Latest / My Third Place Pod / Third Places & the Magic of Arcades: Why Laundromats Meant More Than Chores

Transcript

Third Places & the Magic of Arcades: Why Laundromats Meant More Than Chores · My Third Place Pod

0:00
This episode is a little. Different.
0:02
No Co host, no segment. No rundown to check.
0:05
Off. Just me.
0:08
And a question that started as a pod decks pool and turned into
0:11
something much bigger than I expected.
0:14
A few weeks back I asked a simple question about third
0:17
places and the response surprised me.
0:20
Not just in volume, but in who answered.
0:24
New names, new voices. People who hadn't commented.
0:28
Before suddenly opening up our arcades, laundromats, parks,
0:33
malls, comic shops, friends houses, places that.
0:36
Clearly meant something. And as I started reading through
0:40
those responses, I realized. Something this.
0:42
Series exists because of you. So before we go any further, I
0:49
want to take a moment to. Read through.
0:50
Some of these people's who responded because of this
0:54
episode and the ones that follow are built directly from those
0:58
stories. OK, So Empress said.
1:03
Hometown beach that only US locals know about.
1:05
Or in a book. We love our beaches.
1:09
Of course y'all love beaches, right?
1:12
We we love our beaches. Hometown beaches are like the
1:16
best. In the book.
1:20
Obviously, I love books. I ordered one.
1:25
A few days ago he loved the beach.
1:27
Menace says she loved the beach. I ordered one a few days ago.
1:32
Perks of being a Wallflower. Great book, a great movie and a
1:37
great book as well. Never been to the beach ma'am?
1:43
Why not go to the beach? Menace said.
1:48
I would say my third place would be at my best friend's house.
1:51
Best friend's house is where like everything happens.
1:57
Like every you, you learn stuff. And I know.
2:02
I should have started out with that one best friends houses as
2:05
the first third place ever. But it'll get there.
2:09
We'll get there in time. We'll get there, Leanna says.
2:14
My best friend's house are aunts.
2:16
I hung out a lot at the river with friends.
2:17
I was some. Reviving even back then.
2:20
She used to live on a lake. Your friend used to live on a
2:22
lake, but that's that's correct. That's nice again, rivers,
2:33
rivers, beaches, rivers. Freaking awesome Jackie and says
2:38
just outside. Obviously, we would be.
2:42
Outside as our third place until lights came the street lights.
2:45
Came on. Or our parents would yell at us
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from three miles away. Captain Devil Dog says my
2:56
daughter had a cap. That said, Brazil has some nice
2:58
beaches but a silhouette of a bikini girl a but outside like
3:04
some fun times as well. My mom would be all out.
3:09
From three miles away I'm over exaggerating that from across
3:14
the neighborhood. Get your ass inside.
3:17
I'm like, OK, And everybody would know that it was my.
3:20
Mom. Because.
3:21
She'd have a whistle too, or she would like whistle and it's
3:25
like. Damn it.
3:27
I got to go crazy, Lady 33 says Taco Bueno.
3:32
And then my plate was what? We did after school.
3:36
I didn't have a Taco bueno. Possibly like a a pollo loco or.
3:43
Taco Max. It's like the spot where it's
3:48
like the potheads would go and just freaking smoke and then be
3:52
like, all right, let me get tacos.
3:55
So we hear Evil's mom. Yes, you do.
3:59
My grandma was worse. You know, you all know grandma's
4:01
stories. If you haven't, if you know no,
4:04
then go check out other episodes.
4:06
I need to, like, put them all together in one Grandma's
4:09
stories. But tacos, The tacos were the
4:13
spot. So yeah.
4:15
Melechi Deville at one point. Living in Arcade.
4:17
Another was a comic shop in another area with the mall.
4:20
Three different places, three different eras.
4:22
I love that and. Ends this like it feels like as
4:26
you grow up you go from a kids place arcade to a teenage place
4:30
to comic shop. And to an adult.
4:32
Place the mall. So good night Sir.
4:36
Good night Captain Corporal. Good night Devil Devil dog.
