From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: A Xennial Girl Summer Re-Read

If you've ever fantasized what life would be like secretly living in a museum, then you might have been a childhood fan of this week's re-read: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. 

We discuss this classic children's book that Dani has always loved, and Katie read for the first time. Was it one of your favorites?

Don't miss any of our books and movies in our Xennial Girl Summer series, 2026.

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Transcript

Museum Runaway Comfort Wish List

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Also, she made sure she found a fancy bed to sleep in. She figured that shit out. She figured out how to bathe. Totally would do that. Um, I'm also with her on like, I would like to eat in the fancy restaurant with a fountain. Especially in New York City.

Welcome To Generation In Between

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast where we remember, revisit, and sometimes relearn and today reread all kinds of things from being 80s kids and 90s teens. My name is Danny. Hi, everyone, I'm Katie. And today it is the next installment in our Xennial Girl Summer Book Club. Yes. So I hope that some of you have read this book with us and are ready to hear all about it. If you haven't, go do that before you listen to the episode because there'll be spoilers aplenty. Left and right. We're just gonna spoil this book. Spoil this book that's been out since like the 60s. But correct. Uh uh today we're gonna talk about the one of my favorite books from when I was a kid. I can't even tell you how many times I read this book. Um, and it is from the mixed-up files of Miss Basil E. Frankweiler. Fun fact, I have said that word wrong. I said basil E. Frankweiler for all these years until recently. So I will probably mess that up. Um, also, I mess up her last name. The author's name is E. L. Koningsberg. And I thought it was E. L. Koingsberg. Like I just respelled her whole last name. Like Koningsberg. It's Koningsberg. K-O-N-I-G-S Berg, B-U-R-G. I thought it was, well, I don't know. It's wrong. I realized as I was typing, I'm spelling it the way I thought it was in my brain. And I was like, Daddy, you are mislabeling all kinds of people in this genre. So have you read this book before now? No, I've never read it. Oh my gosh. I don't know how you missed it. That and Ramona?

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know how I missed it. I think I was trying to read Sweet Valley Twins. And your kids never read it either. Not that I'm aware of. I guess maybe there's a chance they read it at school that I didn't know of. It's like one Tegan would get her hands on. Yeah. I'm gonna have to have her read it. She I'm gonna have to borrow 11. I'm gonna have to borrow yours.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

Yeah, you can. Um, so uh all right. I'm trying to think where to start. So let's start with the summary then. Okay. Okay. Did you did you finish the book? I finished the book. Okay, Katie was like last night after rehearsal, she's like, I got 25 minutes left on the audiobook. And um, I mean it's not a very long book, but it was longer than Ramona. It was. I think the audio was three and a half hours. Yeah, something like that. So you you listened to it. I did. So I did half and half. Um, I started off listening to it because I was running out of time, and then I was like, this isn't the same. Like for me, I was it was just like Ramona. I was like, I want it to be the same as when I read it as a kid and also read to my kids because of course I read all my favorite books to my kids and they both remembered it. Like, wow. Uh I asked Caden, I was like, You remember this book? And he's like, Oh yeah, about the kids in the museum. And I was like, Yes. Yes, that's the one. And it's always for for parents, for people who aren't parents, or maybe your kids are super tiny and you haven't got to the stage yet. It was one of the joys of parenting for me to introduce my kids to my favorite childhood books. And then, like, I my favorite thing was reading like the Shell Silverstein poems and books, and then Harry Potter. Now, I obviously was not a child when this came out, but when I it was time for Harry Potter series, because I read those as an adult. Right. So they were still so fresh. I couldn't wait and think I was like, if all right, if my kids do not love this series like I did, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Like, I do not know how I'm gonna handle it. I was fine if they didn't like Ramon. Most of the time they did. Like, I remember one of my kids loved the when we talked about Beverly Cleary, we talked about the Ralph S. Mause series. Yes. One of them loved that series, and one of them was kind of like, whatever. Um, Caden loved anything that somebody would read to him. He didn't care what it was. Like, he was just like, read me all the things. He was like a one more chapter please kind of kid. Oh cute. So it so like bedtime took a long time because I'm a huge reader and I would get so excited. And if he'd be like, one more, I'd be like, okay, all right. But when Troy would go in to read, they wouldn't ask him for more because it's not the same. But it was mostly me. It was mostly me. Yeah. But anyway, okay. So should we talk about it and then you tell me what you think about it? Yeah, and I mean it may come up as we're talking about it anyway. Okay, yeah.

Claudia Runs Away To The Met

SPEAKER_00 4:38

So let me give you the summary first. Um, here it is. When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson and Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort. She would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because he was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie had some ideas too. So the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems. She felt just the same and she wanted to feel different. And she found a statue at the museum so beautiful she could not go home until she discovered its maker. A question that baffled the experts too. The former owner of the statue was Miss Basilie Frankweiler. Without her, well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home. Hmm. I love that summary. That's a really good summary. I know. I didn't write it, guys. It's from the the interwebs. The interwebs. Um, this book was written by E. L. Koning Koningsberg, um, and it was published in 1967. Wow. Yeah. Uh it is like super well known, super well beloved, even to this day. It won the Newberry Medal in 1968. And in 2021, it was voted by Time magazine as the best YA novel of all time. Really? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, and I would say a YA novel, like on the younger end. I think so too.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

Yeah, because it it doesn't really de delve into what we would consider maybe those angsty things. Yeah. It's definitely does deal with like independence and identity and all of that and curiosity, obviously. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Like the preteen, like Claudia's a 12, just turned 12. 11, 10, 11, 12, I think is like 10, 11, 9, because Jamie's nine. Right. The brother's nine. She's older. Yeah. And it's just, it's such a fun book. It's just the way that she writes is very similar to how like Judy Bloom, Beverly Cleary. It's so in touch with kids, and also in a way that as you're even if you're an adult reading it, it's still funny. Yeah. And like you, you understand the character's point of uh view.

E L Konigsburg Backstory And Awards

SPEAKER_00 6:54

So before we talk about the book, let's talk about the author for a second. So E. L. Koningsberg is really Elaine Lobel Koningsburg. She was born February 10th, 1930. Oh, I know. And she died uh April 19th, 2013. Okay. She was born in New York, but she grew up in a small Pennsylvania town, and she was the second born of three daughters. So she was a middle child, which might explain why you know she was good at writing about running away and all the things. Yes. Um, she was an avid reader uh her whole life, although, and in her family, she said that reading was only tolerated and not sanctioned, like dusting furniture or baking cookies.

SPEAKER_03 7:35

Uh because you gotta think of the time she was growing up. Yeah, the 1930s. I mean, there's probably more to worry about reading was cons and still is considered leisure, even though we know it's like way better for us and our brains than other types of leisure, but I could see like how maybe it was considered not a priority.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Well, and not seen as something women should be doing. Yeah, I guess it's there was not a lot of investing in women's life. Uh she grew up in Paris in Pennsylvania, a smaller. Oh, Pennsylvania. Okay. Yeah. So she graduated high school, valid Victorian in Farrell, Pennsylvania. And to earn money for college, she actually worked as a bookkeeper at a meat plant. Oh, and that is where she met her future husband, David Koningsberg, and he was the brother of one of the owners. So I just thought that was cute how they met. She actually entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which is now Carnegie Mellon, um, in Pittsburgh, and she majored in chemistry. Oh, because she said she was good at it, and she was told the purpose of college was to become something like a librarian, a teacher, or a chemist. So her artistic side, she said, was essentially dormant during those years, um, which is really sad, but we can all relate to that happening because you have other things you have to do and you feel like you don't have time for that, which I think is what she felt. Um, so she graduated in 1952, and she was actually the first person in her family to earn a degree, which is pretty cool. Uh, she got married to David, and he was a grad student in psychology. So they're they're smart cookies. Yeah. Uh chemistry and psychology. Um, he was a grad student, and she started grad school in chemistry, which is crazy, at the University of Pittsburgh for two years. But then when he graduated, they moved to Jacksonville, Florida after he got his um doctorate. So that's kind of sad because she was doing school and then I was kind of like, well, but it happens.

