooh, yes, so fancy, Yes, that seems incredible. I can't even imagine, but yeah, the coat thing is Yeah. Maybe it's also because does that happen to you still, Jonah, because we're in La so it's yeah, less, it's not really coat weather.
I think as an adult. Honestly, more people just have closets, you know, and they're like, you can put your coat in the closet. They're not just like throw your dirty coat on my bed.
Yes, that is very true, right right right right, you know, yes, this is a really good.
Well you too are from Ohio. I'm from western Pennsylvania, so near to each other. I also have a bad habit of in cold weather just leaving my coat on for a really long time, even after I'm inside. Oh same, just walking around with a winter coat off.
Yeah, and didn't you get people. I don't know if this is true, but there's these people who are always like, well, actually, like if you don't take your coat off, like your coat will lose its power to keep you warm or something.
You know.
You know people people, Yeah, you'll like you'll stay too warm and then when you go outside you'll be even more cold.
Yeah, because you didn't.
Take your I definitely remember adults telling.
You kind of want to be like, yeah, I just want to wear my coat. I don't need like your science lesson, which I don't know if that's actually even true.
You know, I've done that here in California. Like, I'll leave my coat on sometimes because I'm just like I run a little cold, sure, and people are always like, are you leaving? And I'm like, no, I just I just got here. I just am wearing my coat, you psycho, it feels.
Good to wear my coat.
Yeah yeah, I'm just like, what is everyone's problem all of a sudden with coat?
Yeah?
Yeah, they just can't wait for you to throw it on their bed.
It's a real kind of though, know it all vibe to go up to someone and be like, actually you should take off your coat, you know, like it's like, let me just wear my coat. I don't need to I don't need to justify it to you.
Can I ask another thing that a lot of people have been really supportive of me during this It's very hot here right now, and I still when I order coffee, I still have been ordering hot coffees mostly instead of iced coffee, and everyone's sort of instead of giving me shit. A lot of my friends and stuff had said, you know, they do say that hot coffee cools you down in hot weather. Is that a real thing or is that something that someone just starts saying and now everyone's repeating it.
I've definitely heard it as well, but I've never read any literature for it, guess, but I've had that repeated to me too.
It seems like, and I've brought this up before on here, somebody when I was younger told me that Mario Lopez and Jennifer Lopez were brother and sister, and I really spread it around because I thought it was true. That seems like similar to the hot coffee thing, where it's like, although I guess the hot coffee thing is more is sort of more popular. More people are saying that. And God, if I could remember who told me the Mario Lopez Jennifer Lopez thing, I'd come up to him and I'd say, you made me lie to about seventy people, probably over my early twenties. But the hot coffee thing, yeah, there must be some science to it, else someone would stop saying it.
Now.
I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know. Here's the thing with like these food science things, though, if they say something and then like two weeks later, they will say, like, the opposite thing is true, right.
Right right, right, right right right.
A cup of coffee a day is good for you, and then they're like, don't drink any coffee, and then they're like, drink nine.
Cups of coffee a day to get maximum benefit. I don't know.
It's confounding. I think the only way to resolve this is for people to leave you guys a five star review and write their opinions on hot versus ice coffee.
That's right in the review.
That's a great idea.
Now, Jonah, do you ever go on our podcast page and leave five stars?
And I don't.
I have, I have. I don't know if I can do it more than once, though. I think they probably know it's me because I think I'm luck.
I think you can do it once a day.
Oh No, I don't think. No, I don't think.
That's true because I do it. I think because I do.
Do Really, I thought you're like logged in under your name and you could just like kind of review you can do.
Okay, here's why I think you can, because I've done it. I'll do it.
I'll leave five stars, and it'll say thank you for your review, and then i'll come back like a half hour later, and I'll do it again, and it'll it won't say anything to me. But then if I come back the next day and I do it, it'll say thank you for your review.
Are you counting the number of reviews?
You should? We should clock how many reviews?
So smart and something that it has truly never occurred to me to do, like even in real time, you could say how many reviews are here after I leave the review. Now, I don't want new listeners to go, oh, you know they've got all these five stars because their half of them are from Venessa, because that's not true.
I'm a genuine fan of this podcast listener.
I mean, this is like, oh my godcast that I was listening to and loving before I was ever asked to be on it. So I think it's worthy of a five star review.
Wow, Gillian, that is so nice because I feel like you are a person who has like a very well round did and like you know, you're always working, you're always reading, You're always like out in the world. And the fact that you take time to listen to this podcast like all of our listeners, yes, is so nice. It really is very nice. I'm trying to think if we have any other funny stories from Abiza before we go, because wow, wow, did we have a lot of night shoots.
Boy oh boy, talk about being cold. It went from very hot end of summer to fall while we were shooting. But a lot of the movie takes place in one night, which is why ven Usa had two dresses.
Yeah, of the same dress.
And so I remember us going from just pouring sweat in these outfits to sitting by the water and truly having to do that magical acting thing, which is like somehow you can make yourself stop shivering when they call action. As soon as they call cut, you start shivering again. We were by the water and the wind was whipping, and I just remember them running in with blankets as soon as they would call cut. So I would have loved a nice winter coat and yeah.
That would have been I think we had like, yeah, we had like warming coats and then they would take them right off of us and then we would stop shivering and just shoot the scene. That's another thing that I think is always so funny is and something that you might not know, Jonah, because you haven't been in as many productions as Gillian and.
I sorry sorry, is that the orange.
Of department is like really well stocked usually with those handwarmers and footwarmers, and a lot of times they'll like put them in the back of your outfit and stuff. So because you're you're often so cold that that's like I don't know, I hadn't seen those things since like I was a kid, and then I remember, yeah, and then they always have those warming things. Was that interesting? I can't tell.
I think it's interesting.
Little bts.
Yeah, little bts. That's it's for behind the scenes for.
Those of you. What were the scene and then there's a lot of scenes where you guys are at these like big dance clubs. Were those like actual like were those extras or that was like an actual thing that was happening.