4:42
Love grandma stories? So.
4:45
Yeah, it was like, as you get older you go to these other
4:49
different places and it's different there than what she
4:51
said. So it feels that way, Cheryl
4:56
says. On my bicycle I can go anywhere.
5:00
Bike dirt, places that are mobile are always fun.
5:04
I had a skateboard, I would just go anywhere with that and go to
5:07
the skate park and just hang out of the park and stuff.
5:11
Did not have read the skateboard at the time, but hey, I learned
5:15
Katie Hoffman. Says I would love.
5:18
Going to a bookstore, just sitting and reading or just
5:20
going to Blockbuster. Yes, I'm aging myself.
5:23
So where are we, man? So are we.
5:25
We age ourselves. We are here.
5:27
You're in a safe space like we are here because.
5:32
We want to remember. These things, and if you age
5:36
yourself, it's fine. Bookstores are fun.
5:41
Blockbuster was is another third place I want to do and due time
5:47
because those were amazing Red welcome in how you doing Lilith
5:54
the librarian says I still go to the bookstore for my place.
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She Lilith the librarian is a book connoisseur.
6:02
She loved books. So the fact that she is just
6:07
saying this you're doing good. I'm glad you are so bookstores
6:13
are are amazing as well. Library, books, whatever chain.
6:19
I love it. And right on time because I'm
6:22
doing the. Podcast.
6:24
Grayson says the beach. Obviously.
6:27
Universe Love says roller rink or park.
6:30
Roller rinks were good. Parks were good.
6:33
Skate parks also good and so the little red who's in the chat now
6:39
the green power box thing. I started on it a lot parks,
6:42
blockbusters pizza. Yep, that looks correct.
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I posted a video of our my favorite places and I put in of
6:52
the green power box electricity box.
6:56
I don't know what it was. At the time, I just know that.
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I would hang out at my friend's apartment or it was that one of
7:03
I used to live there at a time also and like we would just hang
7:09
out in this green electrical box, power boxing and the cold
7:15
in the winter. California doesn't have winter,
7:18
it's a cold. What it was called.
7:22
I would sit on top of it because it'd be warm.
7:25
Heater box. I would call it a heater box.
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So I like sit on top of it because it'd be warm.
7:30
And then we just hang out there, chill for a minute.
7:34
Obviously we do extracurricular activities there.
7:37
Smoke. But we talk a lot there.
7:41
We hang out there and all this stuff.
7:43
Even after I moved out, my best friend lived in these
7:47
apartments. So I would come over and we
7:49
would hang out there sometimes, like be like, hey, we're going
7:52
to the green box. I was like, alright, cool, I'll
7:54
meet you there. So we get over there and like
7:57
fucking couple just hanging out there kissing and shit and just
8:00
ruining our moment. It was like, yeah, let's go
8:06
somewhere else. So making out and doing other
8:11
stuff, it was, it was one of those things.
8:14
You know. Yeah, the green power box a
8:19
great. Place to make out.
8:22
Tronicle 2 says the barn and we still will be and it is that
8:26
place tronicle 2. I met a.
8:28
Few years back. She's.
8:32
A great creator, she has lots of videos of horses and her barn.
8:39
So every. Time I go in to her videos, to
8:42
her page, it's like nothing but barns and her horses and stuff.
8:47
Thank you for the heart me, Katie, I appreciate that.
8:50
Thank you for the heart me. Thank you for the heart me.
8:52
Thank you for the heart me. Appreciate it.
8:55
And it'd be like all that. And it's fun to see that
8:57
because, you know. Like.
9:00
You don't see that around here. Thank you for reposting thank
9:03
you for the heart of me. I appreciate that and you don't
9:07
get to see that a lot, so that's fun Thank you for the real
9:13
popular thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
9:17
for posting. Lauren MFLB says I guess my
9:22
bedroom listening to music, but even that would get taken away
9:26
if she. Has siblings?
9:28
Then yeah, I would. I guess so.
9:32
I know. Like I would be listening to my
9:35
music as well on New Year's Eve. I'd like be like.
