Two Frogs Talkin'

TFT Episode 2: Things that Defy Explaniation

• Not Quite Right Goods • Season 1 • Episode 2

Share episode

🎙 Episode 2: Things That Defy Explanation

Some stories come with a twist. Others come with goosebumps.

This week, Archie and Shelly explore those eerie moments that logic can’t quite explain. Archie brings a tale rooted in Southern legend, where a strange shift in a friend’s behavior might have something to do with a certain Tennessee spirit. Shelly recounts a desert night that started off normal—until the lights appeared, the air changed, and her dog wanted nothing to do with what came next.

Also in this episode:

•Porch philosophy with quotes from Jean-Paul Sartre and Benjamin Franklin

•The strange comfort of telling stories you can’t quite prove

•A new phrase for the Front Porch Philosopher collection (and yes, it’s wearable)


đź’¬ Listener Vote:

Which story sent the bigger shiver down your spine? Cast your vote at notquiterightgoods.com/pages/two-frogs-talking or @notquiterightgoods on Instagram.


🛍 This Week’s Tee:

New in the shop: “I don’t know what I saw. But I saw it.” Perfect for those unexplained moments you just can’t shake.


Archie:

You ever notice how a Southern thunderstorm knows just when to make an entrance?

Shelly:

Why is one starting to brew?

Archie:

Yep. Just started rumbling outside. Y'all probably can't hear it. I got this new mic here that blocks out everything but existential dread, but I swear that thunder rolled in the second we hit record. Dang. Okay. Okay. That one just rattled the garage door.

Shelly:

Well, it's a safe 70 and sunny here.

Archie:

Well, like always.

Shelly:

Maybe we should reschedule.

Archie:

No. Uh, I'm probably fine if the lights go out. Everything's wireless now. Got three portable chargers, full battery on the laptop, and a headlamp if the live from the screen ain't doing the trick.

Shelly:

It sounds like you've got quite the setup. Yeah,

Archie:

well, you know me prepared, not paranoid. That's the line I try to walk.

Shelly:

I do know you, but the audience may not. So how about we get to the intro?

Archie:

Well lead us off then.

Shelly:

Hi there. I'm Shelly.

Archie:

And I'm Archie. And welcome to the porch for

Shelly:

Two Frogs. Two

Archie:

Frogs.

Shelly:

Talking.

Archie:

Talking. One part telling tales,

Shelly:

one part talking life. All parts. All parts a bit bit, bit not quiet.

Archie:

Quiet.

Shelly:

Right.

Archie:

Right. I try to match the forecast to the theme makes for a richer atmosphere.

Shelly:

Well, today's theme fits. This week we're talking about things that defy explanation.

Archie:

Mm-hmm. Stuff you can't reason your way through stuff that shows up, messes with your head, and then vanishes before you can prove it ever happened.

Shelly:

You know, life is full of those little wait, what just happened moments.

Archie:

Yeah. You live long enough, you collect a few scratches on your belief system.

Shelly:

Some of them never quite buff out.

Archie:

And as always, we didn't tell each other our tales ahead of time. That's the producer's job. She makes sure we're not both talking about a haunted ice machine or something like that.

Shelly:

Wait, you didn't choose that one?

Archie:

Nah, I went with something different. I didn't want to tell one you've heard a million times.

Shelly:

If Archie sounds a little sore, it's because this story is a family favorite and he's never lived it down.

Archie:

Okay, well I'd have the record show that haunted ice machines are a thing.

Shelly:

I think if you want the record to show something, you have to offer evidence.

Archie:

Okay. Is that a challenge?

Shelly:

A small one.

Archie:

Alright. All right, fine. It's not today's tale, but since you brought it up, well, I guess I brought it up. In any case, I was four. We were out west visiting Shelly's, folks staying in one of those roadside motels with the two bed set up and a stubborn ice machine just across the hall. I was sleeping in the same bed as my big brother, Billy. He was 14 cooler than I'd ever be and somehow still patient with me.

Shelly:

Billie was the best.

Archie:

He was. I miss him every day.

Shelly:

I know you do.

Archie:

So anyway, uh, it was the middle of the night. I wake up to pee. On my way back. I hear a sound outside. It's my name whispered. Real slow. Aaarrrcchhieee, ooh,

Shelly:

not, not something I'd want to hear. Nope,

Archie:

I froze. Froze for a moment, not believe in what I was hearing. And then it came again, Archie longer and louder this time. I think if I had any pee left in me, my PJ's would've been wet.

