Free to Be — In Honor of Our Minneapolis Home

Carolyn Cochrane 0:00

Carolyn. Hello, listeners. It's Carolyn. Today we are re releasing an episode that is very special to me and extremely timely. It is episode 220 the PCPs sings along with free to be you and me and Marlo, and we're doing so with heavy hearts and a deep sense of urgency. In recent days, our home city of Minneapolis has been shaken by the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole good, a 37 year old mother, poet, teacher and neighbor. The loss of Renee, someone remembered as warm, compassionate and deeply rooted in community, has reverberated across the city and across the country. For those of us connected to Minneapolis, the place where PCPs was born and continues to be shaped, this moment feels especially close and deeply personal. We chose to bring back this particular episode now because at its heart, free to be you and me was always about who we are to one another, not as strangers, not as statistics, not as targets of fear, but as fellow human beings worthy of dignity, kindness and shared humanity. When Marlo Thomas and the creators of free to be you and me invited our generation to imagine a world where boys can cry and girls can be strong, where we celebrate difference and honor individuality, they weren't offering a quaint remembrance of childhood. They were offering a model for how to live together in empathy, in respect, in community. Shows like Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Schoolhouse Rock, all taught us that learning to live with others begins not with agreement, but with understanding. Gen X, the generation that grew up with these voices, carries that legacy. We learned that fairness matters, that difference is not a threat, but richness, and that our communities are only as strong as our capacity to see the person next to us today, we are reminded that those lessons don't stay in the past. They call us to the present. This Friday's Weekly Reader newsletter will include a list of concrete ways you can help show support and stand in solidarity with those affected in our community, whether it's through learning more, donating, showing up, or simply caring loudly and intentionally, there are ways to be part of something bigger than ourselves. So as we press play, we invite you to listen with open hearts and open minds, to remember the messages that shaped us, to Sing along if you need to, and to hold space for one another. Sometimes the simplest songs carry the deepest truths, and sometimes going back to what we were taught as kids helps us find our way forward together. Because in the end, the music and the messages of free to be you and me weren't just songs from our childhood. They are an affirmation of what it means to be human together.

Kristin Nilsen 3:05

I'm gonna sing like Marlo Thomas for the rest of my life.

Michelle Newman 3:08

I'm gonna talk like her when it's the baby, like I love again. She's just like, I'm a baby. I'm a baby.

Speaker 1 3:19

Hello World is a song that we're singing. Come on, get happy. A whole lot of love, and it's what we'll be bringing we'll make you happy.

Carolyn Cochrane 3:33

Welcome to the pop culture Preservation Society, the podcast for people born in the big wheel generation, who knew that pressing silly putty to the funny papers was the only good way to use it.

Kristin Nilsen 3:48

We believe our childhoods gave us unforgettable songs, stories, characters and images, and if we don't talk about them, they'll disappear like Marshall will and Holly on a routine

Michelle Newman 3:58

expedition, and today we're saving and bottling up and corking tightly all the joy, singing, laughter, love and magical moments of our free to be you and me weekend in New England at the Carl Museum of picture book art. I'm Carolyn, I'm Kristin, and I'm Michelle, and we are your pop culture preservationists. You

Michelle Newman 4:30

or it could be glad to have a friend like you.

Kristin Nilsen 4:39

I'm gonna sing like Marlo chamois for the rest of my life.

Michelle Newman 4:41

I'm gonna talk like her when it's the baby, like I love and she's just like, I'm a baby. I'm a baby.

Kristin Nilsen 4:51

Are you ready? Yeah, okay, we are gathered here today to wrap up an experience shared by just a few but relevant to many. This past weekend was the celebration of free to be you and me at the Carl Museum of picture book art in Amherst, Massachusetts. You were all invited, and a glorious number of you showed up, not just from Massachusetts, not just from the northeast, but from all over the nation. Many of you hopped in your cars and drove two, three or four hours to be with us, and a handful of you hopped on airplanes because that's just how much free to be you and me meant to you and your family. It was not a hard decision for us to make this trip. Yes, it's far away. Yes, it's a tiny niche museum far from a metropolitan area, but the mission of this tiny museum aligns perfectly with us and with our listeners, and when they chose free to be you and me as their next exhibit, we were not going to miss out on the opportunity to celebrate probably what is the most important album to anyone born between the years 1965 and 1980 we talk about a lot of albums on this show a lot, but this one might be the most important.

Carolyn Cochrane 6:03

Amen, without a doubt,

Michelle Newman 6:07

I and I'm going to admit that since we first talked about this album A few years ago, it's just grown in importance. And I don't know, I mean, it was certainly important to little Michelle, but I will say, over the past two or three years that the album has become exponentially more important to me. Maybe it's because it's still needed so much today, I don't know. Yeah, listeners, we all landed in our various spots, which would be two spots, Minneapolis and Denver, just last night. We are tired. We've taken some naps today. Kristen's worked at at her bookshop, not her bookshop, but it's kind of her bookshop, no, and, but we knew we had to get on the mics today and and talk about this and and

Kristin Nilsen 6:53

we have to process. We just,

Carolyn Cochrane 6:55

I feel like I have to download it. It's living in me, and I've written about it in several places, my journal, on Instagram, but it's like my body can't contain all of this. So it's like this is a way for us to kind of debrief and download and, in a way, save it. I mean, because this we're recording this audio will be, yeah, we'll be out there for forever, and people will get to experience what I've been just buzzing with for the last few days.

Kristin Nilsen 7:25

And there were a lot of people watching us too. There were people who weren't able to join us, who said we'll be watching from afar, and so they're waiting for this episode too, because they want to live vicariously through all yes, so we don't know how

Michelle Newman 7:35

coherent we're going to be. We've been talking about this a lot. We've been sharing with our families, like Carolyn said, we've all been writing about it in our journals, and we though we knew it was important to get this out ASAP, because, also, we, we don't want the anything to ebb. We don't want the excitement to ebb. So, you know, apologies in advance, if this is a little scattered, but like, let's just, let's go for it.

Kristin Nilsen 7:59

Shall we? It's a little bit like when Carolyn and I were stranded in Newark last year for three days, and we quickly did an episode from our hotel rooms in Newark New Jersey, without having any intention of being in New York. New Jersey.

Carolyn Cochrane 8:12

Honey, two years ago, honey. We're just gonna stop for a second. Yes, we weren't in Newark. New Jersey. Where were we?

Kristin Nilsen 8:19

Kristen, I can't even well what I don't even know. I don't even know

Carolyn Cochrane 8:23

wee Hawkin. We Hawkin.

Michelle Newman 8:26

How can you forget we Hawkin? Never forget Kristin. I know

Kristin Nilsen 8:32

hashtag. Never forget wee Hawkin,

Michelle Newman 8:34

before we dive in to so many of the events that and magical moments like I teased earlier that made this weekend so unforgettable. We want to make sure to tell you about the Inn on boltwood, which is where we stayed. It's right in the heart of historic Amherst. It is charming. I think that's the best word I could come up with for it. I mean, it's, it's breathtakingly beautiful and so photogenic. And I was like, good job, you're so photogenic. And on boltwood, it's just so so lovely. And the people who work there, I don't I have to mention this, all of the people we encountered who work there, from the front desk clerks to the wait staff at the amazing restaurant, which is called 30 boltwood, even if you live in the area and you don't have a reason to stay there, go to the restaurant 30 boltwood. Incredible, incredible, beautiful food. To the management, all of the people that we were working with are every bit as lovely as the N

Kristin Nilsen 9:34

Yes, they were there for us this you said, it's our home base. It was our home base in so many ways, because it was like we had a staff. It was like they bring it to you. Do you need a room to meet here? This is for you. We'll bring you a cheese plate. It was so lovely. They were so lovely and accommodating to us. I couldn't go back and stay anywhere else.

Michelle Newman 9:56

No, it was, it was picture perfect. And we. Will be segway alert. We will be posting photos on social media this week, as well as sharing in the Weekly Reader this Friday. So make sure to check those out, as well as their website, which will be listed in these show notes, as well as in our weekly reader on Friday. We really can't recommend the N on boltwood highly enough

Kristin Nilsen 10:21

on our last night, there it's we've just had the experience of a lifetime, and we're getting ready to get on a plane the next morning, and we sat outside on this brick patio under heat lamps by a lovely fire, while they made us cosmos and it and we just kind of stared at each other, like, what just happened? Yeah, and they just kept checking on us and taking care of us. It was,

Carolyn Cochrane 10:42

it was, was

Michelle Newman 10:43

everything, gelato too. Oh, yeah, everyone. All right,

Carolyn Cochrane 10:48

everybody, buckle up, because we are going to take you with us on this journey which was beyond any expectation I could have remotely had, because it was otherworldly. So I could have never imagined what it would be like, because it was beyond that. You get the picture

Kristin Nilsen 11:04

that's pretty Yeah, that, I think you get it right there. People, everything,

Carolyn Cochrane 11:13

well, and you guys, the magic started on Saturday. But I do want to tell you maybe the only regret, and only is in all capitals. That I had about going on this trip was that I was going to miss the chance to attend the hands off rally in St Paul. I knew Minnesota was going to show up on that Saturday, and I was a little bummed. But guess what? You guys, Amherst, they showed up. You guys, it was like protesting in Stars Hollow. Right across the street from the inn, you know, in the town square, in the little green commons area.