So those were extras?
Extra?
Yeah?
Wow?
Yeah, But we had a little room that we It was so funny because, oh my god, we.
Had a holding room for the cast at one of these nightclubs, but one of the walls was a glass wall that looked into a public pool, so we would watch people swimming laps and like children having swim lessons, and on the other side if it was a group of actors sitting in cass chairs.
It was also so funny because it was like so many of the extras and so they were so they were like, this is like awesome, Like they were getting to like dance and like be in a club, and to me, I'm like, I don't want to go to a club ever, like in my whole life. And so it was like pretending to have fun and then like basically just getting to dance a lot and then having to like go into that holding room and be like where are the snacks?
I gotta sit down, But also like staring at people swimming and them staring at us.
Oh, staring at the people swimming was so funny.
They were just sort of like, what's what's.
Going on here?
So you could see each other.
Yeah, yeah, it was glass, they could see through it.
Yeah, it was a strange setup.
It was a strange setup, and we were just in a different country and it was a lot of culture shock.
I will say.
One other thing I want to mention was that when we were in Serbia, the food like a lot of times we would order room service from our hotel when we were like because you know, we would be filming at night and so we would need like food during the day, but we'd mostly be sleeping during the day or whatever.
It was.
So the thing that we learned was that the chefs like to make their own mark on each entree. So it would be like you'd order one thing from room service. For me, I ordered this salmon entree a lot, and then I would order the same thing the next day and it would be completely different, and I'd be like, why is this totally different than what I got yesterday? And they'd be like, the chef wants to leave his mark, and I'd be like, well, I actually don't want that, Like I just want to have some kind of consistency and know what I'm going to get when I ordered the same thing.
Wow.
That does remind me of another thing, though, which is that Vanessa did the best job I've ever seen of packing snacks for a long trip. Okay, you had all the best snacks, yes, that I brought with me from the US. Yes, that's right, Vanessa had by far the best snacks.
Because I brought I think I brought a lot of RX bars, yes, and packs of nuts maybe yes, I'm trying to think what else I brought.
And packs of nut butter.
I think, yes, I think I brought blueberry RX bars.
I think I brought the chocolate.
Okay, we got it. We think we got our go to commercial.
We're dististing snacks. Sorry, I was just making myself hungry. Okay, we're gonna go to quick commercial break.
We'll be right back with our friend Gilly and Jacobs five stars. Okay, and we're back now, Gillian, And if anyone wants to ask me more about what I packed in my suitcase to bring to this, check.
It out a big money player's diamond.
We'll put some bonus footage on there with that. Now, Gillian, we're really excited about your topic today because and spoiler alert and surprise surprise, I remember this way better than Jonah. But it's something that we were very into as kids, which is free to be you and me.
Now, Gillian, why did you want to talk about this.
Free to Be You and Me was very important to me as a child because the very first acting class I took when I was about eight years old, Wow, we performed sketches from Free to Be You.
I did that once too when I was a little older.
But yes, go ahead.
Sorry no, no, no, that's so cool. Yes, And so I loved it. And then my mom used to play the album all the time at home because there there was like a song about housework. I remember her playing for me a lot, and so my mom and I listened to it all the time. I had the book of it. I had the second album as well, and then a few years ago I kind of got re obsessed with it. I pitched the editors at Glamour magazine and I got to interview Marlo Thomas about.
Free to Be You and Me.
So it was really cool to talk to her because listener, if you don't know the actress Marlo Thomas, that was it was her idea entirely. She conceived of it. Yeah, she put it together. It was it was her brainchild. It was so important, you know, for us and so many kids out there, that album was really a big part of our childhoods and so it was so cool to be able to talk to her about it.
That's incredible.
And yes, to expand on what Gillian was saying, it was this children's entertainment project Conceive, created and executive produced by Carla Thomas and in collaboration with the Mis Foundation for Women, which I didn't realize that I did not know that, which is this foundation, this nonprofit organization for women which had a deep commitment to diversity and to deliver strategic resources to groups which elevated women's and girls voices and solutions across race and class in communities nationwides. And so yeah, it was like initially it was like a record, an album and a book and we had both too, and we would listen to.
It all the time as kids were there.
Any because just even doing a little research for today, there were so many that I immediately were like so always playing in our house.
I felt, Yeah, there was one that was like the story of Atalanta. I was a retelling of it where she's her father wants her to get married and they're these suitors that are going to run in this race and the winner is going to marry her, and then she decides that she's going to run the race herself, and she doesn't want to get married, and she's going to get married when she feels like it, and if she feels like.
It, Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
And the one I performed when I was little was got to know this, Yes, was It's two babies who have just been born?
Asking Jonah if you remember this one, because this was always on the album.
This was always playing our house.
Sorry, go ahead, no, no, yeah, you remember it too. It was two babies in a hospital have just been born. And yeah, I could probably find a picture of me performing in that sketch.
Oh my god, I would love to see you guys. Yes, And were there like hi? Weren't they like Hi?
Hi, I'm a baby boy? Yes, exactly. Yes.
And also the amazing thing that I have now come to appreciate as an adult, which didn't really register with me when I was a kid, was all the incredible performers she got, all the Tudians and singers and amazing you have it in front of you.
Yes, I have it in front of me.
It was her and Allen Alda, Rosie Greer, Cicily Tyson, Caryl Channing, Michael Jackson, ROBERTA Flex, Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Diana Ross.
I mean, yeah, it was amazing. The other reason the house there was the housework one. I think when I was little, I had a short haircut and my grandmother always told me I looked like Carol Channing, and Carol Channing performed the housework oh number. And so that's probably also why I listened to it a lot, because my grandma told me, I look like Carol Channing.
That's incredible.
