The Smallest Bone

Babysitting Horror Stories - TSB 004

My parents always had an appreciation for our wildness. Sometimes I wonder how they survived raising five kids. My siblings - Ben, Jon, Sarah, Susan and I were shaped by a household always teetering between chaos and wonder. Most times our play was spirited and mischievous, but our parents enjoyed observing our imagination at work finding ways to let us express our creativity in safety and consideration of others. But, the line between wonder and chaos was a fine one, and when my parents would be away, employing a cousin or neighbor to babysit us, that line virtually disappeared. Play became un-playful, experimentation became destruction, and pranks no longer resembled friendly fun. It was like our babysitters were test dummies for us to experiment with morality and build an understanding of what is right, but more significantly, wrong. These are my families babysitting horror stories.

A Puppy's Roar - TSB 003

At 22 years old, Josiah Hesse was a drop-out artist looking for work in Iowa. He was familiar with the ins and outs of odd jobs and part time labor, so when offered a position delivering puppies to pet stores across the eastern half of the United States, it was hard to resist. Not only would he be able to spend time with adorable puppies, but he’d be granted the opportunity to explore the major eastern cities he had dreamed about in his adolescence. It sounded too good to be true. When accepting the position, he had no idea he would be committing a crime. Immediately when arriving on the job to pick up the first round of puppies, Josiah was confronted with the cold and cruel reality of dog breeding and puppy mills. His story is filled with social, political, and personal crossroads, blending Josiah’s developing awareness of the mistreatment of animals in commercial breeding facilities, with his own coming of age. Josiah now writes for Vice Magazine, the Canabist and Splitsider. This story is based off an article he wrote for Vice which you can read here: http://www.vice.com/read/i-worked-for-a-puppy-mill-915 I highly recommend reading this article. It goes far more in depth about the political atmosphere that enables this sort of animal abuse to exist. It’s a very complex and impressive piece of writing which inspired this episode. The pictures of puppy mills were contributed by the Iowa Friends of Companion Animals, an organization working to raise awareness about commercial dog breeding in Iowa and advance the humane and responsible treatement of pets. You can learn more about Iowa Friends of Companion Animals here: www.wp.iafriends.org Music on this episode by: Johnny_Ripper, Felipe Sonzana, duncan avoid, Jaan Patterson, Jed Hershon, Bleak House, deef and C.Scott.

The Blanket Underneath It All - TSB 002

After a terrible car accident when Jesse was sixteen, he was put in a drug induced coma with little chance of living. He slept for almost two months. In this episode Jesse reflects on some of the terrifying and claustrophobic dreams he experienced, and the darkness which enveloped them - a darkness which has strongly impacted Jesse's waking life and spirituality. Music on this episode by: junior85 Tony Higgins Nasienie Dexter Britain

An Angel And An Avalanche - TSB 001

Rebecca Selig is a professional free skier who lives in Vail, Colorado. In January 2014, she and three companions embarked on a backcountry ski trip in an attempt to capture photographs of them leaping off various cliffs in the area. The area they decided to ski was one they were not very familiar with though and as they descended down the mountain - two skiers situating themselves in the trees below a series of cliffs to shoot photos of Rebecca and another skier jumping off of them – they quickly realized they were in a dangerous situation. Before the avalanche broke, they anticipated it. Rebecca held onto a tree right when the avalanche broke above her, and a tidal wave of snow raced down the mountain ripping her from the tree and over the cliffs below. When the avalanche passed, Rebecca was standing straight up, perched on a small ledge twenty feet above the ground. She must have fallen forty-feet before landing on the small ledge, but miraculously was uninjured. Her friends were not as lucky. One of her companions was swept away by the avalanche and killed instantly when colliding with a tree. In this episode, Rebecca recalls her experience of that day, reflecting on her relationship to death, both when personally encountering it in the avalanche, but also discovering her friend dead afterward. Music on this episode by: Yacht Indian Wells Cancelled Gillicuddy Tony Higgins