Michelle Newman 11:48

Yeah, I like to think that that's where the revolutionaries bells that you have to ring with your whole arm. They poured tea in the river. Yeah, for sure.

Carolyn Cochrane 11:59

Torches, yes. So I was so excited. Kristen and I actually came with signs. We figured out a way to pack them up. And Michelle, the ever creative young lady that she is, talk about the boltwood staff being accommodating. Oh, they found us some cardboard that was just lying around.

Michelle Newman 12:22

Where did that come from? Box like in the trash or in the back room that I could use. I was not going to go without a sign, and so I ripped a box apart out in the lobby.

Carolyn Cochrane 12:32

Yeah, you did. And it was because Michelle is very artistic, just like drawing and hand lettering and stuff. So hers was adorable, really. You know, listeners and followers. This just popped into my head. But we on one morning when we had breakfast, we took a picture of our breakfast, and we asked you all to guess who ordered which breakfast. I should put our three sons. We should put our three signs in a picture and ask you to say who made which sign? Because I think I know they will know mine was darn cute. You guys, okay?

Michelle Newman 13:06

And you got lots of compliments.

Kristin Nilsen 13:08

I did. Everyone wanted to take a picture of your son, yeah? And that

Michelle Newman 13:11

fills Carolyn's like acceptance

Carolyn Cochrane 13:13

my tank, yeah, that tank started to get full the minute I stepped out of that door of the boltwood Inn onto that quaint commons area, because my sign featured an array of Fisher Price little people, you know, different sizes and colors and ethnicities. It was everybody. And of course, the message with all our welcome here, and I got so many compliments, which we have said, I'm just gonna say again, I got so many compliments, and that is my you know, people pleasing tank was overflowing. So that rally was really our first taste of this collective joy that we were going to experience throughout this weekend. So many people gathered together, people of all ages and backgrounds. We sang, we chanted, we marched, you guys. At one point, Kristen was leading. And I'm saying all capital letters, Kristen wasn't leading the entire March, not just a couple of people following her. Yeah, she was like the pied piper just flying down the street, and everyone was following

Michelle Newman 14:17

her, yeah, and it was so funny.

Kristin Nilsen 14:21

I'm very comfortable. She wasn't just leading.

Carolyn Cochrane 14:25

I took a video, and I'm hoping it'll show up, or maybe I posted a little bit. So I ran ahead to try to get she was delightfully leading, like, kind of hopping and skipping and waving to all the cars that are passing by. And just like, yeah, she's got her peace sign out. I mean, she was in her element everybody. So if you need someone to lead a march at your rally, we've got your gal. I can

Kristin Nilsen 14:48

do that. You call me and it's, I have to say, it's a small enough town that it was kind of clear that we were strangers. So we got to share with everybody who we were and why we were there, which made them so. Proud that we had gotten on a plane and traveled from out of state to visit their tiny, little picture book museum. And the woman who was the spokesperson for the event, she was the lady with the bullhorn, she was the state representative for the area, and she introduced herself to us, and she was so happy that we were there. And every time we passed her as we marched around the square, she was like, it's the free to be you and me people. It's like we were the honored guests. As Brian

Michelle Newman 15:26

always says to me, ABC always be closing, always.

Carolyn Cochrane 15:30

And yes, and Michelle gets an A plus for that for the whole weekend. I mean, she's like, run it. Ran out of her cards. Carolyn, do you have any more cards? I mean, our business cards, we were giving them to everybody. But everyone wanted them. We weren't forcing them on anyone. People were genuinely interested in us.

Michelle Newman 15:46

If I ever come across one of you listening, and I see that you look to be a Gen Xer, if you've got like little

Kristin Nilsen 15:53

wrinkle lines around your mouth, look

Michelle Newman 15:57

at everybody's neck. I just look at everybody's neck. I will always just, I'll just try to throw in, you know, a little ice castles on a conversation, or maybe a little Saturday night something to just see if someone's like, oh, and then I'm like, oh yes, right, right. Well, let me tell you about my podcast. I'm actually in the business. I'm actually in the business of nostalgia,

Kristin Nilsen 16:17

of ice castles. Okay, so from the rally, it's time for us to go to the Eric Carl Museum, not for the event that we're here for, but for us to do a little preparation. We wanted to see the museum in its entirety, not just the one exhibit. We wanted to set up for our event the next day, we wanted to take plenty of time in the gift shop, just so we would be able to have time to talk with our people and not miss out on anything. So until you dig deep and see all of the original drawings and illustrations for Eric Carl's books, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and brown bear. Brown Bear. What do you see? You don't you don't think about them very hard, but when you see the actual tissue paper carefully cut into the shape of a portion of a caterpillar body and glued down on a piece of paper. When you see the thing that he actually made on the wall, it feels pretty profound. It was so inspiring to see Eric Carl's work on the wall, and we all felt this giant urge to sit down at a table and start cutting and pasting and painting and drawing. It was palpable. It was like a very contagious infection. I'm like, Where are the scissors right now? Yeah, I've never been so compelled to make art in my life. I am just I'm I'm not. This is I was gonna say I'm not a creative person, that's a lie.

Michelle Newman 17:41

You're not crafty, or I'm not super crafty.

Kristin Nilsen 17:45

I'm a crafty wannabe. The urge for all three of us was pretty intense. This is why they have an art room at the Carl museum. I think this is their reason for being, because they we must not be the only ones to see this original art hanging on the wall and then immediately want to cut and paste. So we go into the art room at the at the Carl Museum, and they, each day, they have a project of the day. On this day, in honor of free to be you and me, the project of the day is collaging records. They have black circles cut out like 45 records with a white center glued on where you'd have the name of the title of the song and the artist. There's a plain inner white sleeve to slide your record into with a hole cut in the middle so you can see the song title and the artist. And then there's an outer sleeve, all of it plain white for you to decorate. It's 100%

Michelle Newman 18:40

like walking in town, like walking into a kindergarten classroom. Yes, there's all little chairs, tiny little chairs, little safety scissors, little the little bins in the middle of the tables, you know, like Kristen said, full of all the glue sticks and the supplies and all of your everything you need for your project is prepared for you.

Kristin Nilsen 19:01

And they have, there's a turntable in there with a they're playing actual vinyl, and it was sophisticated music, as if they're not saying you're not plinky. Plinky. Little children, you are sophisticated artists little children, which I just really appreciate. I love it when I love it when grown ups play adult music for children. I just really commend people for that. So my this is, this is something that happens to me frequently. I have lots of stories in childhood like this, where somebody hands me a blank canvas, and I stare at it, and I'm, I'm absolutely paralyzed, and I didn't know what to do, and I just started grabbing tissue paper that like, in colors that I liked. And then I just started, I just thought something will come to me as I'm doing this, and it is true it did so the title of my song is put a cab on it. Buy the band. Big, big diesel. And this is a long time coming. This was years in the making. It felt like a dream finally being realized, because Liam was in three or four bands growing. Up. He's a guitar player, and coming up with a band name was always such a big deal. And I have so many ideas, but no one wants to take mom's idea for your middle school rock and roll band. So the origin story of my 45 put cab on it by big, big diesel. This is the origin story. So Liam loved tractors when he was little, and his grandpa, not coincidentally, collected antique tractors. So Liam's favorite tractor was something that he called. Liam called the big big diesel. And the minute that came out of his little two year old mouth, I was like, Oh my God, that's a band name. Somebody's got to be big, big diesel. And one of the reasons that the big, big diesel was so special to Liam, it was because they, quote, unquote, put a cab on it. Oh, there was a cab on this tractor. Put a cab, they put a cab on it. That's why he loved the big, big diesel. And so I finally realized my dream of big, big diesel.

Michelle Newman 20:58

And listeners, when the three of us sat down, I don't think we opened our mouths once in 45 minutes. So that tells you how important this project was to us.