Yes, we would listen to it so much, we would read it so much. And then when I was in I don't know if I was in middle school, but I know that we performed it in our middle school Brady Middle School stage, like that's where we did it. But our after school theater program I did, we did Free to Be You and Me. And I just asked my friends Jenny and Kitty to like confirm that this is true. And I remember this song that I sang, I only got one verse. I was kind of that was kind of my thing in like middle schools. I was kind of like underappreciated it.
And that's some issues previous cast from middle school.
Yeah, a couple times they've kind of shafted me. But you know, it's all fine, It all worked out, okay. I remember I sang one verse from Mommies are people.
Do you guys want to hear a little bit of it?
Please?
Yes?
This is what I spoke for on myself. That's what I remember.
Mommies are people, people with children, busy with children and things that they do. There are a lot of things a lot of mommies can't do. And then it was like this, some mommies are tectors and boetry singers and nectars and teachers and lawyers and them saying, and mommies drive taxi. There are some mommies are taxis. They're sing on the moon. I don't think it's Lenda on the Moon or something like that. Oh, mommies can do almost anything they want to do. And then it's like accept the daddies or something, and then they're like daddies are people, and then it's like parents are people or something like that.
Maybe after that, I think any correct.
Do you guys think I did a good job provo?
Yeah? That was yeah, yeah, I think pretty good.
The other song that I think I might have had a vers in was It's all right to Cry, which was a favorite. That's such a good song. It's about how crying is. Okay, do you want to hear a little of that? Yes, Jonah, Yes, yes, Gillian?
Are you so happy you did this?
I'm thrilled because you're bringing back so many more memories from my childhood.
You started it by having this great topic. Okay, this goes like this, Jonah. If you don't remember, because I think Gillian does, it's.
All right to cry. Crying gets the sad out of you. It's all right.
You can sing a long if you want.
You, Gilly, you don't want to hear it might make you feel better.
It's all right to feel things.
So the feelings be strange feelings. Jonah's dead enough, real things. And then this is where the fun part comes in, and they change and change and change some remember it goes like this, sad and grumpy down in the dumpies in and then it's in and it might make you feel better, and then it goes on from there.
Beautiful, beautiful.
Now.
The other thing that I think I was in when we performed this in middle school was and I just looked it up because I was like, did I make this up?
But I didn't the ladies first one? Do you remember that one?
Gillian?
Oh?
Yes, yes, and she gets eaten by a lion, Yes, by a tiger.
Yeah, that's what I was like.
I was like, I think this is about a little girl who's like always saying ladies first, and then she gets eaten by a tiger, and I thought that can't be right, but I looked it up and it is what happened in this What is so basically the point of it is that she's sort of a narcissist, I think, and she entitled narcissist, entitled narcissist, and it's Marlo Thomas reading it on the album and it's this little it's like this short story about this girl who she's like always like ladies first, ladies first, and she is really patent leather shoes, do you remember that?
Okay?
And like white socks, and sort of like when she's in the lunch line, she says like ladies first, and she cuts to the front of the line. She sort of is really entitled. I think she's an entitled narcissist. And then one day, for some reason, her class takes a trip deep into like the jungle.
I don't remember the specifics of how she comes to etten by a tiger, but.
That's what happens.
She gets.
They go to the jungle, and then a bunch of tigers. This is where it gets really kind of out of hand. A bunch of tigers like tie up all the kids. Okay, which you go, I don't remember that.
I don't remember this.
I just reread it really quickly.
I might be getting some of the details wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting most of them right. Okay, the tigers tie up all the kids, and then they're like, who should we eat first?
And she keeps.
Going ladies first, ladies first, which it's like, even if you're titled narcissists, like have a sense of like.
Read the room right exactly.
Wow, But yeah, I'm gonna have to go back to that one.
But then like right when they're like trying to figure out who to eat first, she says ladies first. And then the end of the poem or story or whatever is like and boy was she delicious, And it's like feels like a and this is no burn on Marlo Thomas, so absolutely you know, iconic adore, but it's like a little.
Messed up that one may have lost the plot.
The point of these stories was to teach.
The lesson of like, don't be an entitled narcissist.
This sounds like a book like I'm surprised that, like Rhonda Santa saysn't tried to like ban this book if you like this message is too controversial.
Yeah, he probably were he to be listening right now, And he might be because, as we've discussed, he's only a year older than you.
Don't not just like it.
I don't know why that would make him listen to this, but he is in our age group, which is unbelievably.
Something has ever made us feel older.
But he probably doesn't know about it, because, you know what, he probably hasn't didn't do a lot as a kid read books.
I just had a memory of when I got on the phone with Marlo Thomas.
To do the interview.
Oh my god.
So she you know, her father founded Saint Jude's Children's Hospital.
Right right, right right, And she's in all those commercials.
Yes, and so she and her brother have carried on the legacy and they do commercials and huge fundraising drives every year and they raise I don't think I'm exaggerating to say they've raised over a billion.
I think it's billion dollars for this Wow.
Wow.
Well, you know, I watched General Hospital and there's.
All ye and I grew up watching General Hospital. I loved that episode of this podcast because I would run home and watch General Hospital every day.
That's incredible.
I'm so bad it resonated with you, Gillian, but I'm sorry, go ahead, I interrupted you.
I sure, so a billion dollars?
When you know her publicist approached her about this interview, I don't think that they told her that it was about Free to Be You and me. So when we got on the oh my gosh, she said, no, honey, why.
Do you want to talk to me?
Is it about about Saint Jude's What do you want to talk to me about? And I'm like, no, I want to talk to you about Free to Be You and me? And I grew upless and she's like, oh okay. And then I talked to her for so long that at one point she had to go, Honey, I have a dinner reservation.
I gotta go. And that's like, get me off the phone.
Oh my god, that's so funny. That's so how so what were some of the things. Were there sort of things about it that she told you about, like the creating of it or anything that we're really surprising to you.