Shelly:

Oh no, no. That's really scared.

Archie:

Yeah, it was. I was petrified and I dove back into the bed and right under those covers I must have disturbed Billy with my shaking.'cause he rolled over and he tells me, Hey, cut it out. But. He listened when I explained what was happening and then we sat there in silence. Nothing.

Shelly:

Of course, it's like ghosts have a second sense for making you look foolish or something. It's a gift.

Archie:

Well, a gift. This one had it in spades'cause the second he started snoring it came back. Same voice, same call Aaarrrccchhiiee. Now I wanted to go check. I felt compelled to, but my gut said Uhuh, no way. And besides, I doubt my legs would've carried me, so I stayed put head under the blanket listening to that voice, calling for what felt like hours.

Shelly:

And nobody woke up because of it.

Archie:

Nope. Not even when the next thing happened. Banging metallic sound, followed by some unexplainable sound like a, like a bunch of rocks fall into the ground at the same time. And I mean, a bunch. I'd never heard anything like it. I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed, ah, I woke up the whole damn room.

Shelly:

The noise didn't wake them, but your scream did.

Archie:

Yeah. Sure did. Makes no sense that sound was loud, had to be louder than my scream.

Shelly:

So everybody's awake now.

Archie:

Everybody's awake in my room, probably the adjoining rooms and all thanks to me. Now, I explained to my parents, of course, they, they agree to investigate. My dad opens the door and that's when he sees it. The ice machine ice had exploded out of it. A pile of cubes, half as tall as the machine itself laid out in front of it and all spilled out into the hall, right, reached right up into the door.

Shelly:

That is a lot of ice.

Archie:

Exactly right now, there's no way all that ice came from that machine. And dad, when he went down to the night clerk, the guy says, oh, that machine just been serviced two days ago, so it shouldn't be busted.

Shelly:

So the logical conclusion is it's haunted.

Archie:

I know what I heard and I know what I saw, and I'm telling you that machine was haunted or cursed or hungry, whatever it was. I make it a practice not to stay in motel rooms near ice machines anymore.

Shelly:

I see a merch tie-in. Beware hotel ice machines.

Archie:

Yeah. Very, very tempting. Mm-hmm. But today's tie-in is, don't know what I saw, but I saw it.

Shelly:

Well, that's very profound.

Archie:

Mm-hmm. It is on the Front Porch Philosopher series.

Shelly:

Your own collection of wisdoms. Maw-maw would be so proud.

Archie:

Yeah, I don't know, but she didn't like it much when people dumbed down complicated stuff. Not that she wanted to keep things difficult, it's just that she believed you had to give a body a chance to get it. And if that took time, then it took time.

Shelly:

You're not dumbing things down, you're just being economical with your words. She definitely approve. I bet she even wears some of the merch, and I know for sure she would have all of the mugs.

Archie:

Oh, that woman sure did like her mugs, didn't she?

Shelly:

I've never seen such a collection, a whole room devoted to mugs. It was a site to behold.

Archie:

Oh my. My mama had a time dealing with that. After she passed, she had to spread all the mugs to every thrift store in the county. It was too big of a collection. I mean, a store would just be overflowing with mugs, Maw-maw's

Shelly:

mugs. Maw-maw's mugs. Why did we start talking about mugs? You know what? Why don't we actually start talking about the real stories for this week? Good idea. All right. Well, let me tell you then about the time the Bell witch. May have hitched a ride home with me. Wait, the Bell Witch, like the one that haunted that family in Tennessee in like the 18 hundreds?

Archie:

Yep. That's her, the Bell family, Adams, Tennessee. Now she was relentless, whispers, scratches, full-blown shouting matches in the middle of the night.

Shelly:

Right. And some famous general showed up to investigate and got run off.

Archie:

Andrew Jackson. Yeah. But, but before he was president. He rolled in with a wagon team and a whole party of men, including, and I get this, a so-called witch tamer.

Shelly:

Oh, a witch tamer. That sounds like a job someone gave themselves.

Archie:

Exactly. Now, this gentleman was bragging the whole way there. He said he had a silver bullet bible and a plan to drive the spirit out.

Shelly:

Hmm. Let me guess the Bell Witch was not impressed. Shoot.