SPEAKER_03 9:29

And I'm sure it was harder back then too to like switch schools in the middle of what you were doing, yeah, and still get your credits and you know what I mean. You probably essentially have to like start over on that particular degree. Yeah. Who knows?

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Who knows? We don't know. Um, and then you know, again, societal expectations was once you were married, you were expected to be the one to stay home, take care of the kids, take care of the house. That's just how it was. And I hate that, but you know. But she actually worked once they moved. She worked as a science teacher at the the Bartram School for Girls until 1955. And that's when she had her first kid. Okay. And um, she had three kids, actually, Paul, Lori, and Ross. Which Ross. Yeah, that's fun. Um, so she was working, she was teaching, she had a she had her first baby, so she stayed home to take care of them. Um, but after the f after she had two kids, before she had her third, she began um starting taking a painting class at an adult education place. You know, where like you can like community centers where they have adult classes. So she started doing that, which is amazing. Um in 1962, her and her family moved to Port Chester and Greater New York, and she just continued taking art lessons while she was there. She was like, wait a minute, I like this, I want to keep going. And once she had her third baby, and that third child started school in the mornings after they all went to school, she started writing every morning. Oh, I love it. Yeah. So not only was she doing art classes, she also started writing. And I love that she found ways to fit it in, even amidst being the stay-at-home parent and the mom and doing all the things, especially during this time where you know men weren't expected to help with anything at home. Right. Uh, which is bullshit, but that's fine. So her first children's novel that she wrote was titled Jennifer. Okay, you're gonna have to tell me how to say this word before I say title. H-E-C-A-T-E. Say it again. H-E-C-A-T-E. I know that's a famous literary figure. I don't know, remember if that's Shakespeare or not. Yeah, maybe something. People out there are laughing at us that no history. I know anyway. It's checking something. Okay, is she gonna check it? Uh oh, what's wrong?

SPEAKER_02 11:43

I don't know. I just make me alive.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

I'll just make a note to like what do you mean?

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Oh, just freaking me out, and normally we don't we have like that bar that we know how loud we are.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Oh fart. Oh, but click on the microphone at the end at the bottom and remember that's how it looked. We found it the last time. Yep, see we're good.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Okay, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Sorry. So, okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

We're still good.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

I just wanted to be sure. I was hoping we're gonna be somehow muted, but we're not. We're not, we're not, we're not. We're good. Okay. And I will I will make a note to take that out. Don't worry. Okay. So ask me again about the name because I was a little distracted trying to figure out if you were muted. So how do you pronounce H E C A T E?

SPEAKER_01 12:36

H E C H A T. H E C A T E. C A T E. He Kate? He Kate? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

I don't know. That's what we're gonna go with. I don't know what that is. I don't know what it is. Okay, so her first kid's novel was titled Jennifer, Heckate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me Elizabeth. Very long title. She it was actually inspired by her daughter Lori's experience as the new girl in Port Chester when they moved. So she wrote a whole little story about it and it was published in 1967. Okay, that same year is the year that this book from the mixed up files of Miss Basley Frankweiler came out. Okay. So she had her first two books published in the same year. Dang. Isn't that wild? Yeah. So both kids' books, obviously. Um, she's actually one of seven authors to win two Newberry medals. Wow. I know. Um, she got one for this book in 1968, so the next year that it after it came out, and another for the book A View from Saturday, which came out in 1997. Uh, what's it called? A View. A View from Saturday. Okay. I think I've heard of that one. Yeah. Um, and she's the only uh author to have one work win the Newberry Medal the same year as another book of hers is The Runner-Up. So so, and it was her first two books. So from From the Mixed Up Files, won the Newberry in 1968, and the runner-up for the winner was Jennifer Hickate, that long title.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

Wow. Okay. If I were her, I would have been like, damn, I should have done them different years. But like, isn't that still pretty to have your two works that you've only published?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

They're not, they're like your first two. Oh, right. Published. Right. Yeah. And not only have them nominated, and then one, and not only one, but also the the other one's the runner-out-up. She's the only author to have that happen. That's so cool. Right. So I just thought that was amazing. Um, and she actually found out about her first the these books being nominated as they were moving back from Port Chester to Jacksonville. Okay. So she somehow, I don't know, she got a phone call somewhere, like while she's moving and is probably extremely stressed out. They're like, well, guess what? Both your books are on the list. Like dang crazy. Can you imagine? Um, so that's kind of fun. And she did write some other chapter books, some some YA books. Um, and she illustrated a lot of the stuff. She illustrated the the pictures in this book, which you don't see, you didn't read the print book, so I'll show it to you when we get there. Um, she's also the writer and illustrator of three picture books that came out in the 1990s featuring her own grandchildren.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

I heard that on that thing. They mentioned it. She mentioned illustrations, and I was like, oh, I didn't realize she was an illustrator. Well, remember, she took art less. Or classes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

So those picture books are called Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors, Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions, and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdales. That sounds awesome. I want to read that one. Um, so obviously you know the name of her grandkids because there you go. Right out there. Um, so a reason I think that a lot of her books remain beloved are for some of the same reasons that Beverly Clearies do. Um, I'm gonna just read you some of the reasons that were listed. So a lot of this her stories feature childhood and and adolescent, you know, the older end of childhood spectrum. Like the struggles that are easy for school rate school age readers to understand. Like Claudia feels like not noticed. She doesn't feel, you know, she wants to feel different and grown up. Um, often her characters in all her books are striving to find answers to big questions that kind of help shape their identity, right? Which is exactly what Claudia was doing in this book. Uh, many of them she based on her own experiences as a kid, as well as observations she made as a teacher, and the experiences and observations she made with her own kids. So she got that real life inspiration, just like Beverly Cleary and Judy Bloom. Um, her characters have been described as, I love this um description, softly comfortable on the outside and solidly uncomfortable on the inside. And if that ain't adolescence, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

I love that. So she means like, for example, in this story, their home life is fine and they aren't, you know, they aren't really having any external tru struggles per se, but the struggle is internal. Yes. Okay.

unknown 17:15

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

And I like that because that's, you know, when we talked about Beverly Cleary and kids would come up to her when she was a librarian and they're like, where's the stories about just kids? Like, I don't have any major things happening. Like, where's the stories about us? Like, I'm not a Hardy boy, I'm not Nancy Drew. Like, where's just the normal? I don't live in a boxcar because I'm an orphan or whatever. Right. Yeah. So it's like, so I think she was kind of on the same page for that. Um, so another interesting thing was when she said when she was teaching at uh the Bartram School for Girls, she she learned that spoiled young women who had all the creature comforts of the world were just as uncomfortable inside as she was growing up when she didn't have those things. So um she has said this the essential problems remain the same. The kids I write about are asking for the same things that I wanted. They want two contradictory things. They want to be the same as everyone else, and they want to be different from everyone else, but they want acceptance for both. Wow. Yeah. So that's just a little bit about her and her kind of journey. She didn't have like a whole lot of crazy stuff to talk about. Um, I liked her story. I love that she the thing, she was like a chemist and then became this artist and writer. And she's obviously incredibly intelligent and can do a lot of things. So you go, girl. She's awesome. We're here for you. Okay, so let's get into some things about this book, and then we'll talk about our

Real Statue Popcorn And Movie Versions

SPEAKER_00 18:43

thoughts. And then we have discussion questions in the back of the book, which I like. So, about this book particularly, one inspiration for this book, which you I think you heard about, and they had a little um afterword in the audiobook. It's also in the print book, some of the versions. Um, but anyway, one of the inspirations for the book was a one-page story in the New York Times that was published on October 26, 1965. Um, the Metropolitan Museum had purchased a plaster and stucco statue from the Italian Renaissance time period for only $225. Now, even in today's monetary world, that is not a lot for well, you mean back then. Back then is what I meant to say. At least even it was cheap compared to how much it was probably worth. Yeah. And they talk about it in the book. So if you haven't read the book, you should, because you're not gonna understand a lot of the stuff we're talking about. Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:42