The part that I didn't know and you touched on was the collaboration with MS magazine, And I didn't know, yeah, as a child, that she had put the entire project together. Another thing she told me that I didn't know was that the show that she starred in, That Girl, which was like an iconic television show, that was actually her idea. And I don't think she has a like creator or producer credit on it, but she pitched that show in her twenties and really like conceived of the whole thing. So I was just kind of in awe of you know, it's it's we think of it right now as like a much more contemporary idea of actresses conceiving of their own projects and creating them or producing and putting them together. And I was just kind of blown away by the fact that she was doing all of this decades before you.
Really thought about.
I mean, obviously, like Lucille Ball, there have been people throughout Hollywood history doing it, but yeah, she was really the driving force I think in so many of the projects that people know her from.
Wow, that's really incredible.
And it said also she worked with Gloria Steinem the miss. Yeah, that's really amazing. And now who is I'm sorry to go from such incredible facts about her to ask you this, but who is she married to?
I know you're gonna ask me that it's Phil Donahue.
That's right.
I knew she was married to someone who is Like, now, did she talk about Phil at all in the interview? This is the lowest. This is like such low hanging fruit for me to be like, Yeah, she was. She was created all of her own stuff. She was such a like, she was so influential on so many women. She started such a movement. And I'm like, and who's Who's her husband? He's funny, right.
I think that I think the only way.
We touched bottom was I think they had Yes, she had to go to meet Phil. But I think they did some project about their marriage or long. You know, they've been married for a few decades now. I think they did a project within the last couple of years since I interviewed her all about their marriage.
So you could probably get her on this pod. I you should get her on this podcast.
Oh my god, God, I have a serious question. When they got to dig that, do you think that makes the reservation under the name Marla Thomas or Phil Donahue, like.
Who you can't lose?
I mean, yeah, do you think they trade off? Like which one are they going with?
It's a win win, it's a win win.
I think it depends where you are, because I think if you're in New York or La not to be that person.
Okay, not one of those fly over states where we're all from.
I think you use Marlo Thomas.
But I think if you are in you know, in Ohio or a Pennsylvania where we're from a hometown, I don't know.
I think you go with Thomas, no matter.
It depends what kind of restaurant.
Maybe yeah, yeah, maybe if you're in the deep deep deep deep South, you do Donahue because wasn't his Now I don't mean to take us up topic, but was his brand? It like fell somewhere between Jerry Springer and like heralda Heraldo R.
Like it was like he was sort of Heraldo adjacent, right.
Yeah, but I think it was a less insane like Coraldo got the chair broken over his head or was that on Donahue when the.
Ringer got the chair broken over his head. Did Donahue? Donna Hue was like a lit.
I think you guys should have a Sally Jesse Raphael Phil Donahue episode and you find out from their childhood what were they watching and listening to?
Oh I would love to do that now, can I tell you something else? You know, sometimes you think who are these people married to? Because you want to know? Do you want to number who Connie Chung? Do you remember Connie Chung?
Yes?
Who I actually met once at SNL And there's a photo she came to SNEL because she was friendly with one of our wardrobe people or something because they used to work with her. And there's a photo of me meeting her and being so excited and you can tell by our body language that I'm really leaning in and she's really leaning out, like I'm really leaning towards her, and she's like she's like trying to back away. It's like such a funny photo that like says with El's words without saying anything. But Connie Chung was always a huge fan of her. She was a journalist and maybe still is I don't know, but do you know who she's married to.
Deep in the recesses of my mind, I know it's a very famous person, but I can't fill Donahue adjacent.
Is it's like an action star or something.
She's married to, And I'm blinking on his name, so I'm gonna absolutely blow this. But I can see him in my head. Not Phil Donahue, but someone's so similar. That's what made me think of it. And they're both in some way journalists. But I think calling her husband a journalist.
Okay, I got it. Maury Povich.
Oh, yes, she's married to Mary Povich.
Wow, I didn't know that.
Isn't that wild?
You know, it's a small world when you get down to it, all these news journalism people. They must be going to the same cocktail parties.
Yeah, that's what I think. And you know who really fell off the face of this earth?
Jenny Jones, Connie Chung, Mary Povid.
You got it.
You're making the reservation under Connie's name.
I think you're making it under Connie. Yeah, yeah, big time. Although he's only Maury, so it's like he's kind of right. So people might not even know Pulvich. They might hear that and go that means nothing to.
Me because they's a chance like Maury more Right, wasn't that the thing?
I know?
It was Jerry?
You keep taking a lot of Jerry attributes and putting them on the jelly.
We should definitely not host its show in this topic because we are getting everyone confused.
A really great show. Who are you?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, which thing did you do?
Well?
There were so many? Right, because there was also Ricky Lake. Yeah, she had a big show.
Yes, yes, that show is huge, and she was a child actor and she made.
A real rosie rosie actress to talk show hosts.
Yeah, yeah, don't forget about Oprah? How could you?
You know?
Anyways, back to Marlo Thomas, was there anything else from your interview with her that free to be you and me related or not that was stood out?
The other thing is, you know, I knew her connection to Saint Jude because of seeing the TV commercials my whole life, but just realizing that her father had started this hospital to help children, and.
So crazy that he started it.
That is so crazy that that really blew my mind. Yeah.
So yeah, she's just sort of all around impressive woman, which was made me sad when I got on the phone.
She said, why do you want to talk to me? I'm like, why wouldn't I want to talk yours?
So incredible, But yeah, I really chatted her ear off.
But she was really gracious to allow me to do that.
I had a good run with Glamor Magazine where I would just kind of call them and say, can I can you get this person on the phone. The really elusive person, the person who's turned me down twice for two publications, is Danielle Steel. She Oh, I've never been able to get her to agree to an interview.
Now.
Is she sort of like infamously doesn't do interviews? Is that like a thing about her?
She doesn't do a lot of interviews. And she very famously works. I don't think I'm exaggerating to say I think she works about twenty hours a day.
Wow.
She is I think one of the She is one of the best selling authors of all time. Wow, she's the best selling living author. She's incredibly prolific. I don't even know how many books she's published, because she publishes multiple books a year. She's working on something like seven books at all times and in various stages. And I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that she works about twenty hours a day.