9:38
Become AD. J of myself, cassette record,
9:41
all that stuff and here comes my brother or my sister's opening
9:45
door telling me. Too loud.
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And I'd be like, fine anyway. So yeah, those were the those
9:56
were the communities. Thank you for posting.
10:01
Those were the community's favorite third places.
10:05
To go and. I love going through them as
10:07
well. Seeing those responses, what
10:09
made me decide to start here with arcades because lately.
10:13
I've been feeling that pull again.
10:15
My local shop, comic book shop, The Screaming Monkey Comics.
10:20
Has arcade machines inside and I love being there.
10:23
Not just for the comics. But for the sound of pinball
10:26
flippers, joystick clicks, track screens.
10:29
Looping in the background. Lauren, welcome in now.
10:33
A comic book shop on its own? It's already a third place, but
10:36
a comic book shop with arcade. Machines that hit.
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Something different because. Growing up.
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Those were two worlds that never belong together, and suddenly it
10:47
unlocked the memory. I hadn't visited in years.
10:51
And my memory. In my memory, the one that.
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Hadn't visited in years. Was the laundromat.
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The laundromat is the third place.
11:02
Why not? Hey Lauren, how are you?
11:06
How was your night? This episode is about third
11:10
places before the Internet decided to be all of them.
11:14
Not home, not school. Or work, but that in between
11:17
space the. Place you went to exist.
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Without needing a reason. I've been thinking about this
11:24
because somewhere along the way. Those places started
11:26
disappearing. Not all at once, but quietly.
11:32
And we didn't, really. Notice until we realized we.
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Didn't have them anymore. For a lot of us, third places
11:38
were physical. They had smells, sounds.
11:41
Rules you have followed it was riding your bike to the park and
11:46
dropping in the grass without locking it.
11:48
Skateboard stacked near a. Bench someone always late.
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So we're always saying. One more hour.
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Just one more hour. One more hour, please, Mom.
12:00
One more hour. All right, I got.
12:03
To go in like an hour, one more hour.
12:05
And then we're done. OK, it's all good.
12:09
Or not even one more hour. It'd be like 10 more minutes.
12:12
Thank you for the heart of me. I appreciate that It'd be 10
12:15
more minutes. And I have to go.
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And those 10 minutes ended up being 20 minutes.
12:21
Ended up being 30 minutes and. Before you noticed an hour.
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Later and your. Mom is yelling out to the
12:28
heavens. For you to get your ass home
12:31
before she gets the belt. And whips you now, my mom.
12:38
I was such a good kid. I'd leave.
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I'd be out there. The smell of grass being cut in
12:45
the distance. Exactly.
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So it was. Hanging out until the street
12:50
lights came on. That's what we all did, right?
12:54
We all did that. We all.
12:55
Hung out until the street lights came on.
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That spoken curfew. That didn't need a text message
13:01
to enforce. It you just knew.
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You just knew. Like look up at this.
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Fucking. Oh shoot, the street lights
13:10
just. Came on.
13:11
Hey. I got to go.
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My mom said. I have to go.
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Where is she? The street lights like, oh, OK,
13:20
well, you live right there. I live right over there.
13:23
You know, you know. It's it's like you're looking at
13:28
it as like if you don't get out of get over here when the
13:30
street. Light came on.
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You ain't eating dinner anything.
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Plus, you'd have to go home. Eat.
13:39
Take a shower. Sleep and get up early in the
13:43
morning for school the next day and do it all over again.
13:49
But. Also, it was Blockbuster in a
13:52
Friday night, KT says the street.
13:56
Light coming on wasn't ah man got to go, but it wasn't a bad
13:58
feeling anyway. It wasn't just like the ah, man,
14:01
I got to go. Everybody knew and even the.
14:04
Kids that live nearby, like right there, like all you got to
14:07
do is just walk up to their steps.
14:10
Knocking the door and like mom, I'm out here.
14:12
It's like, OK, other kids are just like, see, you can do.