Carolyn Cochrane 21:07

Oh, we were so intense, like our little tongues are sticking out as we're trying to get everything just perfect. I might have asked, you know, Michelle, like, Could you pass with the glue stick, please? Like, that might have been the only kind of words I said, and I much like you, Kristen, when I'm given a blank slate like that, or a blank canvas, I am also paralyzed. And we've talked in this podcast, or at least among the three of us, sometimes, about when we had that perfect coloring book we were given. It was like I never could actually color in it, like it just was daunting. But right away I sat down, there was this piece of tissue paper just already at the seat where I was sitting, and it screamed to me, disco ball. I mean, it just looked like a disco ball. It was nothing else but a disco ball. And right then my song and cover and everything took shape, and I have a disco floor and a disco ball. I didn't get as far as Kristin with a title yet, because mine is still a work in progress.

Michelle Newman 22:05

Well, I am pretty crafty. I mean, like, I have too many crafts that I love to do, and I try to have fit some sort of art and every single day and I but like most of the art and stuff that I do mine, my final result looks a lot like a second grader made it. I mean, I just start, I just start. I just start throwing shit at the wall, basically, and seeing what sticks. And very quickly, I was like, Oh, this is green. This is a grass and then a rainbow. And so, yeah, mine's like a rainbow and a sun and a little bird and a butterfly. And then as I was doing that, I was like, Oh, this is how I feel when I hear free to be. So mine was still going to be free to be my song, but it was Michelle's interpretation, or just basically, what's inside the Michelle mix? Yeah, it's what's inside, what it means to me. And it was just all this, like sunshine and rainbows and colors and happiness and, yeah, yeah.

Carolyn Cochrane 22:55

And we have a picture of us in front of the wall, and we all look so happy. We're so proud. My husband, he's gonna be embarrassed that he says that he's like that picture of you guys in front of the wall, your hair. You just look so good. What did you do? Something different to your hair? He just commented on on that photo of me. So you

Michelle Newman 23:15

know that's so true. Though, we were just happy. We had just finished doing that. We were at this museum. We had had this amazing morning. We were we were bubbling over with happiness. We truly were, yeah, enjoy just joy. And it shows the conversation

Kristin Nilsen 23:30

that we had afterward is that the feelings that we had while we were doing this emphasized the importance of art class in elementary schools, what it's for, why it's good. It's an urge. It's an IT is an it's an itch that needs to be scratched. And why is it that we don't get that when we're adults?

Michelle Newman 23:51

Well, I was just about to say, you guys, this is exactly why I put art into every single one of my days. And I think for the past year, maybe like six months, is when I really started. I've always been crafty and artsy and whatever, but I all of that kind of stuff, ripping ripping up paper and making pictures or coloring or tracing or doing whatever. I just make sure, because it does bring you that kind of just uninhibited joy, and it's really important now so

Kristin Nilsen 24:21

and what a distraction, right? If you are tired of the news or whatever, work is difficult. Rip up, sit down and rip up some paper and glue it down.

Carolyn Cochrane 24:29

And think about it, you kind of have some sense of, I mean, I don't like to use the word control, but you could say you sat down to kind of not chaos, but just paper all over the place. And we could create something that brought us joy out of that, and it was super powerful.

Michelle Newman 25:07

After that day that was so full of goodness already, we invited those who were already in town on Saturday night to the inn on boltwood for an informal meetup after dinner, which the three of us forgot to have, and didn't realize it until 10pm when we were all back in our rooms, and I was like, Oh, I've got this old chex mix from the plane.

Carolyn Cochrane 25:29

And Kristen ate really, looking back, I was really mad. I'm really mad at you that you did that because old cheese. Yeah, she ate old cheese that was on this

Kristin Nilsen 25:37

a two day old cheese plate.

Michelle Newman 25:39

Yeah, I also had, you know, in case you're worried that that's all I had. It's not true. I had some Red Vines. So the people at the end, though they had graciously reserved, I'm calling it like a drawing room, library, situation, parlor, perhaps, Yeah, huge fireplace burning, beautiful. But understand everyone, this is a public common area, and it already had groups of people in there eating their dinner, like, maybe they had just gotten to the restaurant and got some dinner, and their students studying, because this is Amherst College, so some students must be like, you know, we're a beautiful place to go study.

Carolyn Cochrane 26:13

Is so quiet and cozy and there's a

Michelle Newman 26:16

little fire. But anyway, basically it's just people enjoying the roaring fire and the low volume, just that kind of lovely atmosphere of the room. And here comes the pop culture Preservation Society and their friends. But it was, it was, it was so much fun, and it was so nice to gather and just have that time. I feel like to connect with our new friends, the two glasses of wine I'd had decided I should stand up and say a few words, and I looked around the group, and I got choked up a little bit, you guys, because I was picturing everybody, me included, as our child selves, sitting in that group. I believe, I believe I said something to that effect. But none of us knew each other, right? We didn't know each other strangers, and here we all were, 50 years later, and we're all drawn together by what we experienced together then, but here we are now. That makes sense. I'm not sure. I have not had any wine, and I'm not it's I just

Carolyn Cochrane 27:18

want to say now to your that exact what you're saying, Michelle, is that everybody needs to know they're not going to be words for some of this, like, you know, you were just saying you don't know. It's like people need to know there, there's, it's beyond words.

Michelle Newman 27:30

It was a moment. I just sort of had this moment sponsored by Bordeaux, naturally, but it was a moment. And as usual, I will say, though, even despite having had that moment, I still, and this is, I think, relatable, but I hate this, I still sort of left feeling like I overshared. And I was like, Oh no, I'm examining, like everything I said, you know, I do wish I could have gotten to speak with everyone that was there more in depth when it was over. I was like, Oh, wait, what? Oh, I, I remember I met them, but then I didn't get to talk to talk

Kristin Nilsen 28:01

to them, so I basically just had the right side of the room, because I never got up. So I talked to everybody on the right side of the room, and then I felt remorse.

Carolyn Cochrane 28:07

I mean, the good part was we knew we would see everyone the next day, right, right? You know, we forget sometimes, as these hosts, that we sometimes just drop little nuggets that we don't think are very important, just in our conversations. And sometimes you guys as listeners, will pick up on those, or you'll have had a shared moment just like that, and then you'll relate that to us when you see us. And sometimes we forgot we even shared kind of what are you talking about. So it was pretty amazing to me when one of our listeners, Dave, who brought his wife and daughter to this event. He also brought some Charles chips. Now, if you listeners, remember I shared my love of Charles chips, and the Charles chips man, the delivery man, who would deliver snack foods, and Charles chips would come in the tin that then became a drum, and you would refill the tin anyway, he just remembered when I dropped that little nugget in one of our conversations, and he brought Charles chips, which we enjoyed, yes, and that was a nice little snack to have it in the Bradley airport when Kristin flight and mine was delayed two hours, we got to enjoy those Charles

Kristin Nilsen 29:19

chips They saved. That was lunch. That was it was funny, because there were so many people there who we know you were in your heads all the time. We're in your ears all the time. So you know us, and we don't know you. So there's this very interesting thing upon meeting when they're not sure how you're going to react, and you're meeting a stranger, but they're not meeting a stranger, no. And so you just feel very comfortable, like, I guess, let's hug.

Carolyn Cochrane 29:45

Let's just, that's right, yeah. And Chris is not always a big hugger, so it's kind of fun to watch that happening. You're like, you know,

Kristin Nilsen 29:53

you take that shit seriously. That is not a throw. That's just not for anybody. That's right, not. I saved those hugs for people. And there is so funny. There was a woman named Joanna who has come to a lot. She's a bicentennial member, and so she comes to a lot of our zoom events. And so she's like, it's me, Joanna, and I'm like, Who? And it's because when you see only somebody's head, you don't realize that you make up the rest of their body. And so I had made up that Joanna was six feet tall, but she wasn't. She was my height. I'm only five feet tall. There are only like three of us in the world, like Joanna, you're one of me. I love that.

Carolyn Cochrane 30:36

It was so great, and it was so fun watching, or at least for me watching not only you guys interact with our followers and getting to meet them, but these followers meeting each other. And I've got to say that while I felt a little guilty that I couldn't get to everybody, I saw these friendships and connections being formed where they you guys were talking to each other, and I didn't need to be the person making sure everybody was, you know, having fun and okay, because we found our people, and you found your people, and it just there was organic conversation and organic, you know, people exchanging phone numbers and following each other on social media, because they were just these friendships were forming in front of our eyes, and They were meaningful, and that meant a lot. They came you guys

Kristin Nilsen 31:23

came into the room already having something in common, having something really important in common, actually, the fact that you yes exactly us, and that you listen to this, this podcast, but also that you treasure your childhood and the things from your childhood. So you you all came built in with something to talk about, and we had planned all these icebreakers and conversation starters so that there wouldn't be any awkward silences. It just wasn't necessary.

