23 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
23 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
=== Brecken (24, Albuquerque, NM — calling from a Walgreens parking lot) ===
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voice: Carter
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emotional_register: Caffeinated, earnest, slightly defensive, fundamentally lonely in a way he would never name
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secret_want: To be taken seriously by someone — anyone — in a format that feels official. Radio counts.
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CALLER (Brecken, 24, Albuquerque, NM — calling from a Walgreens parking lot): I'm not drunk, I just have a lot of energy right now and nobody to talk to.
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LUKE: I mean, what do you want me to tell you?
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CALLER: Look, I don't know, man. I just... I've been sitting in my car for like twenty minutes after my shift and I heard your show was taking calls and I thought, you know what? Tonight's the night. I'm gonna call.
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I got something I need to say and I feel like nobody's gonna listen to me at work or at home or anywhere else, but maybe on the radio it's different. Maybe on the radio people actually hear you.
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LUKE: What'd she say?
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CALLER: What? No, there's no she. It's not like that. I just meant nobody listens, period. My coworkers, they call me Bricks and I don't even know if that's a compliment or if they're busting my chops, you know? And I've got this thing I'm training for and nobody takes it seriously.
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LUKE: Yeah?
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CALLER: Yeah. Competitive eating. I know what you're probably thinking — it's not a real sport, it's just guys shoving food in their faces. But that's where people get it wrong, Luke. That's exactly where they get it wrong.
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You ever been actually hungry? Like, not hungry-hungry, but so hungry you're thinking about your next meal before you're even done with the current one? Because if you have, you'd understand that what these competitors do, it takes real discipline. Real strategy.
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I work doubles at the hotel restaurant, right? I see people eat all day. I know food. And I've been tracking everything on my phone for fourteen months — I got a whole spreadsheet called Project Jaw, every single week updated. This isn't just me stuffing my face. This is science.
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LUKE: And then what?
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CALLER: And then what, what? I'm trying to qualify for a regional hot dog event. That's the goal. I haven't competed yet, but I'm building up to it. I can eat a seventy-two-ounce steak — I know I can because I've done the math, I've done the training — but I can't afford to actually go to that restaurant and do it officially, you know? So I'm working toward the hot dog thing instead.
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But the point is nobody respects it. People hear competitive eating and they laugh. But if I told you I was training for a marathon, you'd be like, oh cool, that's dedication. This is the same thing. It's endurance. It's mental toughness.
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