14:16
That I can't, but just in case, I'm going to go with you and
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hang out with you for a. Little bit before I hit home and
14:25
it'd be like, all right. 10 more minutes.
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Or call from inside the house, from inside your friend's house
14:31
and be like. Yeah, I'm in so and so's house
14:34
and I'll be home in a few. Like all right.
14:37
Just so you know, so that that was fun.
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That was. Always fun to do.
14:44
And even the dads would just come out and hang out with.
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The the kids and all this shit. So yeah, as we lived in a bunch
14:52
of. Properties so we didn't have St.
14:53
lights. All the kids would come stay.
14:55
Exactly. Some of them didn't.
14:59
Have St. lights. Huh.
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That's that's great. It was blockbuster on a Friday.
15:11
Night walking the aisles. Like it was a.
15:14
Museum judging movie. Choices arguing over what?
15:16
Counted as a new. Release Virgin Megastore
15:20
headphones. On pretending you were
15:22
discovering music, no one knew. About and sometimes it was
15:27
stranger. Than that it was a laundromat
15:30
with arcade machines in the corner.
15:32
Two things that should never. Exist together.
15:34
But somehow did that contrasted what made it magical.
15:39
It wasn't designed as a hangout, it just became one.
15:43
Before group chats replace. Meetups before scrolling replace
15:46
wandering before. Where are you?
15:49
Became a pin drop instead of a guest.
15:52
I chose this. Question because I wanted to
15:54
know what did. Community feel like before?
15:57
It lived in our pockets. And what did we lose?
16:02
And maybe what we're trying to rebuild without even.
16:04
Realizing it. So tonight I want to sit in that
16:08
space. Remember it, talk it out.
16:11
And maybe. Leave the door.
16:12
Open for us to find new dirt spaces, places that still.
16:16
Feel like us? No rush, no algorithm, just a
16:20
conversation with you and with myself.
16:25
Welcome to Third Places. I wanted to start this series.
16:31
Somewhere small, not a mall, not a big neon lit.
16:35
Arcade with rows and. Machines I wanted to start at
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the laundromat. It was.
16:45
It's a really cheesy place to start.
16:47
It's like nobody would ever guess that your third.
16:51
Place is a laundromat, but it. Is.
16:55
It because you know, the laundromat isn't meant for joy.
16:59
It was meant for chores, for waiting.
17:02
For adults doing adult. Things.
17:04
But you're a kid. You're a kid and you're doing
17:09
your your third place. Is a laundromat, shouldn't.
17:13
Be like that, right? It smells like detergent and
17:16
warm metal. The Hummel dryers never stopped.
17:20
Constant, dual, almost hypnotic parents sat in plastic.
17:24
Chairs, arms crossed. Eyes tired, some of them gave.
17:28
You that look that. Gas mask.
17:30
Stink face. Every time people erupted.
17:36
I don't miss my childhood, especially because I didn't
17:38
experience this other kid. Oh, I'm.
17:40
Sorry Katie, but but I picked. It up in my 20s.
17:45
I have good memories. Oh, there you go.
17:46
Awesome. So you know.
17:49
You got a little bit of it, you got a little taste of it.
17:52
And why did? People erupt because.
17:54
Tucked in the corner, almost like a mistake.
17:58
Where a few arcade. Machines.
18:01
And every time someone scored, kids shouted, teenagers jumped
18:05
back, someone slapped the side of the cabinet coins.
18:08
Rattled victory noises cut. Straight through the white noise
18:12
of laundry. Arcade didn't belong there.
18:18
Nope. And that's what made it magical
18:22
to me as a kid. I remember sitting on top.
18:29
Of a dryer that wasn't being used, perched just high enough
18:32
to see the screen. Not playing, just watching.
18:36
I like to watch. I love to watch, trying not to
18:40
stare too hard, trying not to get yelled at for being in the
18:43
way. When it was crowded, I stayed
18:46
put. Just watched the chaos.
18:48
But when it wasn't, when only one person was playing, I didn't
18:51
close her. Trying to pick up what they were
18:56
doing with buttons, depressed when they moved, when they
19:00
waited. I didn't have a Nintendo yet, or
19:04
an Atari. But I did have a best friend who
19:07
did. I'd go to his house to play and.