Speaker 1 31:48

No, right? This is true. Glad to have a friend like you, fair and fun and skipping free. Glad to have a friend like you and glad you

Michelle Newman 32:02

just so Okay, so Sunday morning arrives. This is the day, the day that we're going to get to go to the exhibit with our people and to the Sing along. And we were granted early entry into the museum. Thank you very much. Eric Carle, Museum of picture book art, and we had gotten the famous I'm I'm assuming, and they were very delicious, the famous apple cider donuts from the cute little market across the street. Yes, I loved that market. And sparkly and cider. And when our guests arrived, it was not only so exciting just seeing people coming in, but immediately it was electric, like you could feel the energy and joy buzzing around that room. And like Carolyn just said, there were so many people introducing themselves to us, but what I loved seeing was, like she just said, them chatting with each other and sitting down at tables with new friends and talking, and we were only like 20 minutes into the day, and already my soul was overflowing. It was just like a giant

Carolyn Cochrane 33:05

lunch table where everybody is welcome, right?

Michelle Newman 33:10

If that was enough, dopamine, dopamine. Again. No wine yet, no dopamine. I can you imagine how I felt at the end of the day, but I wanted to share a couple of the gifts we received on Sunday, and this we received these from our listeners and new friends, Liv Liz and David, and we will definitely be sharing photos in this week's Weekly Reader with their contacts, because once you see these, you will want them to so we Open the red envelopes, and we all genuinely gasped and screamed. You guys. Dave is an extremely talented and to David, I keep saying Dave, because we had a Dave there, but I think this is David. So David, I'm sorry if I keep calling you Dave. David is an extremely talented caricaturist, and he had drawn caricatures for each of us of our mount crush mores. If you go back, I don't know, a couple dozen episodes or so, we all came up with our own mount crush more we were giddy. And when you see the photo of when we opened them and we're all looking at each other's and we're pointing and laughing and screaming, you'll see I'm not joking. Again. Photos will be in this week's weekly reading, and

Carolyn Cochrane 34:23

you have to just appreciate it's a caricature of our faces, yeah, first, which worked amazing. I've got to say Michelle's was spot on. I almost wonder if he traced it. It was so good, it's like four, or maybe, in Kristen's case, five. But many caricature caricatures on our mount crush mores. So, I mean, what did Lance Carolyn ever think, or Jimmy James Vincent McNichol that he would be carved into mountain? And anyway, so, wow, it was so it was amazing. Yeah, I

Kristin Nilsen 34:54

mean, just picture David Cassidy on Mount Rushmore. That's what we're talking about. Here. It is hilarious. And. Perfect and so thoughtful, and I'm still just like overwhelmed by it.

Carolyn Cochrane 35:04

I think we'll post those in social media as well and maybe give a little tag to Sean. Wouldn't Sean like to see himself on Mount crushing?

Michelle Newman 35:11

He would, he would. He has an Etsy shop, and so David, I know you're listening because you're a weekly listener. Expect some business from us, because

Kristin Nilsen 35:19

we're gonna hashtag Mount crushmore, yeah,

Michelle Newman 35:23

ideas, yeah. So those are really cute. And then Liz made us each. Made you guys, this is the keyword, made us each stuffed, felted friends that are like something we've never seen before. They are so unique and incredible. Carolyn's is the Fisher Price Little People mom, you know, with the blue body and the yellow hair. Mine is the Fisher Price lucky dog, and Kristen's is the engineer from conjunction. Love that. And then she crocheted the yips from Sesame Street, which is brilliant. And I crochet too, so I'm going to have to Liz, I might need that pattern. She's so talented. Anyway, we were gobsmacked, and like I said about the Weekly Reader, but I also had this idea, if you're a supporter on Patreon, I think we're gonna post a lot of these photos and videos, starting today, on our Patreon, all three levels. Go on Patreon and you're going to see a lot of these photos.

Carolyn Cochrane 36:22

So in a perfect world, we would have had hours upon hours to mingle and do all the things, but we are on a little schedule, and we want to get to do all the things we want our listeners to get to experience the museum and the gift shop and the art studio. So fortunately, Courtney, who is the coordinator of educational programming at the museum was kind enough to create kind of a behind the scenes tour of the free to be you and me exhibit and how it was created.

Kristin Nilsen 36:49

The first thing you see in the exhibit is a little picture book, and it is the book that inspired Marlo Thomas to create free to be you and me. I can't remember the title, I'm sorry, but this is the this is the text of the book. Boys can be doctors and girls are nurses.

Michelle Newman 37:06

Here's my favorite. Boys fix things. Girls like things to be fixed. Yeah.

Kristin Nilsen 37:13

This is the context of the whole book. And poor Marlo Thomas was like, shut up. You bought this for your child, this is going to ruin the world. And so there you have the actual book that started the whole thing. God bless the person who wrote that book. I'm sure they're dead. Now, they probably thought they were doing a good thing, but hopefully they learned before they died, look what they spawned, and they didn't even know. Okay, there you go. That is a perfect silver lining for that. You have to put women in a box and how children should be free to be how they're free to be whoever they are. We don't have to put them into these boxes. The boys are doctors and girls are nurses.

Carolyn Cochrane 37:50

And one of the final things you could do as part of this exhibit that all took our breath away when we saw it was there was an interactive piece after you kind of went through the exhibit and really remembered why you were there and why you loved free to be you and me. There was a journal that people that had visited the exhibit could write in and share what free to be you and me meant to them. And so it was a way you could flip through it and read what other people had said. It was a way to share why you were there. And I just I loved the museum. Had a few of those opportunities where it was interactive. You were had been so moved by what you saw, and now you had a chance to act on that.

Kristin Nilsen 38:29

And it's all extremely analog. If you went to a museum today, they do so much on screens. It's an interactive museum. Just touch the screen and it will lead you through a something, something, not at the Carl Museum. This is a paper and pencil Museum, and so this this notebook is an analog notebook, and there's a pencil, and you sit down and you write in it with your hand, and it's going to be there forever. And I had as much fun watching people write in it than I did writing myself because I was imagining, oh, my God, that person wouldn't be writing in that notebook unless they had something profound to say about what free to be you and me meant to them.

Carolyn Cochrane 39:11

Yeah, powerful. So as one o'clock approached, we were given the signal, it's time to go into the auditorium get ready for the Sing along. Okay, I'm saying it like that because this has all been great you guys, but I knew this was going to be the thing. I mean, this is what I was coming for. I'm the person that loves to go Christmas caroling. I'm the person who dreams one day that they'll be invited to be in a choir or something. I love singing with other people that are having fun and being a part of something like that. So this was going to be my element. I was so excited. And of course, because we are who we are, we decide we're going to take front and center seats. So we sat in the very front row, right in the middle. Everyone was going to notice us. That's for darn tootin. So we walk in, we sit there, and then court. Comes out to welcome everybody to the sing along, and then she invites us up on stage, which was kind of fun. So we were able to introduce ourselves and the podcast and tell this audience why we were there, and invite them to experience the joy that we were going to be experiencing. It was, it was a moment of kind of that introduced to me, at least this collectivist, like we're all in this together. Let's go for it, and then Drum roll, please. Everybody, the amazing duo of Micah Plunkett and Josh Citron, piano player and vocalist, come out on stage, and they're gonna lead us in the Sing along. And they were perfect for this, for these roles. I mean, Micah, God bless you. She wasn't Gen X people. She just had a baby. She was into it. She was dressed the part. She was so

Michelle Newman 40:49

excited. She had until she's like, theater act,

Carolyn Cochrane 40:52

yes, yes. They were so great. And when Josh starts playing those first few notes of free to be you and me, and the singing began, the magic was unleashed. Okay, everybody, and so were the tears. Right? Am I right? Ladies?

Kristin Nilsen 41:10

Yeah, some people expected that, and some people were greatly surprised at how emotional it was. But it was immediate. When he starts playing the song, you immediately kind of get chills, and you realize you're in a room full of people who know exactly what that song means. It was just really, really, I'm gonna say profound a lot. I'm really sorry, but it's just the only way that works. It was a really profound experience, and there were a lot of tears.

Carolyn Cochrane 41:36

Just imagine us like hugging and holding each other and swaying, and some of us doing that with people we never met in our lives. They weren't even followers. Hopefully, they are now a

Kristin Nilsen 41:46

line in the song where it says, Take my hand. Come with me. And I turned around and extended my hand to the woman behind me, and she grabbed on, and she didn't let go. Like, do I get that back? I need that. But she was feeling the moment like, yes, everybody hold hands.