Because I think it's Jamie in the book, the the brother, who's like $225 is a lot of money. And then um Claudia kind of explains. She's like, Yeah. Yeah, but if it's worth a hundred times that, then it's not a lot of money, which would be the case, really, in general, from a statue of that era. But of course, if it was Michelangelo, yeah, then it's like millions and millions of dollars. Right. You remember that show American Pickers, did you have to do it? Which was great.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

We used to love that show, and then it became very staged and it wasn't very fun.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

I know. It was more fun when they would just like find things, and sometimes they wouldn't. Yeah. That's what I liked. I know. But now it's like they're always finding something. And I think one of the guys is like a super problem.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

Yeah, I don't know. We'll come back to that one day. Yeah, one day. Um, not too much. Anyway, another inspiration for this book was Elaine's own children's complaints while they were on vacation at Yellowstone National Park. Oh my god. And she said, if they ever ran away, they would certainly never consider any place less elegant than the Metro Metropolitan Museum of Arts. Well, there's that part, and I actually thought of you.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

I know. I think Claudia's thinking of where she wants to run away. Yeah. And to herself, she's like, well, it has to be inside. Oh yeah. Period. No bugs. No bugs, has to be comfortable, has to like have a way to like have a bed, like all the things.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Me. And that's probably why I love this book so much. When I was a kid, I'm like, yeah, girl, that's true. That is yucky. Nobody wants to sleep outside. But yeah, let's run away. But also have all the creature comforts of home. So a few months um after her death in 2013, her son Paul told a story at the what I see. I keep wanting to say it's metropolitan, but I keep wanting to say something else. Anyway, Museum of Art. They had a memorial gathering there in her honor, which I just really love. Oh. Um, so during the mid-60s, Elaine would attend art classes, like actually at that museum. That's so cool. And while she was going to her class, she would just drop off Paul and his siblings to go explore while she was in her class. I mean, it was the 60s, guys. Like it's fine. It's fine. Um, and after her class, she would find them and then they would go exploring together. And during one such visit, she saw just a single piece of popcorn on the floor next to like this fancy piece of furniture, which was completely blocked off to public. Public access. Like it wasn't like you walked by and dropped it. It was like completely blocked off, and there was just one piece of popcorn. And so he said he remembers his mom wondering aloud, like, where did that popcorn come from? Like, how did it get there? And it was in that moment he believes that she solidly formed the complete idea for the book. Oh, that's so crazy. I know. I love it. I love it. Um, so the two, the author's two younger children, Lori and Ross, who turned 11 and 9 in think of those ages, in 1967, they posed for the illustrations of Claudia and Jamie in this book. And I'm gonna show you the pictures in a second. Um, and they had a neighbor named Anita who lived in their neighborhood in an apartment. She posed as Miss Frank Weiler. Fun! So let me see if I can find so here's Okay, so here's one of them on the bus. You can just kind of go through and look at the pictures and show people if you want.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

I love them on the bus. Yeah. If you're on the YouTube, oh yeah, you can kind of see.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

You can see pictures. So she was a really great artist, too. It's really well done. Yeah. So her kids and her neighbor sat for the illustrations in the book. So so cool. I'm trying to see if Miss Frank Ryler doesn't come until the end. Oh, yeah, that's true. So they go to her.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

Well, actually, I think there's one of her in the beginning. Let me see. Okay, look and see. Because I was thinking if you're the neighbor, I don't know, you probably want it to look a certain way. Ah. Well, I mean, she's an older lady. So older lady. Yeah. I think that's about how I thought she would look.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Yeah. A crotchety old lady, pretty much. Yeah. I mean, I know, I know. Um, so speaking of Miss Frankweiler, the character of Miss Frank Weiler was based on headmistress Olga Pratt, who was at the Bartram School for Girls where she once taught. She said this. Miss Pratt was not wealthy, but she was a matter-of-fact person, kind but firm. Love a bitchy, I think is what she really wanted to say. Yeah. Little bitch, but nice on the inside. Yeah. Um, so the only other thing I have to tell you guys is there was two film adaptations made of this book. In 1973, Ingrid Bergman starred as Miss Miss Basilie Frankweiler. Fun in the movie adaptation. That was like a movie. But then they made a made-for-tv movie um in 1995 called, I mean, not called, Lauren Bacall was Miss Miss Basilie Frankweiler. Okay. And I that's the one I remember. And it stays really true to the book, except for a couple things. I can't remember. I've seen both of these. And one of them, they make Jamie like get really sick. Like he gets a bad cold and he has a fever and stuff, and that's what makes them try to go find Miss Frank Weiler. I don't know. But also, the Lauren Bacall movie was renamed The Hideaways. So if you go look for it, it's not called from the mix-up files of Miss Basley and Frank Weiler. It's called The Hideaways. So that's it. That's all my little fun facts for this book. Okay.

Did We Miss The Grandpa Twist

SPEAKER_03 24:55

So tell me, did you like it? What did you think? I did really like it. Yeah, I mean, it's just funny, right? I'm sure you had the same thoughts that like this is not ever something that could happen now. Oh, I know. Right? I know. The cameras and just tracking of people like kids literally disappear for a couple weeks. And are, you know, and obviously the money is funny because everything's so inexpensive. Like they go with $24 total or something like that. And then they're just sort of stealing change out of the fountain to keep paying for things. I loved how her brother was like so like tight with the money. I know. I thought that there was a part in there, I I rewound it and listened to it twice where Claudia says she's glad she picked Jamie because Claudia was cautious about everything but money. Yes. And he was cautious about money, but nothing else. Nothing else. Like he was an adventurer. So they were like a good pair. Um, but yeah, I liked it. I honestly I was gonna ask you about a plot point. I didn't quite understand. Okay. The person she's writing to is their grandfather.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

It's her lawyer, yeah. And that that was kind of just like a reveal at the end. She says at the end, like, a secret they don't know, Saxonberg, is that you've been my lawyer for 40 years. It was just a weird connection. Like they went to her house, but they didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 26:12

Okay, so they're not like his long-lost grandchildren. No, no, no, no. He's I that's what I thought was happening. Like, no, like he's been like looking for them or something. I don't know. I thought too much into it. No, no, no, no. So she's explaining the story, and then she's like, by the way, I'm talking about your grandkids. Yeah, pretty much. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

And she's like, they don't know, like, she never told them like, hey, I know him. Yeah. And I think if I remember, she's like, once I die, you can tell, you know, whatever. But like because she was like, a surprise that they don't know is that you've been my lawyer for 40 years.

SPEAKER_03 26:42

Okay. Okay. Got it. Got it. So, well, I mean, that's good. I guess it's in their best interest that the lawyer's gonna Well, and you know what?

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Sh that's explained at the end. So if you were listening late last night, yeah, your brain may have just not fully correct, took it in. Yeah, and that's probably what it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, that that was the and I forgot about that. Yeah. I did, and I'm like, I've read this book so many times. And I as soon as she said it, I was like, oh right, that's their grandpa. Like sacks. And she's kind of mean to him.

SPEAKER_03 27:09

Oh, yeah, she's she's a bitch. She's like, I would take you because you need culture or like whatever. I don't know. It was just like, I was like, is this her husband? But it's her lawyer. Yeah. But I just I was like, wow, but maybe that's just how she interacted with the world because of being smart and wealthy and kind of on her own and not caring. Right. Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

But I did love at the end how they were like, oh, we can be her grandkids. And they were like, she's gonna be the first person to be a grandmother without ever being a mother first. That was so cute.

SPEAKER_03 27:38

I'm like, oh that was so cute. I loved that. Okay, so you liked this book. I did like it. I liked it a lot. And I think you're right. I think my youngest would really

Could Kids Still Hide In A Museum

SPEAKER_03 27:47

like it.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

It's a fun, it's just something that's fun to reread is that piece of, yeah, this could never happen. I mean, first of all, security cameras, like hello. I mean, when was that? When did that start being a thing? Where security like the 80s? Where we had the technology?

