Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - Everyone & Cowboys

Episode Date: July 6, 2022

Comedian Josh Gondelman and Emma learn how to parallel park a horse and wrangle up a varmint with help from a rootin' tootin' roster of guests.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey guys, I'm Emma Choi and welcome to Everyone and Their Mom, a weekly show from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. This week we're talking about two cowboys who saved the day. With weight bait panelist, comedian, and someone who I think probably dances the hell out of a cupid shuffle, it's Josh Gondelman. Hi Josh. Oh my gosh, hi Emma. So nice to see you. No one's ever assumed I'm a good dancer before, and this is a landmark day for me. It's momentous. Well, I'm really excited to talk about this week's story.

I'm ready. It's about a beautiful moment when the right person for the job was a real life cowboy, and he saved the day. Ooh, that's exciting. Yeah, it's insane because, I mean, cowboys, you know, some people just associate them with like the olden days when gold prospectors went to structurally unsound towns and started brawls while ragtime music played. But cowboys are still at it today. And two of them are the news for being absolute heroes when cows got loose along a highway in

Oklahoma City and like emergency crews couldn't catch the cow but an actual cowboy did this feels like a cowboy's time to shine yes um well like how it happened was the cowboy came riding down the busy highway on his horse and he actually managed to wrangle the cow and with the lasso like a a rope lasso. And he was wearing an actual cowboy hat. It's perfect, you know? So I feel like that's probably just what they wear. Like to them, they're just like, oh, I just call this a hat. I know.

This is like my big hat that keeps the sun off my ears, neck, and face. I feel like cowboys are very in right now. Have you noticed that, like cowboy culture? Where are we seeing them? Josh. Oh, I feel like Casey Musgraves and Megan Thee Stallion kind of put forth like a southwestern agenda but like I'm trying to think of other cowboy culture. Josh, in my

community, right, cowboy culture is huge, right? Okay. Because like those fashion girlies are wearing cowboy boots in the middle of summer, right? Sure, sure. We got bachelorette parties who are doing disco cowboy themes, okay? Okay. We got the alt-teens who are using the cowboy smiley face emoji for any single reason. It just— Oh, yeah, I know that emoji. Right?

And I just feel like, you know, it's so ubiquitous. Am I using that word right? It just— I think yes. Yeah, I think you nailed it so ubiquitous is am i using that word right it just i think yes yeah i think you nailed it with ubiquitous what do we think is so appealing about being a cowboy because it's kind of an eternal like position i guess yeah um i feel like the cowboy type or like the cow ring but it's almost always it's almost always boys but i feel like it's branching out, like you were saying, like fashion. Cowgirls, yeah.

Yeah, cowgirls, cowgirl culture. Women having cowgirl summers. Hashtag cowgirl summer, I love it. But I think it's like the spirit of adventure and individualism and like knowing how to do cool stuff with a rope. like knowing how to do cool stuff with a rope. It feels like it's a fantasy or a reality of a life with like a lot of skill and self-sufficiency, which is like a very American thing, right? Yeah. To be like, oh, all I need is a rope and some boots

and I'll just catch my food with a rope and I'll sleep in my boots so scorpions don't get in them or whatever. So I think it's like such a classic, iconic American image for better and worse, right? Because for better, it's like, ooh, there is like, you're up for anything. You're roaming the plains, you're working the land. And then for worse, it's kind of like, it seems pretty lonely. Yeah.

of like it seems pretty lonely yeah just to start off can you introduce yourself to us my name is Orville Peck and I'm a country musician to us you're a country music superstar and you're known for your albums Pony and Bronco which are amazing and for having a really iconic specific aesthetic how would you describe it my aesthetic like my visual aesthetic yeah um i would describe it as weird lone ranger rhinestone cowboy western star meets um i don't know, a childhood trauma. No, I think it's a I don't know. I guess it's it's sort of my take on the iconic trope of the cowboy, I suppose. Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. And I know a big part of that aesthetic is that you hide your face under a cowboy hat with a long fringe.

So the public has never seen your face. Right. Right. hide your face under a cowboy hat with a long fringe. So the public has never seen your face, right? Right. Were you at all inspired by the iconic Hannah Montana to live a double life? I can't really cite Hannah Montana as an inspiration, unfortunately. Yeah, I mean, I guess what are the logistics of being like an in-the-world mask singer? Like do you wear a mask under your mask when you go on the subway or something. Whenever I go to dinner with the mask, I have to braid it and like put it aside so I can eat. Yeah, definitely. I've gone into certain functions or venues where they've

asked me to take it off at security, which is always a bit interesting. Yeah. I mean, let's talk about your I mean, your your image because you have a very specific iconic image that you know is is theatrical at times is big um where is that from like did this did this image of of your look come to you in like a dream or something I don't know it just uh you know I loved the Lone Ranger growing up um So I grew up in South Africa in Johannesburg until I was 15. I was always obsessed with the character of cowboys. Like I loved, you know, Lone Ranger. I loved this TV show called Cheyenne, which, you know, I used to watch the reruns of Cheyenne all the time.