Carolyn Cochrane 42:05

Yeah, that those were the moments. Those were, again, these moments that people were going to say joy. We're going to say profound. There really isn't a vocabulary for what we experience. So just we're doing the best what we can, but just know that I won't break I will never be the same after, after that event, I truly was changed.

Michelle Newman 42:27

There's all these little children as well in the audience, and when the slide came up for glad to have a friend like you, it nobody is playing. Josh hasn't started the piano. It just says, glad to have a friend like you. That's it. So I don't know how old she was, but she could read, because she was probably six, seven, this little voice behind me just goes in the perfect tune of the song with no music playing. Just goes, glad to have a friend like you. And I turned around because I was like, How does she know well, but she knows it because she has a good mother or a good grandmother or a grandmother. I've already said that to my kids, my My grandkids are gonna get Oh yeah, look out. They're gonna be like, we had to watch Love Boat again. But that's what I loved. And, you know, children dancing in the aisles with their parents. It was just very cute.

Kristin Nilsen 43:17

There was, it was also a very physical experience, which I didn't realize. I was like, I was like, in music class, when, you know, when your music teacher says, Everybody sit up straight, you have to sit up straight in music class, and you have to open your mouth very wide. And I was the music teacher's pet that day. I was the music teacher's teacher's pet. I my back never touched the back of the chair. I was sitting up straight the whole time, I think out of excitement, it was just like a physical energy that was going through us and in free to be you and me in the line where it says, and we'll run like all of us, our arms all went up in the air. Everybody like we just it was just like a natural thing to do to a land where the river runs for you, and your arms are already in the air. So then we start swaying side to side. It was so funny how there was so much that we couldn't control and just did quite naturally. And then you get to my favorite part of the song, which remember how Carolyn said that there are little things that we drop, little nuggets of information, and we don't think anything of it, but listeners hold on to it, and they remember it. So when we get to the BOP Bos, Sherry, one of our listeners, is way down in she's in my row, but she's way down on the other end. When the BOP Bos come, she leans over and she looks at me, and she points a finger at me, because she knows the BOP Bos are coming, and then Sherry and I have this free to be moment where we're doing the BOP Bos together. It's like we're the Partridge Family singing the BOP Bos together, because she knows free

Kristin Nilsen 44:59

to be. Me, you and me. So all the words are projected on a big screen, and when the words to when we grow up, sung by Diana Ross, pop up on the screen, I start crying before the music even starts. When we grow up, will you be big and strong, and I wanted to sing so badly, but there was a big lump in my throat. And I don't know how people do it. You see people on TV where they're singing a song, and it's very emotional, and there are tears coming down there. I don't know how they do that, because I'm like,

Kristin Nilsen 45:38

so hard. So when we get to the part, it's funny. It's not just songs that make you cry. It's a certain place in a song that might make you feel very emotional. And so I'm singing Diana Ross, and then we get to this part when she says, Well, I don't care if I'm pretty at all, and I don't care if you know you care if you never get

Unknown Speaker 46:05

tired. We don't have to change at all.

Kristin Nilsen 46:08

And then it's just like streaming down my face, and I'm just like, Thank you, Diana Ross, I love you. Diana Ross, will you be my mom?

Carolyn Cochrane 46:15

And let's give a little shout out to Roberta Flatt, because she sings it in the television in the television special, yes, in the television special, which is also a fun memory for a lot of us.

Kristin Nilsen 46:28

So then the next one that comes up, where people have a real strong reaction, the lyrics for Williams doll pop up. And when the title pops up on the screen, the whole audience, all 150 people collectively go Oh. And I can feel the other people around me starting to cry again before the music even starts. And for me, it's when I'm pretty sure that I say this in our original episode about free to be you and me. Also, it's when William's grandma enters the picture. Carolyn's nodding her

Carolyn Cochrane 47:01

head, oh yeah. I started to plot like, go, grandma. I couldn't contain myself. You can

Kristin Nilsen 47:05

feel the energy and the singing, just like goes up a notch when grandma comes into the picture.

Speaker 2 47:10

Then William's grandma arrived one day and wanted to know what he liked to play.

Speaker 3 47:17

And Bill said, baseball's my favorite game I like to play, but all the same, I'd give my bat and ball and glove to have a doll that I

Speaker 4 47:29

could love. How very wise his grandma said, said Bill, but

Unknown Speaker 47:33

everyone says

Kristin Nilsen 47:36

this instead, and here's where I'm trying to sing through my tears and my lump in my throat, I give my bat and ball and glove to have a doll that I could love.

Carolyn Cochrane 47:46

That is exactly what we were doing, guys, a little louder, probably so good.

Michelle Newman 47:51

It's just so fun how everybody knew all the intonations and anytime it would say on the screen, key change every Well, I guess Carolyn would have kept going so funny. And everybody knew the pauses. I mean, the words were on the screen, but you have to know when the pauses are, or the way the syntax goes, because otherwise you might be shouting out words when no one, no one else, is right. Everybody knew. Everybody knew, even the little children like I said, yeah, it was amazing. It was amazing.

Kristin Nilsen 48:22

Okay, so we intended, we intended to go back to the cafe where we were meeting with all of our people and chit chat with everybody. But instead, our listeners kind of huddled in the lobby like we all just needed to download together, and we were all standing huddled in front of these massive murals painted by Eric Carl in his signature Very Hungry Caterpillar colors. And everybody wants pictures. They want pictures with us. They want pictures with each other, with the friends they came with, and then the new friends that they've made. It was like the red carpet. And these pictures are stunning because one, the murals in the background, two, we're all wearing these bright fuchsia free to be you and me t shirts with the album cover on the front, in front of these beautiful, colorful murals, and three we're all glowing because we're so happy. We're so damn happy. It was a beautiful way to end the day. But here's the bombshell moment. We're all basking in the glow of our sing along experience. The pictures are taken. Hugs are going around like crazy. Everyone is heading to the doors, and others are coming in for the there's another sing along coming up at 3pm and as I'm standing there watching all of my new friends leave, a very small, older woman flanked by three helpers, comes walking toward me kind of slowly, and it takes me a minute to realize that that woman is Marlo Thomas, okay, let's just let that sit there for a minute.

Carolyn Cochrane 49:51

Oh my gosh, yes, as

Michelle Newman 49:53

and it was shocking, but yet, at the same time and Carolyn So Kristen and I are facing this, this group. Coming at us. Carolyn's back, and I'm going, Carolyn, Carolyn, I'm like, trying to not make a big video. Carolyn, Carolyn, behind you, behind you, because at the same time, it also made perfect sense. I don't know it was a weird thing for me. Like, when I saw her, I was like, Oh, right. Like, here she comes.

Kristin Nilsen 50:19

Yeah. And as we always do, so we know this is a moment, and as we always do when we're in the midst of somebody that we care about, somebody who's famous that we care about, we take a breath and we stay calm. Do not overwhelm the celebrity with your fan girling. We work so hard on this. And the museum, people who are with her, they make the introduction, and Michelle starts to explain who we are. And I'm sorry, but I don't have any memory of what you said, Michelle, because

Michelle Newman 50:50

I don't either, but I remember I couldn't speak Yes, which is that tells everybody that never happened. They need to know. Yeah, I will say this too. We've met, we've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of celebrities, a lot, you know, a decent number since we started this podcast, she was the first one that I really felt like it was royalty, like, I mean, I felt like my breath was taken away when it was time to speak, like I didn't know what to say That was going to be worthy, right? If that makes sense, that would know what to call her Marlon. Such an honor to meet you. I I'm glad we did still have some listeners who were standing with us when so when the the museum, you know, people like Courtney brought her over. Yes, they just introduced her to us because they knew what a big deal this would be to us. But thankfully, we did still have a good handful of our people there that immediately whip out their phones. There's like taking pictures and video around us what we said, and from that video, and from the reaction we have gotten from those people, I know, I was able to string words together coherently.

Kristin Nilsen 52:03

And one of our listeners, Claire, said she was so grateful. She said, Michelle, you said to her, you spoke for us. You spoke for all of us. When you said, what free to be you and me meant to us and why we are here. We're these. You know, 50 plus year old women who are all here to sing along to a children's album because it changed our lives. And so she, she said, I don't need to talk to her. I just need Michelle to tell her that. And then something like takes over me, and I'm like, and I say to Marlo Thomas, do you want to see my party trick? And I'm

Michelle Newman 52:37

sure everyone's like, What is she doing? Yeah, exactly the Pause, pause when you're, when you're co when you're when you're met with royalty. Like I said this, this exceeded celebrity for us. This was royalty. And when then I'm giving this whole like impassioned how it meant to us. It transcends generations. This must have, but you had, how did you have any idea how meaningful this would be? Blah, blah, blah. And then your co host just comes out with, Hey, wanna I will I will remember looking at you sort of like, oh my god, is she about to do a cartwheel? What are you doing? Thankfully, it was super cute.