SPEAKER_03 28:05

I feel like museums might have had a low level of that. But I think what was what was saving them, because did they mention it? Maybe they didn't, but that there may have been some external ones. But as long as they weren't leaving, because they say something about how the museum is protected against burglars coming from the outside. Well, because they have the guards. Okay. So maybe that's what they meant. They have the guards, and they even had a night guard. But if you're already in there, they don't see you coming or going, and then they would only leave or come when it was open. Right. So I don't know. But that's just the I'm sure by like the mid-70s there was something in place for museums. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

I and it's and did you s did you hear them saying like in the story, it's like, oh yeah, security like upped at the m at the museum after that. It happened in real life too, after this book came out. Really? Because all these kit and like the attendance at the museum went up greatly too um after this book was published. That's the one the uh the newberry. And she said it's not free anymore.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

No, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Which nothing is.

SPEAKER_03 29:07

Actually, most of the DC museums are still free. Yeah, almost all of them are and I know like in big cities, and I'm sure New York's the same, they do have like certain days and times that things are free. Yeah. It's just not like all the time access, except for like the Smithsonians and that in DC.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

But yeah, yeah, I mean, I loved this book. Do you okay? First of all, I already said one of the reasons I love this book so much is because I also would be like Claudia if I wanted to run away. I remember one time when I was as a kid, I was like being dramatic. And I don't know what I don't know why I was being dramatic. I was like, I'm running away. Packed myself a little bag, and my mom, no, like, you know, parents be like, Yeah, this girl. She was like, Okay, like you can run away, but like, see you later. And like I was pissed. I was like, nobody is making a big deal that I'm about to run away. How dare! Yeah, like they did not care. And so I'm like walking down the street, I'm like halfway down the street, and then I'm like, it's really hot. Right? And then I was like, wait a minute, where am I actually going? Like, where am I going to? Um, okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:11

And I had to like go back home. Right. Because they knew, yeah. I mean, I don't know that I ever did that. I know a couple of my kids have done that on occasion, and they get not far at all. Um the one thing I I wondered, and I'll see what you think. So they choose this specific museum that's a real museum that has like so many things. There really wasn't that much talk of what's in the museum. A little bit.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Well, they did, because they went around and they were learning. Remember all the things. So they took it.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

They were, but even then it just felt like I don't know, like I would have written about way more stuff in the museum. But that really wasn't what the story was. Right. But then if you pick a real place, you see what I'm saying? Like it could have been a made-up museum, and then that would have made sense. But since it's a real place, I don't know. I just kind of felt like I would have written about so many more things.

SPEAKER_00 31:02

But I don't think kids would won't care. Well, that might be true. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like as a grown-up book, sure. Yeah. But when you're writing for nine, ten, eleven-year-olds, yeah. I think it was just enough to be like, oh, we went to the mummies and the sarcophagus, and then we learned about this, and then we figured out this. I feel like she did a good job throwing in, and maybe just because I read it so many times, like she and there's a map in the front of the museum. Or maybe it's on the back. And I feel like it was just enough, especially for me as a kid. I was like, oh, that's interesting. Oh, that's cool. And I could visualize it just enough, but the main point of the story was what they were doing there. True. And then when their sh their focus shifted to the statue, that's all they could think about. Right. That was their main focus. They weren't trying to see everything. And she even says that, well, what if we stopped learning about everything and just focused on learning about this one piece? Mm-hmm. So and I mean, this book is what, a hundred and something, 160 pages.

SPEAKER_03 32:02

I mean, I guess that's part of it too, because it's for younger audiences anyway.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Yeah. But yeah, that's true. It's hard. I mean, like, you gotta think about like reading it as a kid. Like, you're probably not gonna wanna dive deep in the it's like um the Magic Treehouse books. Yeah. I feel like they throw in just enough history.

SPEAKER_03 32:18

That's a good comparison because it's like they're missing a lot, but the point is to get you intrigued enough to learn a few things about whatever the topic is. Yeah. And then maybe you go on your own and learn more, or even if you don't, at least you learn something about whatever that real life thing was. Yeah. Jack and Annie, Jack and Annie, Magic Treehouse. Jack and Annie. I did really like and I've been thinking about it a lot, actually, since the first time I, you know, a few days ago heard it read in the book.

Why Adventure Still Feels The Same

SPEAKER_03 32:46

When Claudia is really struggling with not feeling different. Oh, yeah. How the thing she planned out and this like sort of romanticize isn't making her feel the way she expected.

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

And boy, that's a kid thing for sure. I remember feeling like that a kid a lot. But adults too. Oh my gosh. Like, you know, like is cliched is like, it's about the journey, not the destination, right? But but that is kind of true because you try to accomplish something or get somewhere, and it's not that that thing doesn't make you happy, but you're kind of like, well, I'm exactly the same.

SPEAKER_00 33:25

You're like saying this is it. You know what I compare it to too is like your wedding. Like, there's all this buildup, even if you don't have a big wedding, like we got married in Vegas, but still, there's all this buildup to getting married, and then you get married and it's like, okay, we're still the same. Yeah. We're just like we were yesterday, but that there was like a party that we had. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of what you know, and it's like, why am I? I don't feel any different. It's like, or turning 21. Right. You're like, okay, I can go legally drink now, but I'm still feel exactly the same as I did when I was 20. It is like that.

SPEAKER_03 33:59

And and I did I did like how, at least in this book, that made Claudia say, Well, that's because I must not have done the thing yet that this journey is about, right? So, which, you know, in real life, yes, that can be the case, that there's more, or it could just be like you're just the same, and no experience that you have is necessarily gonna change you. Yeah. It's the things that like you aren't planning that change you, right? Like the people you meet or the experiences you have along the route. But um, I did think that was cool because that also made them sort of shift their focus too, right? Like, okay, we've done the thing, we successfully ran away, we're taking care of ourselves in New York City, but at least, I mean, I don't think Jamie cared that much. He was having a grand old time. He was just there for the party days. Claudia was bothered by that. Yeah. Like, why don't I feel like a different person? Or whatever, however, I felt like I was supposed to feel.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

I think because she and she's also at that age, she's 12, where you want everything to just be a big deal. That everything is just to be a big deal, and it's like, why is this not a big deal? Like, what do you mean? Like, and I think that's why she was so drawn to the statue. It's because she's like, this is it. This could be the big deal. Solving this mystery is gonna change me forever, and I'm gonna, whatever. Like, that's gonna be why we did this, you know. This is gonna make me different, Claudia. Like, right. Okay, okay, let's discussion

Maps Illustrations And Thrift Book Mishap

SPEAKER_00 35:30

questions. Discussion. I mean, these are for these are for young kids.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

I still think they're fun. I was thinking about that when we did it for the last. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:37

Okay. They also had the fun, the fun thing is too, they also had activities. Um, okay, wait. I want to show you the map. It says it's in chapter four. Hold on.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Chapter four has the map. So I want to show you because I wonder how different it is today. Yeah, I I should have thought about that. And look, that's them naked in the fountain. You can't see nothing. Oh, that's funny. Next to all the like naked stuff. This picture always made me crack up when I was a kid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Cause like, which one's them and which one's a statue? Yeah. Um let me find the map, guys. So, I mean, she did say in that like updated forward or whatever it was that she said the parts of the museum that had changed. Okay. Yeah. I can't we can't read that.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

We need reading glasses, but it's the main floor and the second floor, which when I was a kid reading this book, I would go back to this map to see where they were. Like, oh, that's where they spent the night. Oh, yeah, when they were on the field trip, they were in the Egyptian art place. Oh, where's the bathrooms? That's where they were, you know, like the fountain.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

Honestly, if I had been like reading, reading it and not listening to it, I would have done the same thing. Yeah. Even as an adult. Yeah, it's like. I'd have been like, well, where is this in comparison to like what they're talking about? Yeah, it's a good addition. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

So I I actually have so fun fact, guys, let me do a little sidetrack story. Remember, I told you on a past episode when I went to get these books for the summer reading from Thrift Books. They sent me the wrong book for this. They sent me that Walt Whitman. Did I bring it in? On leaves of grass.