19:12
He's the same friend who took me into the laundromat, not to
19:14
teach me, but. To play while I watched.
19:18
And honestly, that was enough, because watching him chase a
19:21
high score, watching him get his initials on the board, felt like
19:24
witnessing something important. I remember waiting for
19:29
Saturdays. Not because of morning cartoons,
19:32
not because of Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
19:36
Or not even though they have. Saturday Wrestling.
19:40
It was laundry day. I asked my mom if I could take.
19:44
A load. Across the street and her
19:46
knowing she could trust me because I wasn't going to
19:48
wander, she knew. Exactly where I'd be like she
19:52
start off. Taking me anyways, like come
19:56
with me to go do laundry. I'd be like, I don't want to
19:59
come with me to the laundry. I was like.
20:00
Alright, fine. And when I did.
20:02
I realized. I should have said yes the first
20:05
time. And the reason why she told me
20:10
to go is because she didn't want me to stay at home.
20:13
She knew I didn't want to stay at home either, so she took me
20:18
with her to do laundry because LA home wasn't safe at all, to
20:25
me at least. So she took me with her to do
20:30
laundry and I just sat there watching and then I realized.
20:36
Hey, there's Arcade. And then I'd be like, mom, can I
20:39
have some money for arcade? And she's like, yeah, here.
20:43
But I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do any.
20:44
I didn't put any money in there. I just watched.
20:46
Thank you for the little up. Sparks appreciate that.
20:54
Eventually I tried playing myself, but only when no one was
20:58
around because you didn't want to embarrass.
21:01
Yourself. You didn't want someone.
21:03
Watching you lose. At the same spot you lost last
21:06
time. I always die in the same place
21:09
and every time. And then that moment, digging
21:12
deep into your pockets while the timer comes down, searching for
21:15
another quarter. The anxiety.
21:18
Of learning you're. One step away from continuing
21:21
the game or another fail attempt.
21:23
The anxiety. The anxiety.
21:28
Oh, where is it? Oh no.
21:31
Oh no. I'm so sorry.
21:33
It's OK, It's fine. You're good.
21:36
It's better now. It's better now.
21:38
Trust me. You learn from your trauma and
21:44
there's a bunch of stuff that happened when I was a child and
21:49
then you know. It made me a better person.
21:55
Amen to that. The anxiety of trying to work
21:59
for 1/4 and not finding one but you have quarters for the
22:05
laundry. So you have.
22:06
To sit still, you can't do that because if you miss 1/4, you
22:11
don't have 1/4 anymore. You'd have to go.
22:13
Across the street again. Travel.
22:17
And tell your mom, hey, I need. Quarters.
22:19
It's like what happened to the quarters I gave you.
22:22
I gave you exact quarters. You've spent it on the machine,
22:27
didn't you? Yeah, fine.
22:35
So you couldn't find 1, so you let the timer run out and it
22:39
was. The most?
22:40
Excruciating pain ever watching the timer run out, like oh man,
22:45
I could have done it, I could have beat it and now you
22:48
couldn't have. But you watch the numbers lock
22:53
in wondering did I do enough to make the board or not?
22:59
Then the laundry is done and you think maybe next weekend better
23:03
hang that laundry up to dry. There's no, yeah, I'm not doing
23:09
that. We we have to find quarters.
23:13
And we and I did. She did.
23:19
So you're thinking maybe next weekend because Monday's coming
23:22
and when you go back to school. You tell your.
23:24
Friends about the games you played.
23:27
They give you tips, moves, secrets and you hold on to those
23:30
all. Week until Saturday.
23:32
Comes back around and you try again.
23:36
That's what a third place was. It wasn't just where you played.
23:41
It was where you learned, where you waited, where you watched.
23:45
Where you built confidence quietly.
23:52
I posted another video and I asked people what kind of games
23:58
they played, Lala Gunning says. I was a player.