Kristin Nilsen 53:16

So this is, I'm, like, everybody just back up, back up. I need him to do my party trick. So when I was little, like, like, little, little, little, like, two and three years old, I loved that girl. I loved her. I wanted to be Anne Marie when I grew up. And at the end of the opening credits of of that girl, she does this thing that I would copy as a two year old. And my parents thought it was hilarious, and they would make me do it in front of people at parties. They'd be like, Kristen, Kristen. What does that girl do? And I would tousle my hair, and then I would gleefully, like, drop my arms over my head like this, I'm doing it right now, sort of like you're doing arm stretches. And then when I was done, I was like, What have I done? Did I just does anyone have any idea what this is? Does anyone know what I'm doing? Like, this is a meaningless moment from TV, from a TV show opening from 60 years ago. It's possible that Marlo Thomas doesn't even know what I'm doing. And I had this moment of remorse. Like, oh, God, you've lost your mind.

Michelle Newman 54:20

No, it was so cute. And she thought it was cute too. I And then I say something like, and I've just started watching that girl every night before, of course. Then then Michelle starts, you know, once I have the speechless moment, then it's like, here comes all the nameless, you know, like, oversharing. And I was like, because it is true, you guys. Literally, last Tuesday night, I was started watching that girl at night, just as like a bomb so i You're welcome also for summoning her, because apparently, like, why? But then, of course, I have to tell her I had a picture with her husband at the Erma Bombeck writers. And he was so lovely. And she, she was like, thank you. She was so nice. She was very dear. Mm. The that girl thing was super cute, and I think it was a good break the ice, like, I think it was good Kristin,

Carolyn Cochrane 55:06

yeah, oh, for sure. I mean, watching her reaction, and then her assistants, like the people that were with her, it was so let me just say I think it legitimized us. It's like we weren't just people who were like Marlo Thomas. We were like this. This is in our bones. This is in ourselves. This is part of who we are. And she loved it, and they loved it. It was very endearing. It really I'm

Kristin Nilsen 55:28

so glad to hear that, because as soon as my arms were hanging over my head, I'm like, Oh, shit,

Michelle Newman 55:35

story of my life, right? And I wasn't, because I was just so grateful and glad that your party trick was like related.

Kristin Nilsen 55:51

So when Marlo, she then disappears into the museum to look at the at the exhibit to you know that is a monument to what she created. Our friend Carmi, who was at the event with us. She's one of our most loyal listeners. I turn and Carmi has dissolved into tears. She's really she's taking our glasses and she's doing these little sobs. And this is not please understand. This is not celebrity worship. This is about carmie, seeing little Carmi and the things that made her happy. It's about your life and your history and the people and the people who played a role in it. And I just think it's so interesting that she didn't start crying until Marlo Thomas disappears. It was like, it was like the dam had been burst, and she just hold it together. Car me, I know I was so happy for I just put my arms around her and held on to her, because it was just such a moment for us to see this woman that hated this thing.

Michelle Newman 56:46

Yes, she was very and she was just so sweet. And, you know, when she disappeared, I knew they were going into the exhibit, because that's the it's a small little space, and it was the doors right behind us. So our sweet friend Jamie and I, we go into the exhibit under the ruse of Jamie showing me what she had written in that little notebook you were talking about in the room. And you know, who do we see when we walk in? But you know, there's that girl right there. She's walking up to each photo and animation, and she's just narrating. She's telling stories to a group of museum employees who were kind of with her, and, you know, got the opportunity to kind of have this moment with her, but they didn't close the room off to the public. So Jamie and I are in there, but then there's just all these other museum people, and I'm like, my first thought is, and do like, Do they even know? Well, yes, because there was also a professional photographer following them around. So it's very obvious that someone famous was over there. Really. Nobody had their phones out. Everybody was just watching. What are we seeing with our own eyeballs? Here we are seeing the person that is responsible for this and responsible for the way that we raised our own children. Yes, let's give credit to our mothers too, because they bought the albums for us. And they also felt this way. But also, my goodness, I overhear her say, as she's looking really closely at one photo, oh, this is before we removed her apron in this scene. And wow, you guys, it was like I was watching God looking at a puppy and being like, oh yes, this is when we I really hit it out of the park. You know, watching Marlo Thomas pointing and exclaiming and remembering minute details of this historical artifact and the stories of its creation was beyond surreal, beyond surreal. Then she asks her assistant for her phone, and she walks around videoing each photo and letter and like information plaque. And she's all by herself. No one's around her, and she's narrating. I can hear her say, like, oh yes. Now here's Atalanta and oh ladies first. And I have to wonder who this video might be for. Is it for herself? Is it for Alan Alda, she walked up to they had, they had, in kind of an acrylic box, an old record album. It was like the Fisher Price Turntable, and they have the free to be album on it, and you could push different tracks to listen. And there's like a little phone you can listen to it. And she's looking at it, and then she's talking about her first turntable to her assistants and her friends, and then she's like, how do I make this work? Do I and they're all trying to explain to her how to just push the button. And she didn't. She kept walking around looking but I do have video of her walking around, videoing all the things, because she had her back to me the whole time. There was no way I was going to pull out my phone and be one of those people who's like as she's looking in my direction, but there was no way she could see me. So it's gold. I love that video, and I will definitely be sharing that. But yeah, other other random people are just kind of standing there silent. I walked up to this lady. I don't even. Know, and I just said, it's a good day to be alive. It was a really, it was a really magical moment to see her. She was very excited. You could tell it was very special to her to see what they curated. And let's, let's not forget to give credit to the people who did curate this exhibit at the Carl Museum. One of the things Courtney told our group was this stuff was almost impossible to find, because back in the day when something would get collected for a movie or a video or a book, like a lot of these graphics and cell animated cells, once it was published, they got thrown out. So almost everything you see was just like painstakingly curated, and they found it all and it was really amazing to look at how excited Marlo was getting. It was very cute,

Kristin Nilsen 1:00:50

and I really appreciate that from behind video footage. I love seeing her from behind taking video of the thing that she remembers doing that's more important to me than a picture of Marlo Thomas standing next to something. Yeah, right. That's that that shows her, that shows her processing the moment.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:01:09

Well, you guys, buckle up, because just when you think this day cannot get any more magical and more special. We find out that Marlo is going to be attending the three o'clock sing along. We, at that point, had had no intention of going to the three o'clock sing along. We'd done our 1pm we were going to hang out with our friends and do that kind of thing that was not we were hell be damned, or whatever we say we were going to be at that 3pm sing along. So we quickly

Kristin Nilsen 1:01:38

Marlo Thomas, yeah, we're singing free to be you and me with Marlo Thomas, yes.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:01:43

I mean, yes. And then whatever, we can die. It doesn't matter whatever happens in our lives after that.

Kristin Nilsen 1:01:49

There, luckily, there are, you know, like you said, there was, there were a handful of our listeners who had not yet gone and and everybody makes a mad dash for the desk where you buy tickets for the next thing along. And it's like, they're at the betting booth. What is it called? Maybe go to the races. And they're

Michelle Newman 1:02:08

like, let me just mention our listener, Jennifer. Jennifer's in the gift store this whole time. So Jennifer does not know she's there, right? She hears it from someone in the gift shop. And so it's exactly like you just described, according to Jennifer, she just goes running to the desk. Give me a ticket, pay whatever you want, basically, right? So I'm

Carolyn Cochrane 1:02:30

so happy she heard about it in the gift shop. I mean, there is absolutely no way we were going to miss this opportunity to sing. William wants a doll with Marlo Thomas. I mean, come on,

Michelle Newman 1:02:39

people, glad to have a friend like you got your people, just

Carolyn Cochrane 1:02:43

keep on going. All right, so we enter you guys, but this time we decide, no, we're not going to sit front and center, been there, done that. We're going to go in the very back. Because one, we want to dance and be standing the whole time, and we don't want to irritate anybody. And two, we're going to get a view of everybody, including Marlo Thomas, partaking in this sing along. So I've admitted to being a little teary and choked up during our first sing along. This second sing along people, this experience was different for me, and my tears were flowing. Okay, I could see Marlo Thomas, this doesn't sound hokey, but she was a human being. She was a person enjoying these moments and just soaking them in, absorbing them, not as a celebrity. And people are absorbing her. She's taking it all in, and you could just tell how meaningful it was to her. So watching her have those moments no words. I can't come up with a joy profound. All the things it just was priceless, I guess, and all the things I just found myself overcome with emotion. Okay, she is getting to witness firsthand the legacy of what she created. She's able to then watch all of us, all the people in the auditorium, singing and dancing and all of that. And you guys, there was a moment when she turns around. She's in front of us. She turns around with her camera. We are belting at the top of our lungs and singing. She's recording us. You guys, okay, people, we are in Marlo Thomas' phone we just say that Marlo Thomas' Camera Roll includes video footage and photos of us enjoying what she created. It was for her had to be this incredible full circle moment, and I'm seeing her do that, and I'm crying like a little baby, but I'm remembering, as Rosie Greer taught us, it's all right to cry, and I did. And thank goodness our follower, Jennifer actually came, because she supplied us all with the Kleenex. She pulls out her Kleenex, and we're just handing it down our row of followers, because we ended up what there were, maybe eight or nine of us who were able to partake in this moment together.