That's incredible.
If you were to ask me who's the number one selling living author, I'm going to say John Grisham, I'm going to say Stephen King. I would not think it would be Danielle Steele. Good for her that she's Yeah, she's right up there with like Agatha Christie.
I mean I think she's, you know, not far behind her, and yeah, she's It does not seem like she's slowed down at all.
So the response I got back was she's too.
Busy, And I was gonna say that she needs four hours at least to sleep and eat.
So she's writing for twenty hours a day.
But that's incredible because she's also got to be how old do you think she is now to still be working.
At that pace.
She's seventy five.
She's seventy five. Wow?
Yeah. Yeah. You know another author who's featured in Free to Be You and Me is shel Silverstein. Oh, kil and do any thoughts because I feel like where the sidewalk ends. Like, as kids, those books were like everyone one.
Hundred percent absolutely absolutely. I think I owned many Shell Silversteain books as a child that also is feeling like in some acting class as a child, we probably performed Shell Silverstein poems.
Doesn't that feel right?
Yes, he'ven one hundred percent. Great little monologues sort of for kids.
Yes, great little monologues for kids. That's our new book, Vanessa.
Yes, great little monologues for narcissistic kids. Not that we were narcissistic, but I mean, we don't know. One other thing I wanted to say was when I interned in New York. It was like my first time living in New York. One summer in college, I went and saw, I can't remember what the theater at, this really small theater, they did a production of Free to Be You and Me and Daphne Rubin Vega was in it from the original cast of Rent. And it was just a four people production and it made me cry. I cried like through the whole thing. So I guess I just wanted to brag about that. But it is such a good It is such an emotional Like as much as we're like saying, you know, like the thing about you know, the tiger eating the girls, like there's some weird stuff in there, but like overall, it is such an emotionally intelligent, just beautiful thing. I really think it was an a credible thing for us to always be playing in our to always be playing in our house as kids, even though Jonah doesn't remember it at all.
Is the big conceit of this podcast. Realizing what Jonah doesn't remember.
It's almost like we had two separate childhoods, because I feel like I remember some things very well, but so much of it I have like zero recollection of.
You were running that book scam you had on your mind.
I feel like Borders Corporate it's gonna I've been talking about it on so many podcasts, Jonah.
Lucky for you, I don't think Borders Corporate exists anymore.
Did you have B Dalton Books?
Was that a chip?
Oh?
I remember, Jonah.
Isn't that where you got your scam books from?
No? I got them from Walden Books?
Oh right, Yeah, we had B Dalton.
We had B Dalton, Yeah, but I don't know if they had the same setup with like those sale books, you know, the sale hardcover books.
Right right right for you to run your scam with.
Kilan. Did you ever do any sort of scam in high school?
Yeah, I'm a very nervous person. So I don't think I was scared.
Yeah, well I was nervous too, That's why I was using that fake ID. But it turned out to be the thing that sunk me.
That's right. No, I was so scared.
I remember my cousin took me to a house party and people were smoking weed and I was so afraid that I tried to hold my breath for the entirety of the party. It was a real scaredy cat. So no, I don't think so. Another topic that I almost put on my list for today was just libraries because I loved going to the library as a kid so much.
Yes.
Yes, And did you do book it like we did? We've talked about that in here before. It's like it was a thing through Pizza Hut and the government maybe where you would like you would like read as many books as you could and then you would get a pizza party or a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.
No, but I remember my school participated, My elementary school participates in a million minutes of reading?
Did you do that?
I wonder if that was your state's version of book It could have been Ohio versus Pennsylvania.
Maybe what was million minutes of reading?
We all had to log the amount of minutes that we read at home. We had to have had stressful Yeah, so if you read a book for twenty minutes, you had to write the title and the amount of time you read.
And then I think collectively as.
A school, I don't know if we were trying to personally get to we're a small elementary school. I don't know how we could have done a million minutes, but we were all supposed to be tracking the amount of minutes we read at home and turning in these sheets.
That's what I remember.
And then I remember all of us the entire elementary school on like the soccer field.
Did you ever do like a photo or of the.
Entire elementary school where you're trying to like spell out a word or something.
We would do it.
We did it as a two thousand for because we were the class of two thousand.
So that was something about that we were all on the field in forming maybe read. I can't remember the word okay, okay, you're forming, And that was I think we had been successful in our reading, and we took a celebratory picture.
Wow, I remember how many minutes is in a day.
Do we think I'm not a big enough rent fan to be.
Able to know?
Okay, fourteen hundred and forty minutes in a day?
Okay, okay, how do you measure a million minutes or reading?
So?
Wait fourteen? How many did you say, Jannah?
Fourteen forty fourteen thousand, fourteen hundred, fourteen hundred sixty minutes in an hour? There's twenty four?
How many days is a million minutes?
Maybe?
Lucas exciting stuff.
Let's go back to what other snacks did you PACKSA I don't think we had an exhausted complete list.
I also remember that they I had never had kinder Bueno before we went to.
It was probably flipping out about it.
It was so so delicious, and I remember the PA is sort of like bribing us to come to set with kinder Bueno.
Yeah, Kinderbueno, for those of you who don't know, is a European candy that I think it's a German candy that has hazel nut in it. So delicious chocolate and hazel nut and you know what's not to like?
Yeah?
Yeah, Jonah, did you look up how many days is a million minutes?
Yeah? It's six hundred and ninety four point four days.
Yeah, that's even more than a name that they wanted your school to get to.
That that's a lot. Do you still go to the library.
Yes, I love the library me too.
And you know what, And I know this is going to sound like coming from the book scam guy not maybe not great, but you know, my library doesn't have late fees anymore. They completely got rid of them.
Oof, gorgeous.
If it's coming from a different library, sometimes they will charge you, but I asked them. I was like, how long do you charge light fees? And they're like, no, so you can kind of just like keep a book forever if you want. I mean I would never do that, but I'm saying you could.