Archie:

Not even a little bit. No. Supposedly as soon as they got close, the wagon froze up. Wouldn't move horses dug in. Then a voice outta nowhere says"You may proceed." Boom. Wheels unlock.

Shelly:

No, I mean, that would be enough to make me wanna turn around.

Archie:

Yeah. Well, they were there to save the family. they just couldn't go back. They'd look like a bunch of cowards.

Shelly:

Fear of judgment. It'll get you every time.

Archie:

In any case, that night, the so-called witch tamer, he gets slapped clean outta his cot, and Jackson's whole crew gets tormented slaps and whispers cold spots. And by the morning, Jackson's like, all right, I'm done. And he hightails it outta there.

Shelly:

So the ghost didn't just haunt them, it played with them.

Archie:

Apparently and in harsh ways. Anyway, I'm getting carried away. That's the legend. My story picks up a couple hundred years later, not far from the old Bell property. A detail, my buddy Nolan left out.

Shelly:

Well, that's a friend. Fail.

Archie:

To this day, I have no idea why he didn't tell me or why he chose that spot. Uh, now this is when I'm in my twenties and still carefree about things, you know, and I trusted Nolan, so there's no reason to ask too many questions about where we're going.

Shelly:

Did he give you any info at all?

Archie:

Sure. He said it'd be quiet and off the grid and good for thinking. He just left out that the spot was about a mile away from where the Bell family once lived.

Shelly:

Well, that is a pretty big detail to leave out. Right?

Archie:

I mean, I thought we were just gonna go fish, maybe overcook some beanie weenies and drink a few too many cold ones.

Shelly:

Sounds magical.

Archie:

But it wasn't. Mm-hmm. It was so still, I'm talking too still. Woods didn't make a sound. No bugs, no birds, no breeze through the trees. Just a big old hush, like the land was holding its bread.

Shelly:

Ooh. It's never a good sign when nature is too silent.

Archie:

Hair on the back of my neck was standing on end, and if I'd had more sense, I would've called an audible right there.

Shelly:

Why didn't you?

Archie:

I didn't wanna look like a fool.

Shelly:

Hmm. Fear of judgment.

Archie:

Yeah. Plus Nolan, well, he, he didn't seem to be bothered by it at all, so I figured it was just me. Well, we set up camp and, uh, the first night it feels odd, but it's uneventful. Although Nolan wasn't acting particular himself. But

Shelly:

Wait, how wasn't he acting himself?

Archie:

Well, he was quiet and brooden. Now, normally if you know Nolan, he could hold a conversation with a wall, and I swear that man wore a smile more than any other expression, and

Shelly:

You didn't think to ask if something was wrong?

Archie:

Well, that's, that's not really a thing most guys do, Shelly, especially in their twenties. I'd like to think it's something I'd say now, but anyway, that's not how things played out.

Shelly:

It's that judgment thing again. And they say females are the sensitive ones.

Archie:

Who's sensitive? I, I got the thickest skin.

Shelly:

Overcompensate much?

Archie:

What? Okay. Okay. All right. You win. Anyway, moving on. We, uh, we spent the next day fishing for our dinner. Right. And we managed to land a couple, I mean, nothing flashy, but enough to fill our bellies anyway.

Shelly:

Oh man. There is nothing like fresh fish cooked over a open flame. My tummy starting to grumble.

Archie:

Well, the sun starts setting and we get to building the fire. We get a starter going, and then Nolan heads off to go get more sticks, and I stay behind with the fire feeding it some small twigs we had, so it'd be ready for the wood when Nolan got back. And then I hear it real soft. Whispering not words. I could make out just this low breathy sound like the wind, trying to figure out how to speak. And then I feel a flick on the back of my neck. And then I hear it real soft, whispering. Uh, not words. I could make out just this low breathy sound like the wind, trying to figure out how to speak, and then I feel a flick on the back of my neck. Oh. Mm-hmm. And no, it made me jump to my feet and turn around and. Nothing. Nothing. No, nothing. Now I have it in my mind. Okay. Nolan must be playing a prank on me, which would be like the Nolan I know, but there's no sign of him. Of course there isn't. I would've heard him sneaking up on me.

Shelly:

Unless he was some kind of ninja.

Archie:

He certainly wasn't that more like a bull in a China shop, but there's no sign of him. Right. So I gather myself, turn back around to deal with the fire, and it's gone.

Shelly:

What's gone?