Michelle Newman 1:04:56

Yeah, and understand back row we were we were unabashed. We were just we were all holding hands and standing up and just enjoying the moment. And in fact, Josh mint called us out a couple times. He's like, I love the energy. Macro, yeah. Macro is bringing the energy, yeah. But Courtney was taking video, and she got video of when Marlo turned around and recorded. And thankfully, we were not being obnoxious. It was during the very end of free to be, and we were all just holding hands and swaying,

Kristin Nilsen 1:05:23

and she's also hearing and I really wanted her to hear this. These songs are so embedded in us that we're not just singing them. We don't just know the words. We are singing them exactly like Marlo Thomas, oh. Pitch Perfect. Pitch Perfect. We know every intonation. We know every time her voice rises. We know it's like we're doing Marlo Thomas imitations. And I know that she heard that even there were lots of we did all the spoken word parts too, like you can't put your cat in an apron. Everybody knew where to stop. They everybody knew where to pause, yeah. It was crazy.

Michelle Newman 1:06:03

We'd all go every single time. We would all have our hands, and we'd go like, come along, take my hand, and we'll live. We were all do the live, yeah.

Kristin Nilsen 1:06:19

So then at the end of it, we're just nutty, because we have just experienced something that a lot of people don't know that they've experienced, because a lot of people don't know that Marlo Thomas is in the audience because she's behind them. So then Courtney comes into the audience to get Marlo Thomas to help her onto the stage, and people are clapping politely, clapping politely, and all of a sudden the clapping gets later, when people start to realize what is happening, and you just it's almost like you can see the tops of people's heads come right

Carolyn Cochrane 1:06:52

off right that was so special that we could see that's from our vantage point. Remember, we're in the very back. She's a few rows ahead of us, and it's like this wave that happens, and you just see these people start to notice, and again, this witnessing, there those people's joy in realizing that she's in the room where it happened.

Michelle Newman 1:07:14

Yeah, video of that, of her speech, too, by the way, guys. So again, on the Patreon

Carolyn Cochrane 1:07:19

value, or that the moment of seeing people realize she was there was so special too, to get to witness their joy.

Michelle Newman 1:07:28

Yeah, so when we came out, we were all just, I mean, we had shared this moment together, and it was so cool. And we got a lot of new listeners after that, because they were, like, coming up to us, like, Who are you guys? Like, in the backyard, like, who are you?

Kristin Nilsen 1:07:40

And there's one woman, when Marlo comes up on the stage and somebody shouts out, I marched yesterday because of you and I just there's because they didn't know that that was Marlo that must have just come to them. It must have just been an impulse and a realization of We are the people we are today because of those words that she created and got into our

Michelle Newman 1:08:02

home Absolutely, but she didn't hear her say that, and and Micah comes over and says it in her ear, and she just raises her fist, yes, solidarity, yeah, yeah. So, yeah. So the day is over. We're wiped. We are emotionally spent. And I wanted to make one last lap through the gift shop, and I really wanted to be able to share this story, because to me, this might be everything you just heard. This was kind of my moment, my takeaway from this day. I'd been eyeing the free to be you and me book, you know, that big kind of coffee table sized book with the OG cover. However, the one they were selling, they were selling a couple, and they were pricey. They were very pricey. And that's fine. But I had just decided to pass because I had, you know, I flew there, spent a lot of money there, I bought other things. I decided to pass on it, but I was kind of regretting it already, and then I turned around to kind of walk out of the gift shop. And who should be buying things at the counter of the gift store, but Marlo Thomas herself, I kind of wonder what she was buying.

Kristin Nilsen 1:08:58

She I watched. She was buying a shit ton of free to be you and me t shirts. And I was like, you don't have access to that. You guys

Michelle Newman 1:09:04

don't forget. When she when we first started talking to her, she pointed out her shirts, and she's like, Oh, these are cute. Yes. Oh, one thing we did forget to tell you listeners is that when she was talking to us, the professional photographers, click, click, click, click, click, behind her. But she doesn't know that. She asks her assistant to go get her purse because she goes, Well, we should have a picture. Yes. Marlo Thomas is the one who was like, let's get a picture. Ladies, we

Kristin Nilsen 1:09:26

didn't ask to get a picture with her. Marlo Thomas asked to get a picture with us. Yeah.

Michelle Newman 1:09:32

So anyway, so I turn Marlo Thomas is buying things at the counter, and I would like to say a literal light bulb went off over my head. But you know that I then I'll be accused of using the word literal wrong, which I would be. But I felt the heat of the light bulb. There you go, over my head, and I quickly grabbed Courtney, who was standing near me, and I said, Could you please ask Marlowe's people if she would sign a book for me? Because if she would, I would love to buy this. Book. All of a sudden, it could have been $1,000 and I could have been like this, needs to come home with me. So she goes over, she asks, they ask her, she comes back. You know, it's like the game of telephone. She comes back. And so I think she said, Yes, she'll sign the book for you. So I buy the book. I walk over, I hand her the book. And naturally, I'm babbling, and I'm over sharing, as I do, about how I just lost my mom and I couldn't find our book, and how my mom loved idolized her, and how my mom was a single mom and taught me and my sister all of these values. And then, of course, I start crying. This is when I start crying, and it's because I'm realizing and I had realized it earlier, at the end of the 3pm sing along, Kristin looked I was sitting next to Kristin, she looked at me and said, I can't wait to tell my mom. And I just lost it, because I was like, oh my god, it hadn't even occurred to me I can't tell my mom. And yes, I know everybody I can tell my mom, and I did later. I'm in great detail, but it just, it just hit me, yeah, like, and then I laughed, because I was like, God, my mom would be so envious. But so the whole time I'm going on, and I lost my mom, but all of these values my mom gave to us through this, and blah, blah, blah. And she's just looking at me with this lovely grin, and just so much patience. And then she asks me my name. And so then I know, like, oh my god, it's not gonna just be Marlo Thomas in my book. And I'm like, Michelle with two L's. And she was really cute. She looked up, and she's like, two L's. And you guys, I will also be posting a picture of what she wrote. It's become a treasure. And then I started ugly crying, because when I read it, I was thinking of my mom, and then I was missing my mom, and I wanted to share it with my mom, but it was, it was very special.

Kristin Nilsen 1:11:55

It was, it was an emotional day in so many different ways. You know, like, like you said earlier, Michelle, some people cried, some people didn't, some people blubbered, some people just got and some people were just pure joy. And for some it was bittersweet, and for some it was actually quite difficult. So there's one man in particular. He was really broken up because he had a very enlightened mom who bought him this record and shared it with him. And in his words, he said, This record was the promise of our childhood. And we were taught that the world, you know, at that time, we were taught that the world was growing and it was changing and things were getting better for everybody, and we could all be who we wanted to be. And as he's sitting in that auditorium, he can't help but think about the things in the news today, and he said it felt like that promise had been broken, and I just My heart just breaks. It just breaks because he's not wrong. He's not wrong. And this is personal. It's familial. This is something that came from his mother. How is it that this promise was not fulfilled? How is it you you expect that things get better and better and better and better and better, right? They don't go backwards and backwards and backwards. And so I really, I really felt that, and I want to, I want to hold his feelings in my hand. I don't want to discount them. I want to give, I want to give credence to those, to those feelings. So it's time for us to leave Amherst, Massachusetts, and we make our way to the airport. And wouldn't you know it, when we're at the airport, we bump into Lisa. Lisa was one of the people who had flown in for the event, and she was one of the people who was gone, who was already gone by the time Marlo Thomas had arrived, but when she sees us at the airport, she tells us that she knows, she knows all about Marlo, because listen to this after the event, after the sing along, she goes out to dinner in downtown Amherst, and she happens to overhear two people next to her in the restaurant talking about the Sing along. They were at the 3pm sing along, and they're gushing over their brush with Marlo Thomas, and Lisa is like, what now? And so she interrupts them, and she says, What in the hell are you even talking about? And they tell her the whole story. But here's what Lisa wanted us to know when she left the museum that day, on her way out, she said to us and to the whole group of people, she said, I just hope that Marlo Thomas can feel this energy. I just want her to feel from afar, our love and our appreciation today, and what Lisa wanted us to know was that her wish was granted. She wasn't sad that she missed Marlo Thomas. She was overjoyed that Marlo Thomas got to see and hear and feel the love that Lisa and all of us and everybody else in that theater had for the thing that she created so long ago. That's what was making Lisa happy.