SPEAKER_03 37:08

Did I give it to you? No, I would like to. Okay, I thought it would send my back.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Um, they gave me this like Walt Whitman like Hallmark gift book. And I was like, I emailed them and I was like, bitch, this is wrong. I didn't say that, but not it. They're like, oh my gosh, sorry, we'll send you the correct book. So they did. I got it like a few days later. And then last week I go to the mailbox and Cooper's like, what else did you order from Thrift Books? And I'm like, is that the correct book that finally got here way later? Sure enough. So now I have two of these. Oh, so I'll bring you one.

unknown 37:38

Please.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

Do you want to give it to Tegan? Yeah. Okay, so let's jump in.

Money Food And Travel Styles

SPEAKER_00 37:42

Um Claudia and Jamie make a good team, but they are very different people. As a result, they sometimes disagree about what's important and what they should do on their adventure. What are some specific examples from the adventure that show how Claudia and Jamie are different people with different opinions?

SPEAKER_03 37:59

Transportation is a big one. Yes. She's always wanting a taxi is like her first go-to, and when that's a no, it's a bus. Yes. And then pretty much they still walk everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Right. Okay, so fun, fun fact that I will share. My friend Amber and I go on a trip together every year. We try to, and we go somewhere different. And we're we're alike, but also different in things. I she I am like the the I am like Jamie. I'm like, we can just walk everywhere. Like we especially we're in New York. She's like, let's get a cab or DC or like a big city. And she's like, let's just get, and I'm like, no, we gotta walk. And she's like, it's like 16 blocks. I'm like, it's fine, it's fine. Like, let's go. Raining. I now if it's raining, fuck that. I'm getting underneath a cover. I am not, I will walk in the cold, but I will not walk in the rain. But I will, I'm like, yeah, Jamie, more power to you. Yeah. You better walk on. And they're kids. They can do it. Oh, yeah. They have joint problems like that.

SPEAKER_03 38:53

But then they take a taxi to her house. Well, they have to. Because it's far. She lives like out. Yeah. She don't live in the city. That's true. And so now they're out of money. Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

Because they can't walk there. It's too far. Yeah, that's true. Um also I loved too how she wants to spend money on food. Yeah. And he does not. That is my husband, too. I be like, you know, I I do really like, we don't eat out a whole lot. Like, I would say he does not believe me when I'm like, compared to the normal American family, we very rarely spend money outside of our house for food. Caden does. My 19-year-old does, because that's his money. But what they do with their own money is whatever. But like as a unit, we very rarely order takeout, go like it it's not a common thing. We I try to eat at home as much as possible, but if there's ever an excuse to not eat at home, I will take it and run with it. And my kids know to ask me, be like, mom, can we go like get food, whatever? They do not ask my husband because he'll be like, he's the parent that's like, we got food at home.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Yeah. My husband's the same way. Yeah. Like if you pick them up from like a night practice or rehearsal, immediately it's like taco bell, drive-through, whatever, and he'll be like, We have food at home. Yeah. Now, my thing with that, particularly if I'm also busier doing the things, is I'll be like, I might give the exception because I'll be like, but then I have to facilitate that food. Oh, right. So late night is harder.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

Like if it's during the day, I wouldn't like to be late night because I want to go home.

SPEAKER_03 40:22

Right. Well, that too. I want to go home. But sometimes I'll just be like, in my brain, do I take an extra five minutes and go through this drive-thru, or do I take 35 minutes plus cleaning up when I get home to make all this stuff? Granted, my kids are very capable and can make their own things. But you mean I won't feel like I can like relax until people have been fed and cleaned up and all that stuff. So that's kind of but same thing. My husband's always like, well, we have food at home. And I will sometimes be like, like what? What are we making? Like I mean, it's give an example. Yeah. You know.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

To be fair, we usually do have plenty of food at home. Like I go to the grocery, I'm cleaning and I go on Mondays, like we do. But also, if there's ever an opportunity for socializing with food, I will jump on it. Oh, definitely. Like Katie can like anytime we've done a show or something, people are like, Oh, let's grow out. I'd be like, Yes, yes. And I I it doesn't matter how tired I am, if they're a socialized, well, let me put it right, and the right people are there.

unknown 41:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

This is it, I want to go. And my kids know this. And when my oldest played uh competitive baseball, we're every weekend we were some fucking place. And um the families in between games are gonna be like, Oh, we're all gonna go eat. My husband would hate that. He'd be like, I do not want to go like with all these people. And granted, some of them were annoying, but I was like, Oh, well, let's go. Like, that's fun. Like, that's fun. Yeah, the kids love it. And so Caden always knew because sometimes, because because Cooper was so little during that time, we wouldn't always both go to all the things. So if it was just me, Caden knew we were going to the team lunches and to meals. That's right. And too, it was such a pain, you know, because you have kids that do sports that travel. Like when you have to pack food for an entire fucking day, it's exhausting. And sometimes I just do not want to do it.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

Same. It takes an and you have to plan, like you have to know what you can even access in your hotel as far as like a fridge or a microwave or a like Well, now we didn't have to do a lot of hotel stays, thankfully.

SPEAKER_00 42:16

It was a lot of just driving. Just there and back. Okay. Well, I mean, it would be like two hours there, two hours home. Gotcha. But it did not some people would stay, but we couldn't validate that expensive. It was just too expensive. But uh it was drivable. But still, you get up at 5 a.m., drive two hours, you're there all day. You drive two hours home, you go back the next day. Like it was just a grind. Yeah. But anyway, I so what else? How else are they different? I'm trying to think. The money. It was I think he also, like you said, he was just in it for a good time. Yeah. He didn't need like a deeper meaning.

SPEAKER_03 42:51

No. He um even like bathing, like he was like, I'm good if I don't take a bath. And she's like, No, we need to take a bath. Or not her to do the laundry. Um, but he was just kind of like whatever about it. Yeah. I think those are like the main ones. They had kind of differences and sh things that would really get her riled up. He would be like, Well, who cares? You know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

And I think that's a good partnership. It is. You gotta have, you gotta have um opposing, you have to have just enough to keep you on the same page. But then you gotta have enough to to balance each other out. I think about that with my marriage all the time. Because we are very different, but the main important things we are on the same page at, right? You know? Yes. Y'all are the same. Yeah, you know, like, but I am like up here all the time, and Troy is pretty level headed. So, like, if we were both here or we're both here, it would not work.

SPEAKER_03 43:44

It's true. Yeah, and I think, you know, as much as I don't like being told what to do sometimes when I have a really crazy idea, it's good to have someone who's either like no or like, well, but what about This, this, and this. And then I'm like, well, we'll just worry about that later or whatever, you know. And it's like, no, because if we worry about it later, it's gonna be a disaster. So, you know, like so you have to have kind of the both. And I feel like she, Claudia was kind of the dreamer and he was a little more of the like practical side. But I also like that he was a gambler and cheated at gambling. That's hilarious. I thought that was really,

Losing A Kid For Five Minutes

SPEAKER_03 44:23

really funny. It's so funny. Um, I had thought of a part, I don't remember now, when we were just talking about it that I wanted to say, but I don't Oh, oh, oh, when they get to her house and she's like, Are you the two children that have been missing? Uh-huh. And oh yeah, your parents are worried about you. And Claudia's like, Well, we sent them a letter and it told them not to worry. Like, what's the big deal? I can't believe they're why?