Archie:

The fire. Gone. Gone. Yeah. Like it was never lit. Cold stones, cold coals from the night before and, and a little twig pile ready to be lit. And the air was different. Like it was pressing in around me.

Shelly:

Oh, heavy air. That's never a good thing.

Archie:

No, I tell you. It didn't feel good. Not at all. And that's about the time when Nolan comes back. He sees the, the fires out and he, he asks, why'd I squash it? Now I explained the whole thing and he just looks at me stone faced for a moment, just standing there. He was way past awkward when he finally says, yep, we're on Bell Witch land.

Shelly:

And did you know what that meant then?

Archie:

No, not a clue. So he goes on to tell me the legend, and then he says, some folks think the spirit never left, just waits for unsuspecting folks.

Shelly:

Why?

Archie:

He never said, just left it open like that.

Shelly:

Oh. Oh no. I don't like that. That's unsettling.

Archie:

Yeah. Tell me about it. Now, at this point, I'm trying real hard to act like I'm not spooked, but my skin is buzzing like I stuck a fork in a socket. I bet. Now we decide, well, I decide we're leaving first thing in the morning.

Shelly:

Why didn't you just leave then?

Archie:

Well, Nolan was adamant that we spend the night again, no reason, and it was his vehicle. Best I could do was a sunrise breakdown and exit.

Shelly:

That is why I always make sure I'm in control of the keys.

Archie:

Well, lesson learned. Mm-hmm. Guarantee you that night I barely slept every snap of a twig, every rustle of the tent, any unidentifiable sound, which was all the sounds that night, it seemed. I'm listening, but nothing happens.

Shelly:

Really. Nothing. Yep. Nothing.

Archie:

Nope.

Shelly:

Well, well that was a big build up for a short let down.

Archie:

Well now hold on. The story's not over yet. Okay. We pack up and we head out the next morning, and Nolan, he's even more quiet and broody the whole ride back.

Shelly:

Well, I bet that was a super fun ride.

Archie:

Shoot. I've never been so glad for the radio, but here's the part I still can't explain.

Shelly:

In addition to the self extinguishing fire.

Archie:

Yeah. In addition to that, I get home and everything should feel normal. But it doesn't, something's off and I can't put my finger on it. I'm uneasy, but I decide, lemme take a shower.

Shelly:

Well, I mean, you've got to get the stink off.

Archie:

That's what I figured, huh? But it was probably the fastest shower I've ever taken. Feeling like you got eyes on, you'll speed up your routine. So now I towel off and I get dressed and I figure it's time to eat something, and that's when I notice it. My porch light, which is on a timer mm-hmm. Is flickering. Yep. Not off and on like you'd expect, but just, just fluttering like a firefly going in and out. Now I step outside to investigate and sitting right in the middle of my doormat is a scorched twig. Blackened on the one end. Fresh on the other.

Shelly:

Like from your campfire.

Archie:

Exactly like that. But I hadn't brought any half burnt twig back from the fire and it wasn't there when I came home. It just showed up. So.

Shelly:

So you think it followed you home?

Archie:

I don't know what I think, but I left that twig right where it was. The porch light fixed itself two days later and get this, there was no trace to that twig.

Shelly:

Well, the twig could have blown away.

Archie:

True but strange considering that it showed up out of the blue and the light fixed itself once it went away. And then my place started feeling normal again too.

Shelly:

Whoa. What about Nolan?

Archie:

See, that's the other thing, like I said, on the ride home, he wasn't joking, he wasn't talking, just sort of staring out the window. Like he'd left something behind

Shelly:

or maybe brought something back.

Archie:

My thoughts. Exactly. I checked in once or twice after that. He barely responded. I got the feeling he didn't want me around and I don't have to be told twice. And one day he just moved. Goodbye. No explanation. Just gone.

Shelly:

Like the twig.

Archie:

Yep. And I can't explain any of it.

Shelly:

Whoa. Well that's a good one. Arch, good story.

Archie:

Oh, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. Well, uh, anyway, you're up. What do you have for us?

Shelly:

Well, as it so happens, we both have camping stories.

Archie:

Uh, you know, what they say about Great Mind.

Shelly:

I do. Okay. So mine happened just this past summer. I'd been feeling cooped up and Ralph needed a change of scenery and I had a weekend free. So I loaded up the Jeep and I headed out toward Joshua Tree for some dispersed camping. Just me, the desert, and Ralph.