Wow.
The library offers so many resources, like I agree, get digital book copies through your library. They offer accounting advice too. There's so many things I love to just I you know what, there's a lot of great articles on the LA Public Library website that. Yes, I've read the entire history of the Hollywood branch of the Public Library. There were fires, several different buildings.
They threw the initial ones. I've spent a fair amount of time.
Here's my problem with the digital stuff at the library. And I think I got into this when I lived in Brooklyn. The library they treat it like it's still like there's finite copies of it, so you used to like wait for it, and I'm like, well, why can't you just let everyone bar at the same time. What's the difference? Yeah, And I remember them being like, you're like fifth in line for this digital book, and it's like, what is.
That an agreement with the publishers maybe to like force the library to buy more copies of the digital book.
I guess I couldn't wrap my head around it because I was like, I do actually do have a digital book kind of scam.
Yeah, this is a scam. You've taught me.
If you have a kindle or something and you get books from like Libby or from the library, you can downloat them all get them on your kindle, and then you turn off the Wi Fi and then they can't take the book back, but the next person in line will still get it because it isn't a physical thing. So you can keep the books as long. You can't download new books, but you can keep them on there as long as you want there. You go, yeah, yeah, So that's that's a kind of a win wind scam for everyone.
Right, because no one is missing on on a book just because you.
Kept it longer.
Yeah. Yeah, love it.
Cool stuff, pretty cool stuff. You know what else is like I'll tell you.
This story and then say if I was right or wrong and calling myself a dork. Okay, When I first would come to Los Angeles, I was so overwhelmed by the city and I didn't know where to go or what to do. So I would go to the Beverly Hills Public Library and I would get there so early I would be waiting for it to open, and just my idea of a fun day was just to go wander the stacks at the Beverly Hills Public Library.
Wow, I mean I think he answered your own question.
Yeah, I think I did.
What section are you heading to first? What's your first stop?
You know, I was quite frugal, so I think periodical. So I was catching up on my magazines right right, Oh, art book section, like I photography books. Then maybe check out a fiction, you know, check out a novel. I was hitting all the different areas.
I got very into the library in New York, and I somehow because it was whatever library went to the first section you saw that was closest to the door was the children's section, and so I like, reread A Wrinkle in Time, and I started reading all these children's books. But also that what I was going to say after that is you know how when you go to a bookstore and you're like, I'm looking for a new book, and then the people there are so nice and they're like, well, maybe you'd like this, and then they'll be like, this book's actually really good too, it's about this thing, and oh, her new book is really good, and you go to me, that's a different world.
Because I don't read a lot.
I'm like, Wow, what must my life be if I was a person who was like.
Oh, I've read. I read her first two novels. I thought they were so good. I'm so excited to read her new one. I wish I was a little lady like that, you know what I mean. I'm not saying little, I just mean I wish I was an elegant lady like that who goes, oh, I is that her new one.
I've been waiting. I was waiting for that one to come out.
I met someone who does not respond to any phone calls her emails before noon because until noon every day he only reads Wow, so if you want to talk to this person, you have to wait until afternoon.
Is he kind of like not the greatest personality? I found it inspiring, But okay, that's what a door could say.
I know, I said I wanted to be an avid reader and there and then the moment you told me you know someone who is I was like, they sound like they suck, But you didn't say that.
I just didn't.
I don't know who this person is and they're probably lovely. And on that note, we're going to take this commercial break and we'll be right back with our Frank Gillian and we're back now Killian. Are you ready for an absolutely fun game?
Yes?
Okay, good?
Right now, we're going to play this game we love called change dot Door. Change door otherwise known as Let's make fun of people who don't know how to use change dot org, and we're going to bring up three different things that people are trying to bring back on change dot org and we'll each vote for our favorite.
Jona, would you like to read this first one? Yeah?
Vanessa found these, by the way, but they're they're great.
The first one is anyway, well, I this is actually true, brother.
This one is bring back Taco Bell's brownie sandwich. This one is made out to Taco Bell. It has six hundred and forty six signatures. It's very long, but it starts out picture this. You bite down and takes two layers of thick deckad and brownies and an equally full layer of chocolate frosting follows your taste. Bloods send pleasure signals to your brain, but what you feel side is much deeper. Is this a taste of love? You pause? Does chocolate taste like a childhood memory you cherish so fondly? When words fall short, chocolate takes their place. So this person goes on. They're asking to bring back this brownie sandwich. I guess it was a limited dessert, a double decker brownie frosting sandwich at Taco Bell. Gillian, what are your thoughts on bringing back Taco Bell's brownie sandwich?
It sounds delicious.
I thought you were going to say that there was ice cream in the middle, so I was surprised and delighted to hear about the frosting.
I guess that would like keep better, you know for sure?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, it sounds delicious.
But also maybe this person it will inspire them to start cooking more at home and they can make it for themselves.
That's a good point. That's a good point.
Yeah, I think that's a good point because yeah, I guess it's like really like two brownies with just some frosting in the middle.
Basically, yeah, right, but it sounds delicious.
Yeah, it sounds good, Vanessa, what are your thoughts?
Look, this person says, I am asking Taco Bell to return the public's all time favorite dessert option to their menu, the brownie sandwich. I am not unreasonable, even if it has to be for a limited time only yet again, And it's like, what I think these people don't understand sometimes is that if it really was America's favorite dessert, they probably would still be selling it. Like I worry that right this, I don't know what the sales have been like on this. So I would say it sounds delicious. I'm not against this. I would like to hear the other two petitions before I make a decision. But to Gillian's point, you know, if they don't bring back this brownie sandwich, it does seem like kind of a simple thing to replicate in your kitchen.
So yeah, I feel like Taco Bell. There's other things i'd want them to bring back first, like the seven layer brito that was a personal favorite they got rid of to me. Yeah, I do like Taco Bell once in a while. I don't really eat it. Eat it maybe once a year, but very low odds. I'm going to get a dessert a Taco Bell.