SPEAKER_00 44:42

We told them we're okay. It was just so funny. Oh my god, I know. Like, are you kidding me? And like I was thinking about that too, like panicked. Okay, so the other day, a couple days ago, I had a client in the morning and then I had to run a bunch of errands. And then when I came home, it was like two o'clock, and Cooper was not there. And I was like, That's my 13-year-old. I'm like, where the fuck is he? Well, our internet was down that day too, so my phone wasn't working well, and like something was going on with the tower, and so I can't track him. He's not answering his phone. I'm panicking, and I'm like, okay, first of all, you're not allowed to leave the house without telling me where you're going. Period. Dot. You're 13 years old. Like, you can't just leave. That's insane. And uh then I can't track him. So and I can't, Troy's not reachable. My husband's not reachable at work all the time because of security clearance. He can check his phone periodically during the day when he goes out of the whatever. So thankfully, he had just happened to be on his lunch or lunch break or potty break or something, and I was like, I can't find Cooper. And so he's like, Hold on. So his phone was working, and he said, Looks like he's at the picklebar courts in the neighborhood, and I was pissed. So I drive over there, tarot there. He's just playing out there playing with a friend, which is fine. But I was like, You can't leave the house at 13 and not tell anybody that you're gone. Yeah. Yeah. Like that is crazy. And I said, He's like, I told you, and today he's lying. And he's like, I told you yesterday. I said, No, you didn't. And I said, and even if you did, when I'm not home, you better text me and say, I'm leaving now. Right. I'll be back. Right. I'll be at this park. Even if you told me you still didn't do what you were supposed to do. Oh, I was so mad. But I thought about that because I'm like, that was just like for a couple hours. Right.

SPEAKER_03 46:31

They're gone for like and they're back then literally no way to track them. No, and I was panicked. I was terrified. That's the worst feeling. We've all been there. I had an even shorter version of that just when we were at Disney over the weekend. Oh God, that's the worst place too. Lots of kids, you know, lots of kids and parents and stuff. So my own kid, uh the short version is I lost her for a moment at the hotel. Okay. So she was at the pool with the friends, and other parents were there. And I went back to the room and she didn't have her bathing suit with her. So she said, Can you just bring it back with you? So I did. Meanwhile, my husband shows up to like take her home because he needed to, but anyway, so he's at the room with us and my other daughter. So we start walking back to the pool. We get to the pool, so it's the path from our room to the pool, and she's not there. And they're like, She went back to the room. And we're like, We were just at the room. So I figured there's obviously some logical thing. Well, sure enough, she had got tired of waiting for us to bring the bathing suit and by herself. Oh God. And this hotel. Started to walk back and went to the wrong building. Yeah. Yep. And um realized it and came back to the main path. And right then I was walking back when she saw me. But I was just like, You I told you I was coming. She's like, I just I know I was just gonna try to catch you guys so I could get my bathing suit faster, but I went to the wrong building, and it was just like so panic confusing. It's a panic. I was like, and it's funny because it was like the basically the night before like we were done with all our events, and I'd been so like remember, children and parents, no kid is by themselves at any point. They do not go to like they can go to the bathroom, but you're standing outside it, you know, like no child is ever by themselves. And of course, we we actually have a couple teens who are like adults, but even then, I'm I'm like, you have to be with someone else. Yeah, like you can't be by yourself. So um it was just like panic for like five minutes. And then of course every all the parents by the pool are like, oh my god, where's Tegan? Right, you know, because they're panicked now. Right. But she she's just like, Where's my bathing suit? I want to swim. I'm like, oh my god. And so like child, yeah. So they're gone, write a letter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. They just yeah, oh, can you imagine? And I mean, no, you know, as adults we know this, and also what we know even of that time period of of what happened with like criminals and kidnappers and serial killers and that sort of thing. Like, you know, you can write a letter that you're handwriting that you had to that you wrote under dress. Of course. Like, we know that, and adults know that. But to kids, it's like they don't know that. Well, I told you not to worry. I know. I sent you a letter.

SPEAKER_00 49:05

It's like I left you a post-it, or you know, or I sent you a text. Honestly, a post it's fine if that child would have said, Mom, I'm going to the park with my friend. Yeah, that's motivated. Okay, because you knew where to find it. But I need to know that like come that's a scary feeling when you come home and your kid's not there and you have no idea where they are. That's a panic. It's like, where do you even start? Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:26

I get you.

SPEAKER_03 49:27

All right. What other questions do we have?

SPEAKER_00 49:28

Okay. Um, let's see. Oh, this is a good one. Why does Claudia cry when she sees Michelangelo's sketch of angel at the end of the story?

SPEAKER_03 49:38

I mean, I think it could be several reasons, but I think it's that thing we were talking about earlier where that feeling of of fulfillment that she thought she was gonna get, yeah. She now is like, that's why all this has happened.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

Well, and she thought he had done it the whole time, and it was like, oh, it validates her that she was right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and maybe also she was crying because that's the end. True. Because sometimes the fun is the not knowing and the waiting to figure it out. And then it's like, oh, okay, I was right, but now it's done.

SPEAKER_03 50:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

The excitement's kind of gone now. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 50:12

That's kind of like Christmas. The post-Christmas blues, right? That's a real thing. I know. I feel it as an adult, let alone like when you're a kid, and I remember feeling that way as a kid. I know, and packing up the Christmas stuff, the world. So sad. So fun to put it up. So not funny.

SPEAKER_00 50:27

It is just take it back down. Just the worst. It takes me so long because I'm like, oh I know. Although this year I didn't put out as much as I usually do. Because usually it's like Christmas crazy explosion. I only did one tree and I didn't unpack all my boxes. And I'm like, that was better. It was better. Because it still was just enough. Yeah. We still had our little Mickey train around our tree. Oh. Still had our glitter things. But I usually, you guys, I've changed all our curtains. Like, it's crazy. I didn't do that this time. I was like, I'm not going through all that, especially because it was a little different this year because you know, we don't have any family here and my mom had died and like all the things. But I was like, actually, I'm doing that. Because then it then the putting up didn't take as long, which was great because then we could enjoy it for longer. And then the taking it down did not take as long. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:16

And I like to take it down, not the day after, but I like to have it down by New Year's because then it's even more sad later. Oh, I know. Because at least then I'm still like, okay, but I still have a few days off once it's all put away. Or like life's not crazy yet. Whereas like once everything's crazy again, and you're trying to take it down, and it's like, oh, why's Christmas over? You know, like yeah. So I have to get it up early and then take it down pretty close after Christmas. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

Any other good ones in there? Let's see. Um, some of it is just kind of like so basic. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 51:47

Um, well, all right, I have one for

Task Mode And The Double Booking

SPEAKER_03 51:49

you. Okay. Of the two, are you more a Claudia or a Jamie and why?

SPEAKER_00 51:54

I think I'm both. I obviously I'm like Claudia with I am not trying to run away and sleep outside. Fair, gross. Also, she made sure she found a fancy bed to sleep in. She figured that shit out. She figured out how to bathe. Totally would do that. Um, I'm also with her on like I would like to eat in the fancy restaurant with a fountain. Especially in New York City. Come on. But also, when I go to travel and stuff, I don't like having a schedule. I like like I'm I like it to be very different than my normal life. That is, has to have a schedule. I'd rather just be like, let's just see where the day takes us. Um, especially when my kids were small and we would travel, I couldn't do that. It still had to be really scheduled, and it was so stressful. Like um, so I think I'm a little bit both. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:46

So you're saying you're a little bit like Jamie in the realm of like, let's just see what happens and have fun no matter what.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Yeah. Although I don't cheat at anything, by the way. No, you don't. You don't. I do like to gamble though.

SPEAKER_03 52:57

There you go. I do like him that way. I do like to gamble. I feel like I'm probably more Claudia in the way of like the romanticism of it. Okay. I remember I remember as a kid always just really romanticizing the idea of being an adult. And maybe every kid does that, but like, like I just could not wait until and I didn't necessarily want to like live in a museum or whatever, but like living in my own place and what that would look like. And I would make little sketches and like, you know, all the things. Whereas um And then you get there and it's like, what? Yeah. I'm like, oh this isn't it. This is this is not what I sketched when I was in third grade. Okay, pull those out, please. Pull those sketches out, dust them off. Um, I don't know if I like Jamie at all, actually. I mean, I'm I'm an easygoing person, I guess, but I don't know. I didn't I didn't I thought he was fun, but I didn't really relate to him very much. Which is not true. Look, I'm just telling you how it is, friends. It takes a lot to pull fun out of me. Oh, stop.