Archie:

Now see that Jeep seen more dust than a broom in a wood shop.

Shelly:

It served me well, that's for sure.

Archie:

If that's the case, you should think about naming her.

Shelly:

Who says it's a she, and naming vehicles is your thing, not mine.

Archie:

Oh, fair point.

Shelly:

So I find the spot behind a massive boulder that protected me from the wind and gave an anchor to that wide open landscape.

Archie:

Oh, all that openness can be a bit unsettling.

Shelly:

It can be for folks, not used to it, but for me it feels like there's just room to breathe and be,

Archie:

maybe I need to spend some more time out there.'cause that's not the feeling I got when I took that one trip.

Shelly:

You're always welcome out here, cousin. I'd love to have you along, kind of need to make up for that last trip anyway.

Archie:

I didn't know wind could blow that hard.

Shelly:

It was my mistake for not checking the wind forecast. Out here, it's not the weather that you have to check, but the wind.

Archie:

Yeah, well it, it did make things quite unpleasant.

Shelly:

It wasn't the wind this time that ruined the trip. It was something altogether different.

Archie:

Still ruined trips, make for good story.

Shelly:

That they do. And this story starts out like any one of my many camping trips. I get to camp, I get my tent just like I want it. I get my fire pit up running and I start heating up some chowder.

Archie:

Chowder.

Shelly:

I found soup is an excellent camp meal, especially the hardy ones.

Archie:

I tend to agree. Now, what's your recipe for this?

Shelly:

Oh, nothing fancy, just the can. A little thyme, cracked pepper, and I pair it with a baguette. I snagged from a bakery on the way out of town.

Archie:

You've given Ralph chowder too.

Shelly:

Of course not. That is way too rich for his stomach. He gets his usual rice, beef and carrot mix.

Archie:

Listeners, that dog eats better than I do. I've seen her dog food prep and I cried for my own childhood.

Shelly:

Don't let your mama hear that.

Archie:

Oh, Shoot. You're right. Sorry, mama. I'm sorry. I was just, I was just drawing an analogy for the purposes of the story. I meant nothing by it. I swear. Aunt

Shelly:

Claire is an excellent cook among other things.

Archie:

And that that right there is why you're her favorite niece on this side of the family.

Shelly:

I am the only niece. I have all male cousins.

Archie:

Yeah, and you're the better for it.

Shelly:

You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?

Archie:

I would. Yeah.

Shelly:

Anyway, why don't we get back to the story. The sun is starting to dip and Ralph gets twitchy, not scared, just on edge watching the horizon and ignoring his meal. He won't relax and it is making it hard for me to enjoy my meal, but, but I'm trying the best I can and I'm watching the last of that purple light fade to black. And just when the last light goes, Ralph starts to growl low. I look over at him and his hackles are up.

Archie:

Oh, that's no good.

Shelly:

No, it's not. So I look out where it looks like he's looking, and that's when I notice the light. It's far off at first. Soft, golden, almost like a lantern, but it's not bouncing like a person walking it. It's floating, drifting kind of smooth, like. Gliding, huh? And then the voice starts.

Archie:

Oh boy. Not a voice.

Shelly:

Faint at first. Just a sound like someone calling, like no words I can make out more like tones. hhhhheeeellllpppp. Ralph Growled, deepened, and got louder. That low primal nope sound that dogs can make that sound that sends your own neck hairs on end now.

Archie:

Oh, yep.

Shelly:

I'm not new to desert lore. I have read about these lights. Stories say that they beckon you from the safety of your camp with false cries for help, and if you follow them, you don't come back.

Archie:

Well, you're still here, so I guess you didn't follow.

Shelly:

No. And like you, I stayed.

Archie:

Well then I guess I could ask you the same question you asked me.

Shelly:

You could, and my answer would be the same.

Archie:

That you didn't wanna look foolish in front of Nolan.

Shelly:

Funny. Nope. Just thought I was being foolish. So instead of leaving, I ditched the tent and I moved my sleeping gear into the Jeep.

Archie:

Oh, hang on you. You slept in the Jeep?

Shelly:

Yep. Not the comfiest. Two-door wranglers got space for maybe half a being in the back. So Ralph and I were boy packed in tight. I kept the lights off, the doors locked, and luckily I decided to leave the hard top on.

Archie:

Oh, well, yeah, you would've been a sitting duck without the top.