Yeah, I was going to say, Taco Bell not really known traditionally for its brownies or other pastry or desserts.
It's unlikely if I'm going in there, going to get a casadia maybe a burrito, but it's unlikely, So it's not really for me. And I'm looking at their desserts now and they have some cinnabun delights, some cinnamon twists. I don't know, fast food dessert. It just doesn't really do it for me. But it doesn't. It doesn't look bad. I don't know. If it was like free and it was sitting out and I was really hungry, maybe I would.
Try sitting up for how long? Jonah?
If I was at like a birthday party and someone's like, oh, we got like five dozen of these brownie things from taco bell and I was like really hungry, like I forgot the dinner or something. That's all there was. Maybe I would try it. Okay, Okay, so that's where I'm at.
All right, Well, should we get into our next pedition.
Let's go, let's go.
This one is a personal favorite of all time.
Okay.
The petition is change quote knitting to knitting with a G. So it's g N I T T I n G. So change knitting to knitting so it can be a palindrome. So this person made this petition out to the human race, and he says knitting would be a more relaxing activity if I didn't think about how it is not spelled as a palindrome.
Let's change that.
So this person has gotten twenty one signatures, not a ton of comments on here, and by not a ton, i'd say, not any.
Vanessa, how did you find this one? I'm just curious.
I think I don't know. Can you search by fewest signatures? Is that like a function?
I actually I think I was searching to see if there were any related to knitting, because I was like, I wonder if anyone has any strong feelings about knitting?
Sure and change knitting to knitting. I don't know. I don't hate this one.
I think this one no, And I like how this person Sometimes it feels like, you know, these people a kind of try to act really sophisticated and kind of like, you know, make these points about these things that are kind of like silly and hide it that they're silly by talking in a really kind of intelligent way. But I would say this person has you know, they give it a couple sentences. They're not spending all day working on this, but they want to get it out there, and I resure that.
And they made their own graphic, which is cool.
Yes, oh yeah, oh they smelled it out. Okay.
Yeah.
You know what this makes me think of is, boy, do palindromes appeal to people? And I wonder what is that function about our brains that we like a palindrome?
Yeah? Yeah, well I think we like symmetry. You know you're supposed to that's something really Yeah, I don't know, I don't know what it is. Uh, what's a.
Can anyone think of a palindrome off the top of their head?
Like noon, that's a short one. There's longer ones like ganitting.
Like the well known word Ganitting.
Gillan, What do you think of this petition?
The reason I like it is because it the G sound is the same as my first name, because you know, I'm always fighting against the soft g J sounds, right, So I'm in favor of this because it's Gannitting and jan Knitting.
What percentage of people when you first meet them pronounce your name wrong?
Would you say ninety nine percent?
Yeah?
Yeah, But I have stopped fighting it because you know, I say Hi, my name is Gillian and people immediately say back, hello, Jillian. And I've just realized people hear what they're expecting to hear.
To say that, yeah.
And my name just confounds people. So I've really given up. But yeah, I've found my ways through it. Yeah, you can call me Gilly like gills on a fish.
When I was in kindergarten, it was.
Like gug gug Gillian, But now I feel less passionately about it.
Yeah. Growing up, our parents would always spell our last name they say like bey or aspirin, and I feel like I still kind of do that sometimes.
Well, people a lot of times like to call us our last name bear.
They like to not pronounce the why like we pose the why, and that's on them.
We never told them to do that. That's interesting. Never have occurred to me.
Yeah, it happens.
I would say fifty percent of the time.
I get called Noah a lot because I think it's also biblical and it sounds like Jonah, so I get I get Noah.
Sometimes you can ask anyone who has a long name that starts with the V.
This.
People feel they can just interchange any long V name. So I've been called Veronica Virginia. People think Vivian like. People think they can just take any long name that starts at the V and it'll do.
I also get called Jillian gacubs a fair about just.
Throw it all, you know, in the air and see what change everything?
Change all the g's Jillian gakeups srure, Wow.
Wow, Gillian. Sounds like you're a supporter of this petition on some level.
Yeah, the G sound alone, the.
G sound Okay? What about you? I am you are? Yeah, I am too. I think it's like, I think this is a pretty good idea. I think it's funny. I think it's original. I think it's concise. I like this petition. I think this is is I mean, I don't think this is what changed or was intended for. But I think taking that out of the equation, this is well constructed.
I just want to say before we move on too this expetition that one issue with it that I just thought of is a lot of times people use the term knit more than knitting, and then.
You're just at knit. That's a good point, just something to think about.
Okay, let's move on to the next one. I can read this one. It's make gym class optional. Gym class should be optional for middle and high schoolers. The reasons like child obesity do not work because of the fact that those people who suffer from that get embarrassed and anxious to change for class or to go in general. I'm going to skip forward. If students like me are being told that they have to run around a track to succeed in life, that makes no sense because what is a few years of gym class going to do for you? I know it's going to give me some and other people who agree with me, terrible memories. And then I also feel like we should not have to fail because we do not want to do things that will get us nowhere in life.
For some people will get them very far. That is why it's optional.
When I go off to work, I would like to work as a head car designer for a luxury car brand.
What will gym class help with that?
And if you're saying we have to fail that class when it doesn't even relate to our future occupation, not acceptable for our society. Please just understand that I think Jim should be kept, but only as an option. This petition hits on something that this strikes a bit of a nerve with me, Gillian, what do you think? What do you think of this? And I just want to tell you this person started has thirty signatures.
Okay, Well, I mean it certainly rang true when they said this will bring back bad memories. I just started flashing through all the bad memories of Jim over the years. I'm also a person who's always been afraid of injuring myself physically, and so I tried to get out of a lot of things in Jim.
One time.
Instead of having hurdles, the gym teacher brought in cardboard boxes of various heights for us to jump over, and I'm I didn't want to do it, so I ran up to them pushed it to the side, ran to the next one, pushed it to the side and refused to jump over. So I always tried to, you know, get out of doing the things I was afraid of. But yeah, I'm flashing through all the things that I didn't want to do.