24:01
I started with Pac-Man. Till this day I can still open a
24:04
can of whoop ass. Jane says I can't remember we.
24:09
Had any arcades over here? And if we had it must have been
24:12
in them bigger cities. I see.
24:16
Red says I love. Playing at the arcades.
24:19
I played with my brother as a kid and now I play with my son.
24:22
Love that. As you.
24:27
Should as you should. 3rd. Place, it was always something
24:32
to look forward. To that's the part people forget
24:36
1/3. Place wasn't just somewhere you
24:38
went, it was someone. Something.
24:41
That waited for you just like this podcast just.
24:48
Like going live. Here, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify,
24:55
Twitter, anywhere that has a live.
24:57
Stream. It's somewhere that you want to
25:00
belong, somewhere where you want.
25:03
To spend the rest of the day. A place where you didn't have to
25:07
buy a ticket to belong, You didn't have to earn your seat,
25:11
you didn't have to explain. Why you were there?
25:15
For me, those places. Were comic shops arcades?
25:19
Pokémon Tables. Magic the Gathering Games.
25:23
Spread across chip counters. Places where my nerd heart could
25:27
finally exhale. I could finally breathe.
25:32
I could finally say this is where I belong, where I could
25:38
feel like a kid again, sitting on top of a dryer, watching
25:42
teenagers crowd around a machine that wasn't supposed.
25:44
To be there but. Somehow always was.
25:49
That's what made those places special.
25:51
They weren't designed for magic, it just happened to have magic,
25:57
and there aren't many spaces like that anymore.
26:01
I used to work at a Panera once. I was just, it was described.
26:07
As you know, you. Work here like a.
26:10
Cafe like a cafe used to be where?
26:14
You let the people. Sit, eat, hang out.
26:20
Wi-Fi is free. Chill.
26:25
If they want to hang out on the couches, let them.
26:28
We have coffee. We.
26:30
Have espresso. We have big tables.
26:33
We have. Soft lighting.
26:37
They can stay here for however many hours they can stay.
26:42
One of our coworkers stayed a while because he.
26:49
He hasn't yet told his mom that he got fired.
26:53
So he stuck around. He hung out.
26:55
With us. The entire time looking for jobs
26:58
here. He could come back anytime, just
27:02
you know. It was awkward.
27:06
Sometimes you don't even know you'll miss a place until it's
27:08
gone. Exactly same.
27:11
Like I have a few of those. Like I miss a place and it's
27:15
gone, but Panera you could sit. There for.
27:21
Hours and not buy a thing. No one rushed you out.
27:24
No one asked. Why you were there still except
27:27
for? One of the coworkers.
27:29
Why are you? Still here.
27:31
Like, you know, like you just Why are you even here when
27:34
you're you, You're not. You don't even work anymore.
27:36
You don't. Even go here anymore.
27:38
You don't even go here. You know why?
27:42
Are you still here? Because I.
27:44
Don't want to go home? Is it felt like a safe place to
27:49
be at and it. Was for some people.
27:53
I didn't want it to be for me. I wanted to go somewhere else.
27:59
Libraries were quiet. You had to sit still.
28:01
Lower your voice. Disappear into a book again,
28:05
another place where you can. Just sit there and just.
28:07
Chill for a minute, that's fine. But arcades?
28:12
Arcades were different. That's where you.
28:15
Let your inner child come out. Or you could yell cheer.
28:18
Groan. Celebrate a stranger.
28:21
Like they were your. Best friend, No one told you be
28:24
quiet. No one told you calm down.
28:27
Except for when you're in the laundromat and all these people
28:30
are giving you the stink face. The laundromat.
28:37
Was my third place. Before I even knew what a third
28:39
place. Was it's gone now?
28:44
I don't even remember when it disappeared, but every time I
28:46
walk into a restaurant with a single.
28:48
Arcade cabinet or a real arcade? Or the screaming monkey with
28:52
that machine still humming in the corner.
28:55
That feeling comes back. Belonging, quiet, joy, being a
29:01
part of something without having to explain yourself.