SPEAKER_00 53:59

It depends. It depends. I will say this. I think it's that I you are fun and you are down to have a good time, but you're not gonna be the initiator of the good. Like if I said, Kenny, let's go to a museum after hours, you'd be like, All right, you'd come, but you would never suggest it.

SPEAKER_03 54:14

Probably not. See what I'm saying? No, I do like to travel. So I would I like to like I'll I'll initiate like going to a concert or traveling somewhere cool. I meant to do that. I do like that, but like, yeah, but like other stuff. I'm like, eh.

SPEAKER_00 54:26

Like when we were going to the drag show, right? Yeah. She I was weird. Like, uh, Katie did not initiate the dancing, but she particip she as soon as I stood up, she stood up with me. I stood up to go let's go, because some people didn't.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

So yeah, you know, yes. And I think even the drag show, I wasn't the one that suggested going. It was was it you? Oh, it was Sarah. It was Sarah because I had to do a dog, so I let everybody come across my radar. No, it wasn't you. And then and then we decided all decided, yes, we were gonna participate. See? So it's okay. I think to have fun. Have fun. Yes, yeah, you just I think I'm just very I'm very like task driven in general. Well, and that's just because I have so many tasks always. I'm the oldest, you're the firstborn, lots of children and own a business. So it's like all the things that is like I need to be I feel like, and I know this isn't true, but I feel like I either have to earn fun, and I can't have that fun till all the things are done. But then as I get older, I'm like, all the things are never gonna be done. So I kind of just have to have fun sometimes. Yeah. Um, or that it I almost feel guilty if I'm having fun, but like XYZ isn't done.

SPEAKER_00 55:32

Yeah. I s I sen I agree with that. I I'm like that to a point because my my sister and I talk about this a lot. One of the things we think like our mom did a good job with parenting for the most part. She didn't do a lot of good things, but one thing that I think that she taught us that was not good was that you have to get everything done first before you relax. Well, guess what, guys? Nothing is ever all the way done. Never. So we never like I like literally as an adult, my husband can tell you this. I had to undo a lot of stuff of like I would he'd be like, let's watch a movie. I'm like, okay, but while we do that, I'm gonna fold laundry. And while we do that, I'm he like, no, just sit down. Yeah. I'm I'm fine with it now. I've gotten much better at it. And being like, okay, I'm gonna stop. Like, I have to have a stopping point, which is tricky, like, because that is exactly the narrative my mom. And I think that was too in the 80s, that was the mindset of everyone. And and of course, and and American culture is that way. Like, you don't stop until you achieve all the things. Well, guess what? There's never like it's just never gonna happen. Never ever. You have to have time, but again, it's a fine line because you have to have some kind of priorities to get shit done, but you can't do it always, and it's hard to turn that off, especially when you do own a business, yeah, and it lies on your shoulders to make it work because you know, you're constantly thinking about it. Right. Yeah, and it's not a nine to five business, right?

SPEAKER_03 57:10

So I've gotten better at like if I see something come through, being like, well, I can do that later, as long as I take like a screenshot of it so I remember, which is again not my best system, but it but it it helps me in that moment because then I'm like, it's okay. I don't have to do it right now. Yeah. Because I've done the thing that I always do to make sure it gets done correctly later. Yeah. Whereas if I just don't answer it or don't open it or don't, whatever, then I'm like, oh my God, but what is it? And like, what do I need to do? And oh my gosh, am I gonna forget? So I think as long as you like, I I'm okay, I'm a little better at compartmentalizing the tasks now to have fun, if that makes sense. Yeah. And look, we're leaving I'll say when, but my family's gonna be out of town, I guess for safety reasons. But I've ahead of time gotten everything lined up. Yeah. And I'm sure there's gonna be something here or there that um, you know, and also, oh, this is I was gonna tell you this anyway, like off-air, but I'll tell all the readers or readers readers, all the readers of this book who are listening to our podcast. How about that? Hello, dear readers. Um okay. So the other day, so this is very not characteristic to how I try to do things, but it ended up okay. So this is a good example of how things are still gonna be fine. So we had this huge event for my studio over the weekend. So all last week was like just like figuring that out, make sure we got everybody, we got all this stuff, gotta pack, got to do all the things, we're leaving. In the middle of that, I get a text from someone who we rent a venue from that was like, ooh, I'm so sorry. We double booked next week, which is this week, on on Tuesday. Um, and some we booked the other person first, and I'm like, and we're having a summer camp there. So I'm like, okay, no problem. Like, we'll we'll figure something out just for that day or that morning or whatever. And he's like, I'm really sorry. Like, I did I this is my fault. I completely forget about it. Completely forget about it. What? Go to do our thing at Disney, but get home Monday night. Camps start on Monday, but go off great. Tuesday morning, shit. The camp started. All the parents have dropped off the children and are long gone. My camp director calls me. Hey, there's someone here saying XYZ. Girl, no. Immediate panic washes over me. And I am here, like I'm at my studio teaching. I'm in a different location, and I have back to back to back-to-back students and no car with me. So I'm like, oh my god, this is my fault, blah, blah, blah. But this teacher's like, they had like 45 minutes left of that particular camp and then like a break before the next one. And she's like, Well, I'll just take them like over to the park over there. Can you just like email the parents to pick them up there? We'll just like do the rest of our activities outside. She's like, We probably like, you know, need to like give permission, but like we'll just go. And I guess the people who came in were like super nice. They were from a school too, and they were like, and so our kids like helped them set up and stuff. And the parents picked them up there and that was it. And the next day everything was back to normal. But I felt really bad, obviously. But my teacher was just like, it was fine. The parents were chill and the kids were like, Can we do camp out here all the time? And she's like, and I said no, because it's hot. But like she was like, she was just sort of like, yeah. And I was like, I just cannot believe that.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:24

My God.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

But look, when you're multi when you and and I had to kind of take a moment, and and the teacher said this to me. She goes, I can't even imagine trying to manage multiple venues and events and things. She's like, So, like, it's fine. Don't even worry about it. But I was like, Oh.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:41

Oh my god. Yeah, I can't believe it. So that was what you text me. Oh, oh, okay. Yes. She was like, I'll tell you later, long story.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:50

I was like having to call parents, email parents, like all the things. Oh, what is it? Trying to be sure, like, one, they didn't walk into the event that was happening there. She's right in the middle of it. Like, where's my kid? What is this? And two, they like knew where their kids were because they weren't where we said they were gonna be. So anyway, it was just and then feeling bad for my teacher, who is like just the most chill person ever and was like, Well, that's good. It's fine. It's that's good. She's like, This is minor. So life has to be. But that was one where I was like, Man, I should have just sat down, I should have just done the thing, and but it's like, you know, we all have moments. And it was even more um a sign from the universe that we need as much as we love our community partners and we love them so so much, honestly. We just gotta be in our own spot. Yeah, and have one place. The trick there will be not double booking that, but we'll make sure it's easier. We'll get some logistics in place. You're the one doing the booking. Exactly. Just saying. Exactly. Yeah. It's what well, I'm glad all is well. That's what happened. So that's what I was dealing with when I didn't show up to your uh remote class. She called me four minutes before class started. Well, thank God you weren't doing the class. Yeah. I know. I yeah, my phone would have been off to the side, but if I would have seen it was her, I probably would have answered.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:04

What if you want to hurt it? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:05