Yeah, so many, so many. Yeah, I agree with that.
I kind of agree with this because I think I think, like it is good for kids to get physical activity, and sometimes they don't went there in middle school, so but like once you're in high school, it's so upsetting to have to like change into like to have to be in the middle of your day. I don't know, but even as an adolescent, it's like so upsetting to have to change into like the shorts and the T shirt and just like.
Yeah, go out there.
But actually, when you're a little kid, I mean, I think it is good for little kids, I guess to have to do this, But remember how we'd have to sit on those little like boards that had wheels on them and just run over our hands as we like shimmy down the gym, Like what the hell were we I almost think Jim class should be amended, like, don't make us do so much dumb shit and absolutely don't make us play battleball, because I think that's the worst thing we ever had to do in gym class. I was like, this is not even physical activity. But I would say I'm born on this.
Because like dodgeball based dodgeball?
Okay, were you so much where the point is you get out because a really aggressive boy whips a ball at you.
I think that gym class has got to be so different than it is when we were kids. Oh Like, I can't imagine them still doing that kind of playing those time.
Yeah. I just had another memory.
Okay, I went to a monassory preschool and I remember that the woman who ran it was very serious about all of the playground equipment, and we were given a sit down lecture where she went through item by item as to how we were to play with all of the things. And I just vividly remember being given a demo of the I don't know what it's actually called. We called it a hippitie hop, which was like a big and fflatable ball that had a handle on it.
You could sit on it and bounce up and down. Do you remember this.
It's like like a yoga ball with a handle on. I just remember being given a dead serious demonstration of how to use and not use the hippitie hop.
Wow.
I also remember there was a time where it was like a water sports day and you were supposed to wear a bathing suit, but my mom forgot and so I had to do the entire day in a denim dress.
And oh my god.
And I remember just having to, you know, like run through sprinklers and things like that in a denim dress, which just became you know, wet and heavy.
And did any of.
The other kids forget their bathing suits?
I don't remember that. I do also remember being shoved into a fence at that same preschool.
But yeah, we had swimming in our high school and I had to take it after everyone else because I was such a bad swimmer, and I had it first period, and I remember, so I didn't know that, yeah, I had at first. It was a very small class of people who are not good and I had like really long hair and it would get all curly and then it would be like messed up for the whole day and I never had enough time to like change back.
It was that was It was such a bomber when we had to swim in high school because it was like you by the time you got out of the pool, it was just it was the same there's not enough time as another class would be.
So by the time you got out.
Of the pool, you had like seven minutes to get ready or something for your class.
And it was so upsetting.
And I told you the story before, but I remember our mom went to our parent teacher conferences and because she said this to every teacher. She said to our gym teacher, who was at that point I was learning. We were in swim classes every day. She said to her, to Miss Pignotello, who taught your gym class that you hated, but said to Miss Pignotello, Vanessa's really enjoying your class, because that's what she said to all the teachers. And Miss Pignetella was like, really, they're swimming. Most kids don't like it. And I think Mom had to be like, yeah, I know.
But she yeah, this is the same teacher who made me take buns of Steel and step aerobics as a senior in high school. Because yeah, I've talked about here. Because I couldn't get there was a mix up with my schedule, and then I tried to get this weight training class, which I probably also would have been terrible apt but I couldn't get into it. And then I was in this step of oobics class with like all these like eighth grade girls basically as like this guy who.
Is hitting my best friend Gwen who you know Gillian.
Of course everybody knows Gwen.
I was like wearing jinkos, I had like a shaved head, like probably like a septum ring, and I was like having to do these Buns of Steel videos with all these like yeah, it was, it was. And I remember going to the principle and being like please, like I really don't want to be in this, and he was like, well she says you got to do it, then she's a teacher. And it was so I guess, like coming full circle, like yes, I think Jim Jim class should be optional. I feel like based on all of our responses, Yeah, physical activity is good, you know, maybe taking a couple laps on the track, but all this other stuff, it's it's it's too much like let you know, if people want to play sports, let them, but let's force it on people.
Yeah.
I also now just had a memory come back up of by the weight room in our high school. There was just a sign that said warning asbestos that never resolved.
Yeah. I actually never went in the weight room at our at our Yeah, I mean I don't think I lifted a weight.
I only did because they made us.
They made you, Okay.
It is so odd that we had like a weight room in our high school because I'm.
Like, who went in there?
Yeah, probably football players or something. Yeah, I don't know, I think they had yet.
Well, given that we know, I'm going to remind every one of what the three petitions are, and then we can each say which one we would vote for. The first one is bring back taco bells Brownie Sandwich. The second one is change knitting to gknitting so it can be a palindrome. And the third one is make gym class optional. Gillian, which one would you pick to sign?
I think the taco bell one just because I'd like to try it.
Yes, I understand that. Jonah, what about you?
I'm going with the gannitting one just because I think it's funny. And uh why not, Vanessa? What about you?
Just said that because we've never done this before and all voted for a different one, I'm going to go with make gym class optional. Okay, because I hear this kid and I and I want to support them, but I think we all sort of like all of them.
Yeah this, Yeah, that's a first. Definitely. Yeah. These are all good petitions of Vanessa. Good job, find job Vanessa.
So much, Thank you very much. Well, Gillian, this has been so much fun.
Where can people find you without promoting anything that you're forgetting?
I am at Gillian underscore underscore jacobs on in Instagram.
Incredible, incredible, Well, Gilly, this was so much fun. Thanks so much for joining us and to everyone for listening. If you enjoyed this, please subscribe to the podcast and give it five stars once a day, and keep an eye up for next week's episode of How did We get where We were? All discuss more stories from our childhood and cultural touchstones.
Like Free to Be, You and Me. Thanks so much Gilly in this week. So good to see you, bo. Thank you for having me