Shelly:

I know. So there we are, Ralph and me packed into the Jeep, him growling and me trying not to look. But every now and then, when I couldn't stand it, I'd peek and that flickering light was still out there. And of course it was,'cause if you listened close, you could still hear the calling.

Archie:

Ooh, I don't know if I could have stood that.

Shelly:

I kept my music going and my earbuds in, and I never opened the door no matter how strong the sensation got to do it. I never looked too long at the light, just glances. Although I've gotta say there was a really strong urge to keep on looking.

Archie:

Well, yeah, there was. It was hypnotizing you. There's no telling what would've happened if you'd have kept staring. We might not be talking right now.

Shelly:

Well, I think it was Ralph that kept me straight. I mean, he never stopped growling, and that made me keep my wits about me.

Archie:

oh now Ralph growled.

Shelly:

All night. All night. Well, the part when we were awake.

Archie:

Y'all fell asleep.

Shelly:

Yeah. As impossible as it seems, we must have both fallen asleep in the early morning hours. I came to with the first light, cresting the horizon, and all I could see and hear was wide open desert. No calling, no light, nothing. Except for one single desert flower, fresh and purple, laying in the center of the fire pit. And here's the thing, there were no footprints leading into camp. None. But that flower was placed there.

Archie:

No, that, that's not nature. That's a message.

Shelly:

Yeah, and I got it loud and clear. Stay alert, stay skeptical, and always trust your dog.

Archie:

I'm curious. Could you find that spot again?

Shelly:

What on earth for?

Archie:

Well, doesn't it ever cross your mind? Uh, go check it out again.

Shelly:

Uh, no. There's plenty of desert out there. I steer well clear of that area.

Archie:

but don't you ever feel like you need to go back

Shelly:

No. Why? You're not thinking of trying to find that camping spot on the Bell Witch land, are you?

Archie:

No. Of course not.

Shelly:

Good,

Archie:

but I'd be lying if I said that. I haven't dreamt about it.

Shelly:

Really?

Archie:

Hard, too, real vivid dreams about it. I don't know about twice, three times a week

Shelly:

Arch. That's concerning. You'd tell someone before you took off, right?

Archie:

Well, well, I'm, I'm not planning to go. I'm just dreaming about it.

Shelly:

Good.

Archie:

But the dreams, they're getting stronger and stronger now that I think about it more frequent.

Shelly:

Okay? You have to promise me that you'll call me if you find yourself packing up Betsy for a road trip to those parts.

Archie:

Why?

Shelly:

Why are you kidding me? I don't want you to turn into Nolan. That's why.

Archie:

I am only messing with you. Calm down. Oh, still?

Shelly:

God, get me all worked up.

Archie:

Yo, it's a special gift. What can't I say?

Shelly:

Remember the time you and Billy had me convinced that my belly button was a plug, and if it got loose, I would go flying around the room like a helium balloon with a hole in it.

Archie:

Oh man, that was a good one. Billy pulled it on me before we pulled it on you. I spent

Shelly:

the whole summer protecting my belly button.

Archie:

Like your life depended on it. Because

Shelly:

it did, even though Billy did tell me not to worry too much because he had a special tool that could help get the plug back in if I started to leak. He just needed to be close by so I wouldn't lose too much air. I didn't let him out of my eyesight. And you, you, you kept reminding me that while Billy could get the plug in, he couldn't pump me back up.

Archie:

See now that that was my own twist. Billy didn't know about that. He was far too kindhearted to leave you worried about a lifelong deflation issue.

Shelly:

Oh God. I had images of me walking around half deflated for the rest of my life. Little 4-year-old me. It is a core memory.

Archie:

Well, I happy to have helped Thanks for the detour. Good Billy memory always brings a smile to my heart.

Shelly:

I guess he's on my mind since we talked about him earlier.

Archie:

Yeah, makes sense. Uh, now, uh, where were we?

Shelly:

Recapping the stories, which are one with a witch, self extinguish fires and a mysterious twig and a brooding friend and the other with ghost lights, disembodied voices, and a floral calling card.

Archie:

And in both cases, nothing we can prove, just something we'll never quite forget. And, we sure as heck can't explain.

Shelly:

Which brings us to our weekly brain snack, quote time.

Archie:

Righty. Now, each week we, uh, bring something from a favorite thinker to help shine a little light or maybe throw a little more shadow on the theme.