Yeah, anyway, but that's fine. It didn't happen. So, okay, moving on. So you think you're Claudia. I think I'm a mix of both. That's good. I I was picturing, I was like, what if Katie and I tried to live in a museum? That'd be hilarious. That'd be really funny. I got too much products. I can't do it. I have too many things I have to do to my face. You can be doing that in the fountain. It's like I was just thinking, like, traveling is always an adventure because I always have to pack, like, I can never do a check, like a um not check a bag because of of so much shit I have to bring with me. And like to put that in small containers is bullshit, and I'm not doing that. It would take it's too many. So I just check a bag everywhere I go, which annoys my husband because he could probably I mean, but I live in a house with boys, they don't have products. They don't, yeah, they don't get it. Well, my boys don't have products. Some do. Some do, but mine don't. And I'm like, and Troy was like, because we're going to a wedding, and and so we have to wear it's like a semi-formal. So they are all three wearing suits. I still don't have I don't know what I'm wearing. I it's the whole thing. But um, and then we have a rehearsal dinner, so we have to bring like nice clothes. And I said, Oh my god, how do we pack suits? Like, I don't know how to do that. Yeah, and he goes, No, no, no, we'll put them in a garment bag, like a special garment bag and check it, because there's no way we can bring this on the plane. And he's like, I'm just wondering if like we should all share a suitcase. And I said, I ain't sharing no suitcase with nobody. If y'all need to share stuff, go ahead and fine, figure it out. I never need to share a suitcase with anybody.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:31

I have too much anybody, yeah. I will say my girls throw stuff into my suitcase. Like when theirs is full. Yeah. No, I don't share stuff. But then I just use their stuff and they have better products than me. You have girls, I do not. Right, that's what I'm saying. So it kind of works out. I can't use it. So we decide the things we can share, but honestly, they all have a different shampoo. Oh yeah. They all have a different conditioner, they all wear different meat makeup. They all use different um like skin products. Yes, they use different sunscreen from each other. Yep. We had like four sunscreens when we went to Disney.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:00

We also have different sunscreens because I have one special one, because I have skin problems. So I have one special one I have to use on my face, and then I have one I use on the rest of me. Uh-huh. And then Caden has like, he can't stand cream sunscreen. He's such a he likes the spray. He likes the spray. But the th the other three of us are so fair. We can only use spray for touch-up. We have yeah, spray is not as strong. No, he yeah, he is a more olive skin than y'all. I used to be like that when I was his age. Okay. I was so tan when I was a kid. He's pretty tan. So that's where it comes from. Okay. But the older I well, now I just I stay out of the sun.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:34

Well, yeah, you don't want to. And then when you are, you're more fair because you haven't been in the sun, which is not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:41

But like, you know, I and I have lots of skin things. And like, you know, Tori had a big skin cancer cut out of his face. So we just don't play. We don't play. Don't mess with that. Let me read you some of these activities it suggests

Build A Museum Room You’d Love

SPEAKER_00 1:04:52

for kids to do. Okay. These are really fun. Um, chapter four contains a map of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Draw a map with at least five rooms of a museum you'd like to visit. The rooms can contain whatever you like. For example, Claudia and Jamie use a typewriter to write to the director of the museum. One room in your museum could contain a collection of writing instruments, from a quill pin that Marie Antoinette might have used to a computer. Other rooms could include a collection of baseball cards or footwear. Okay. So what would you make if you could make a museum and have five rooms you want to visit? Yeah, I love that. Or let's not say five. That's not say five.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:32

Just something you know you'd want. Think of one room. I mean, I like typewriters. I'm kind of like intrigued by typewriters. I have a really old one from my aunt. So that writing idea was fun, like the different quills. I don't need a computer in there. Well, I need to look at a computer for when they're writing for all the time. I want like the older stuff that we don't use anymore. I would say probably something like old instruments would be really cool too.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:55

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:56

Like some of the like first, you know, violins or e. In instruments we don't use anymore. And I know those types of things do exist in some museums, but I think that'd be really, really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:06

Okay. What about you? Mine is so opposite. Because you know what my favorite thing at museums is is like pop culture stuff. Like I love getting to see like how clothing evolved. Like at one of the Smithsonians, they have like first lady outfits. Cute. Obsessed. I've seen those. Also, costumes. I love costumes. Like when my friend Amber and I went to Asheville, we went to the Biltmore and the Downton Abbey had a traveling exhibit that was there.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:34

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:34

And they had all their cost, like a bunch of costumes from that. Um, I love to seeing like the evolution of film and like how that has changed. So mine would be something like I don't know, something with pop culture and outfits. I love that. Or even like fun, like fashion trends of decades, you know, where you can see that. Somewhere I went had like kids' entertainment. I can't remember what museum. So there's like the Muppets, and they had like all the things. So mine would be something like that. Cause I just think it's really fun. And I love I love costumes and like I'm not like a clo, like I'm not like a fashionista. I like more of like campy costumey things, not like fashion. Not everyone.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:24

It does, yeah. I you would have hated it, but I went to the American Museum of Country Music when I was in Nashville a couple years ago. And those were the things I really liked. They had like, you know, a pair of Dolly Partons like rhinestone. Oh yeah, that's fine. And then they had Shania Twain's like leopard outfit. Cute. First of all, it looked like it was for a toddler. Yeah, she is so small. Yeah. It was like suspended and like uh, you know, like hanging in a box, and I was like, oh, this is like a model of it. It was like, no, this is literally what she wore. But also, wasn't it like super stretchy? It was. It was so but it's still kind of was like so small. But and and they also had like, you know, certain singers' guitars and like their different instruments and uh like a Jerry Lee Lewis exhibit and stuff. So it was really, yeah I know Juana. That era of music, like there was a lot of like cool, I don't know, mementos, including like Buddy Holly type stuff, Johnny Cash stuff, which I thought was really fun. So that's fun stuff. I I love that. I enjoyed that.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:19

I remember when I looked at the first lady dresses, I was so surprised at how short some of them were. Like, especially like older, like from long time ago. Yes. Trying to remember if it was like Abe Lincoln's wife. Like I was like, damn, she was tiny, but people used to be smaller, which is weird. Kind of weird, yeah. I know. Like we're evolving taller, I guess. Well, some of us.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:42

As a species of general must be nice to be genetically gifted. Okay. Well, just say it. All right. All right. Well, she brushes her shoulders off. There we go. My my very tall shoulders. Okay. Well, thank you everyone for last one year. I'm done. I'm done. I'm out of them. I'm out of them.

July Third Live Recording Details

SPEAKER_00 1:09:06

Oh, wait, before we go, our July 3rd event is on. We mentioned last week we weren't sure if we're gonna have to reschedule. Nope. We good.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:13

It's happened, it's happening. I need to look up the ticket list, but I honestly think there's maybe 10 left. If y'all want to come, y'all better sign up. Sign up July 3rd. So if you're in town anyway, come. It's gonna be really, really fun. And don't go reserve a ticket if you can't come because other people want to come. That's the only thing about free events. I am sometimes people will reserve it for free and then just not come because they're not like losing money. I mean, it just I it's you know, basically psychology.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:39

Here's what I'm gonna say. If you sign up for a ticket to our event and you do not come and you waste a seat that somebody else could have, I'm gonna blast you on an episode. Uh-oh. Now I'm gonna have a list.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:49

If you for some reason you realize you can't make it, just let us know. Oh yeah. We'll reissue that ticket. We won't be mad about that. No, it's if it's if we think you're coming, you don't come and we told someone else they couldn't come. Right. So just let us know.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:02

But also come to our event. But also come. It's gonna be fine. We're gonna record live. I don't know how that's gonna go. It's gonna be. I just realized we were like, oh well. We we're we have to bring all this stuff.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:13

It's gonna be a whole thing. It's gonna be fine though.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:16

Where there's gonna be wires everywhere on that stage, and people are gonna be like, wow, this is what happens. Yeah. But that's okay. That's a peak, a peak.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:26

They're gonna be behind all the wires and like, you know, watch your step. We're gonna have to say to people, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:32

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:32

We'll figure it out. But um, so we hope to see you there, and we hope to see you soon on another episode of Generation in Between Xennial Girl Summer. What was yours? Did I meow? I don't know what happened. Sorry, guys. And um, we'll see you sometime soon. All right, bye.