Michelle Newman 1:14:53

Oh, absolutely, I think that that's just how everybody was feeling.

Kristin Nilsen 1:14:58

So that is the first feedback that we get. Our listeners, and when we land, we start getting speak pipes and letters and emails from people because they're not done emoting. They're not done talking about what experience, what the experience was for them, and we have just a couple that we want to share with you.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:15:14

One of the emails we received was from our friend Anne, who actually brought her 20 something year old daughter, and her daughter had grown up listening to the music because, of course, Anne was a good mother, and Anne had shared it with Madeline, and she said, when I got home last evening, I overheard Madeline tell her dad and some of her siblings, I'm gonna cry about how special the day was. She mentioned how nice everyone was and how happy. And I couldn't agree more with her, it was such a needed respite from the turmoil so many of us are feeling Madeline grew up hearing me talk about how important the message of free to be you and me was to so many of us growing up in the 70s, and how sad and frustrating it was to see that beautiful message being destroyed. Yesterday. Was it helpful? Sorry, guys, yesterday was a helpful reminder that many of us still believe in and find joy in that message. Sorry, everybody. But that's ultimately what I think.

Michelle Newman 1:16:11

But I think that that's really profound, because I do think that I like how you said earlier, Kristen, that you know some people that were in the sing along, and not singing joyfully and dancing and holding hands and swaying back and forth, because it was hitting them in a much different, different way because of the current state. And I love how you said we have to hold that too, because it is true for sure. It's like all feelings are welcome here, all feelings are valid. And then our friend Sherry sent us several messages just as her thoughts were, you know, just as the hours were going on. She says, of Sunday, she says, I was ready, all caps ready, but I was not prepared. All caps prepared. I was not prepared for the communal sense of joy that I felt and shared in that auditorium. I was not prepared to be transported back to a time that I hadn't even experienced, but man, the nostalgia vibe was still strong. I intend to remind myself daily to hold on to the positivity and hopefulness that I experienced in that room. And I love how she signed it glad to have a friend like the PCPs. We love you, Sherry, thank you. Yes, that's exactly it.

Kristin Nilsen 1:17:24

And then we got a voicemail from our another Anne, just explaining what the day meant to her. And I think you'll enjoy this story.

Speaker 5 1:17:32

So my mom was one of eight sisters, so I grew up with all these aunts that I was, like, heavily influenced by like all my aunts, are the reasons that I love the Beatles and Shel Silberstein and crafts with Mod Podge. So they were the ones who made a cassette of freebie you and me that I would listen to at home. And one of my teacher aunts borrowed the movie from her classroom and brought it over to my grandparents house, set up the screen and the projector so we could all watch it together. And I can't help thinking how lucky I am that I had these women in my life, and how lucky we are that this medium of for you, be you and me, the music and the movie and the book that it was so meaningful that generations of adults and kids had it to share and connect them. So anyways, thank you so much for such a special day, and thanks for doing what you do.

Kristin Nilsen 1:18:37

Bye. Oh, that's beautiful. Oh, my God. Oh, and you can hear, you can hear in her voice when it gets a little bit shaky, and again, just like, just like the guy who felt shattered by it. So much of this is connected to the people who provided us with the record. I think that's a really important point, the people who were trying to give us a better world. And that's where we same with you, Michelle, when you start it's you start to break apart when you think about your mom who brought this to you, the women who in particular, who brought this to us. And I think that's just, it just says a lot about why this is meaningful to us.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:19:14

I've had now a few days to reflect on this past weekend, and I just want to share with you guys, if I can what these past few days have meant and how this whole experience affected me. I am not exaggerating when I say that this past weekend was a spiritual experience for me. There were super sized Manilow moments and innumerable zaps of joy. I wish there was some kind of instrument out there that could measure the energy that was created by the collective joy that was being alchemized in that auditorium. I wish I could have it bottled up, and I've taken it home with me between the rally on Saturday and hanging out by a fire with followers and a colonial aunt. I mean, come on, people, you know how I feel about that. And. And every single second of our experience on Sunday at that museum, I know with 100% certainty, without a doubt everybody that no politician, no egomaniacal jerk, no idiotic government policy can take away what I experienced. There's no version of artificial intelligence that could ever recreate the energy and the connectedness of those moments that we shared with new friends and perfect strangers. That magic is not for sale. It cannot be purchased. It cannot be taken away from from us. It's available to everyone, if we are just willing to look. And my quick lessons that I can share with you guys for where to look for this. You don't have to travel to Massachusetts. You can find it because life is really all about the connections. It's about your connections with others, as well as being the catalyst of connecting others with each other. I cannot begin to describe the overwhelming joy of witnessing friendships being formed this weekend and knowing that we were the reason that these people were meeting each other. And I want you all to look for opportunities to experience others, experiencing joy, witnessing that auditorium full of people with arms around each other, strangers and friends, singing and crying, singing the words like, take my hand and we'll be where the children are free. And we were doing that. Those moments are the glimpses into what heaven on earth means, watching Michelle overcome with emotion as Marlo Thomas autographs her freedom me, you would be booked. And seeing Michelle read that message that Marlo Thomas wrote to her was priceless. Witnessing Kristin getting to belt out her and sing speak her sad and grumpy down in the Dumpy with an auditorium full of people. There are no words that can describe these moments, except maybe this. What I felt was a deep, peaceful connectedness and a deep, peaceful contentedness and knowing in my bones that this feeling what life is all about. And I just thank you too for letting me experience that with you and all of our listeners, and I'm sorry I'm a bawling fool, but you guys, this cannot be taken away from us, no matter what we're being told and how scared we're being tried to feel. It's out there. We just need to look for it and create it ourselves. The end,

Speaker 4 1:22:17

it's all right to cry. Crying get the sad out of you. It's all right to cry. It might make you feel better. Raindrops from your eyes, washing all the Mad rain drops from your eyes. From your eyes. It's gonna make you feel better. It's alright to feel pain, though the feelings may be strange. Feelings are such real things, and they change and change and change the and

Speaker 6 1:23:05

chain sad and grumpy down in the dumping, snuggly, ugly, mean and ugly, sloppy, slapping, hopping, happy.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:23:20

We wanted to give a shout out and a huge thank you to our society members who actually hopped on planes to attend this event. Our new friend and wonderful follower, Lisa, who came all the way from Minneapolis, Beth green and her mom, who flew from Virginia to celebrate her mom's 80th birthday. Look at me. I'm crying again. Meredith and Corey, who also flew from Minneapolis, and I can't wait to share some fun times with them. And you guys, we had folks who drove from New York and New Hampshire and Maryland and Connecticut. We so appreciate you guys making the time and the effort to join us.

Kristin Nilsen 1:23:52

Thank you for listening today, everybody. Thank you for coming on this journey with us. We will see you next week. And now let's raise our glasses for a toast. Courtesy of Marlo

Michelle Newman 1:24:01

Thomas, yeah, and Dick friend,

Kristin Nilsen 1:24:05

Channing and Harry Bell. Rosie greener, Allen, Alda

Carolyn Cochrane 1:24:11

Shirley, Jones. Shirley,

Kristin Nilsen 1:24:15

yeah, we wish you all free to be Thank you, and we will see you next time you

Speaker 7 1:24:22

and me. To be the

Kristin Nilsen 1:24:50

information, opinions and comments expressed on the pop culture Preservation Society podcast belongs solely to Carolyn the crushologist and hello Newman and are in no way representative of our employers or affiliates. And though we truly believe we are always right, there is always a first time the PCPs is written, produced and recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the fictional wjm studios and our beloved Mary Richards. Nanu. Nanu, keep on truckin, and May the Force Be With You.