29:07
I think we lost something when everything became instant
29:10
access. I can't fully describe it, but
29:14
back then, when I was playing or even just watching, I was happy.
29:21
I wasn't thinking about home, I wasn't thinking about school.
29:24
I wasn't thinking about my mental health.
29:27
I wasn't thinking about my abusive father.
29:29
I was locked in mentally and physically.
29:34
That space taught me how to. Cheer for others.
29:36
Sometimes silently, sometimes out loud.
29:41
And if I could go? Back I had talked to that kid.
29:44
Sitting on top. Of the dryer.
29:46
I'd tell him keep dreaming, it gets better.
29:52
The future is bright. You got this, but still keep
29:56
dreaming. There will be more arcades, more
30:01
games, and one day you'll tell these stories on a podcast.
30:06
You'll share them on stream and people will listen.
30:11
People will be in the stream cheering you on, sending you,
30:16
being a community, your community.
30:24
That's what I love about this. Now when I need the same feeling
30:31
of belonging, I go live, I stream, I sit behind a mic and.
30:36
Talk. I talk.
30:38
I talk. Talk, talk, talk.
30:40
I whisper. I do all the things.
30:45
This is my third place now. This is our third.
30:47
Place. This is my quarter on the
30:49
machine and I just keep putting it down, not just for me, but
30:55
for anyone else who's been standing in the back of the room
30:58
watching, waiting, trying to feel ready if this space.
31:04
Feels like a loud lighthouse to you.
31:07
Good. Because I'll always leave the
31:09
light on. Hi all.
31:24
Right, that's where. We're going to leave it for this
31:26
one. This episode was about.
31:30
Having all the. Answers.
31:31
It was about. Listening about, noticing the
31:34
places that held us when. Life felt loud or.
31:36
Heavy or just confusing? And honestly, I don't know what
31:41
the next episode is going to be about yet.
31:45
I don't. And I kind of love that because
31:49
the comments, the stories, the memories you've been sharing
31:51
about your. 3rd place is. That's the road map.
31:57
I don't know. Maybe next time we'll, well, I
32:01
can't speak tonight, can't compute next.
32:05
Maybe next time we'll talk. About blockbuster or school?
32:10
Hallways and cafeterias or a Virgin Megastore with the
32:14
headphones still worn from the last person.
32:20
There are wipies in there. Or a coffee shop you.
32:22
Stayed in way too long. Or your friend's house.
32:26
You know why wasn't that the first thing he said?
32:29
The one you went to when home didn't feel safe, quiet or OK?
32:36
That's the first one I should have done, but I wanted to start
32:39
here. That's the magic of the series.
32:42
The destination changes, but the feeling stays the same.
32:47
What I want to do moving forward?
32:49
Is take these places. Yours and mine and sit with
32:53
them. Short episodes.
32:57
One place at a time, letting the memory breathe in.
33:02
Letting the memory breathe instead of rushing past it.
33:07
Thank you. So keep.
33:09
Telling me about your third places.
33:11
Where'd you spend the most time when you were a kid, a teenager,
33:18
an adult trying to figure things out?
33:21
Where did you go when you needed to belong, even if you don't
33:25
know that's where you were looking for?
33:28
Where'd you go? Tell me.
33:33
If the nostalgia just hits you as hard as it.
33:35
Hit me This episode starts something good.
33:38
Have your quietly comforting Share your story?
33:42
Drop it in the comments. Tag the friend who always had
33:45
the. Quarters ready?
33:46
Send it in a message and if this unlock the memory share it and
33:51
leave it like 1/4 in the machine a sign.
33:54
That you were here. And before we go, take a breath
33:59
with. Me.
34:03
Whatever today handed you, stress, noise, wins, losses.
34:08
You don't have to carry all of it into tomorrow.
34:13
Thank you for spending this time here in my third.
34:15
Place. Not home, not work, just.
34:20
Space where we show up as ourselves.
34:25
Take care of each other, take care of yourself.
34:28
This is the empty podcast where community creativity in a place
34:32
where we leave the light on always come together.
34:38
I'll see you next time.