Shelly:

Are you gonna throw some shade this week?

Archie:

No, it just came out like that.

Shelly:

Oh, did it Now

Archie:

it did.

Shelly:

Okay. I don't know what to say to that.

Archie:

Nothing to say.

Shelly:

Are you seven again?

Archie:

What do you mean?

Shelly:

All this poking at me?

Archie:

I guess the weather has me in a boyish mood.

Shelly:

Thunderstorms bring that out in you, huh?

Archie:

Yeah, it seems so. But I, I'll, I'll try to behave myself from here on out.

Shelly:

Good. Because we're at the serious thinking part Archie.

Archie:

Mm-hmm. Are

Shelly:

you ready?

Archie:

I'm ready as I'll ever be.

Shelly:

My quote today is from physicist Richard Feynman."I would rather have questions that can't be answered, than answers that can't be questioned."

Archie:

Well, I'll tell you, it would be a boring world if we couldn't question things, but not getting an answer is pretty unsatisfying.

Shelly:

Or unnerving. We've got two stories where an item, and both times it's a piece of nature. We're just there unexplained, but clearly there with a purpose.

Archie:

and we'll never know what will we, which brings me to my quote."There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio than are in your philosophy.

Shelly:

Old Willie Shakes.

Archie:

that's right. Hamlet's talking to his friend. See, and he just seen the ghost of his father and he's very unsettled. Horatio is trying to talk him down off the ledge, so to speak, using reason. and Hamlet. Is having none of it. He knows what he saw and he knows what he heard. And now he's got a lot of questions

Shelly:

But to be fair, I mean, I think I'd have a lot of questions too. If the ghost of my father appeared to me and told me my uncle, who is now married to my mother is his murderer, and that I need to take revenge without harming her, and on top of everything, he's suffering in the afterlife because he didn't receive last rights.

Archie:

It would be a lot to take in, that's for sure. Horatio even says, these are but wild and whirling words, but he stands by Hamlet. Although what Hamlet's basically saying is that A, a ghost is ordering me to murder my uncle, and I'm gonna do it.

Shelly:

He swears by it.

Archie:

He does, even though he doesn't know how he's gonna do it yet.

Shelly:

So the ghost absolutely defies explanation, but Hamlet accepts that he can't explain it, but the inability to explain it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Archie:

Right. And of course, Hamlet goes on to prove everything that Ghost said was true.

Shelly:

And everyone ends up dead in the end.

Archie:

Yeah. It's a tragedy.

Shelly:

Mm-hmm.

Archie:

Well. Anyway, less, we're gonna explore more of the themes and lessons in Hamlet. I think that wraps up this week's dip into the inexplicable.

Shelly:

Head to our Instagram at not quite right goods and vote for the story and teller you think is the better tell. Was it Archie and the spirit who may or may not have hitched a ride back from Adams, Tennessee?

Archie:

Or Shelly alone in the desert with her Jeep, her dog, and one very suspicious lantern.

Shelly:

And hey, if you like today's episodes, you can snag a piece of t-shirt form or sticker form over at not quite right goods.com.

Archie:

Mm-hmm. Now this week's feature a new T for the Front Porch Philosopher series. Don't know what I saw, but I saw it. Perfect for Ghost Chasers, deep thinkers, and anyone who's seen the unexplainable. And you can find it and all our other sideways wisdom at not quite right goods.com.

Shelly:

And yes, this is Two Frogs Talking, but remember, our home is at not quite right goods.com. You'll find our podcast page there as well as Archie's musings, in a blog, along with all the merch we have to offer.

Archie:

And send a note. Why don't you, we, we wouldn't mind hearing from you. Tell us what you think. But, uh, be mindful.'cause, uh, frogs have feelings too. Uh, are you gonna do it?

Shelly:

Do what?

Archie:

you have to say your next line.

Shelly:

Oh. I thought you were gonna say more. My bad. Thanks for sitting with us.

Archie:

You're always welcome on the porch.

Shelly:

Bye bye. Oh, I messed it up again.

Archie:

Oh, don't worry. We'll get the hang of it.

Joe:

This has been a Not Quite Right Goods production. Starring Joe Laureiro as Archie and Holland Renton as Shelly written, directed and edited by Holland Renton. Music sourced via Descript stock library.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Archie Fields

Host
Head Shot

Shelly Smith

Host