And anybody who was sort of like a rebellious outsider or outcast who had this sort of innate solitude or loneliness to them but instead of that being their weakness it was sort of their power and they were like the hero of the story um because i think growing up i felt very much like an outcast and like an outsider and i i still to this day carry this sort of inexplicable irrational loneliness even though i'm surrounded by people who love me and family and friends like i still kind of carry that with me. But I think the beautiful thing about the kind of the trope or the sort of philosophy of the cowboy is that that's sort of their strength. Yeah, definitely. I mean, something, you know, cowboy culture or like the look is very popular right now. But we've also noticed that there's this trend of people who have been like historically on the sidelines kind of like

reinterpreting the cowboy look people might think that country music or the image of the cowboy is sort of like you know cis straight white american kind of world but the cowboy as just just in reality you know we there's a lot more talked about now that, you know, obviously like a lot of the first cowboys were actually not white. A lot of them were black. And most of cowboy aesthetic, the look and everything, a lot of that is drawn from, you know, like Latin culture and Mexican fashion and Mexican heritage, too. Mexican, you know, heritage too. And there's something really liberating and freeing about realizing that that sort of rebellious outsider power can kind of be taken on by anybody and assumed by anyone. And, you know, it's kind of like the spirit of the cowboy can live within anybody. I don't think you have to be, you know, like, you know, herding cattle in order to be a

cowboy. There's sort of like a more of an, herding cattle in order to be a cowboy. There's sort of like a more of a profound ethos of a cowboy as well. That seems to be catching on to, I suppose, more outsiders these days, people who feel on the outside. I mean, that's definitely when I was little, I grew up attached to the imagery because of that reason. Yeah. I mean, it's like what Mitski said, you know, be the cowboy. And everyone is. Yeah. Also, like the look is just dope as hell you know right which is a big part of it like i like walked around soho and everyone's wearing cowboy boots and i'm like yeah it looks great you know it feels good were you like a horse girl as a kid where you think i always

i i joke that i'm like a horse girl now i didn't have no I didn't ride when I was a kid but uh just because you know my family didn't we didn't couldn't afford it really but yeah I loved uh I've always loved horses and I ride I ride any chance I can now and oh that's so nice yeah yeah also cowboys are just like hot you know like hell yeah yeah like you walk into the club with some boots and a cowboy hat on. You're like, that guy's hot as hell. Like that's part of the coolness for me, you know? Yeah, totally. Like, what is it?

There's like there's like the there's like the five like male stripper tropes. It's like policemen, firemen, cowboy. I guess we're not really we're not., but you know, we're still ACAB. Well, if you're down, we have a game to play with you. Is that okay? I love games. Okay, and it's super easy. So basically, you know, we both know country songs are inspired by dramatic things that happen in everyday life.

So we're thinking that I could give you a list of scenarios and you can tell me whether they're worthy of a country song or not. Okay, I love it. Okay, cool. The name of the game is Melody or Melodont. So, um, don't put a groan every time I say that. First scenario. You got the wrong dressing on your salad. Melody

or Melodont? Ooh, Melody. I think you could do like an early 2000s Garth kind of song. Also, if the spirit strikes you, feel free to sing us a couple of bars, too. Yeah, I mean, you know,

it's like, I can't get my vinaigrette. I'm going to make y'all regret. Okay, this is great. Next one. Your roommate uses all the hot water. Melody or mellow don't?

I'm going to go melody again just because you know i really i truly think you can make a country song out of anything i mean they then they have i love that your favorite queen loses a drag race final melody or mellow don't oh melody i'm gonna just be like melody on all of these i feel like that could definitely be like a patsy cline like you know spotlight moment with like you know the ghost light on the stage kind of crazy yeah crazy for losing the lip sync oh uh okay cool let's keep going uh the fringe falls off your hat and your face is exposed to the world and you spent the morning drinking hawaiian punch so now you have go weird red punch stain around your mouth. Melody or Melodone? Melodone

because I think my career would be over. Okay, last one. A baby cow is loose on the highway and no one knows what to do when all of a sudden two cowboys race up on horses, lasso it to safety and save the day. Melody or Melodone? I mean Melody. That sounds

like one of my songs. Can you give us a taste of what the first line might sound like? It sounds like you might have an idea. Yeah, let me think. I don't care. I'm gonna save you, baby. I'm gonna save you now. You're gonna grow up a real happy cow. Was he riding his horse along the highway coincidentally? Or did someone have to point the shadow of a big hat up into the sky and he knew to come? The hat signal? I don't know. The hat signal.

The hat signal. i kind of just assumed that like cowboys are everywhere in oklahoma because he was working with another cowboy when he wrangled in the cow you know there are like two cowboys just around i love that they're just everywhere you know right right right right right right like how in new york there's hot dog cars exactly i love these specific people because I just think that they should hire cowboys to direct traffic everywhere. You know, like, yeah, I'd love to see a guy in suede chaps just lasso someone with a full cart and the 15 items are less vile. Like that's a lawless place that could really use a cowboy. We say the streets raise the sports of saveness.

We say the streets raised us, horses saved us. Just to start off, will you introduce yourself to us? I am Randy Savvy. I am the founder of Comfort Cowboys. You're also like a real life cowboy. Have you ever had a parallel park a horse before? I have tried. They don't really stand still. So they're like, either are we going up over the curb or like what am i doing like well can you tell us a little bit more about the compton cowboys like what you guys do what you're about yeah no doubt so common cowboys is i like to classify as as any questioning club and we all basically grew up together riding here in the Ritzland Farms at this ranch in a program that my aunt founded way back in 1988 called the Compton Junior Posse.

And she moved here and got some horses. And lo and behold, she realized that this community was so troubled with, you know, all these different social issues, right? Like gangs, drugs, crime, violence, police brutality. A lot of the stuff that you you know have seen and heard about over the decades that was going on in the city of Compton so she said well maybe if I use my horses to draw the kids in and then when they come I can say hey if you want to ride first of all you have to make sure you're showing your report card you have to make sure you're going to school and people are saying you're behaving and all these different things so kids always will come knock on the door to ask to ride the

horse and she will say okay you want to ride here's my program yeah so are you guys really integrated with the Compton scene now like when people are driving their cars down they see a horse ride by like does anyone is like not blinking an eye now well interestingly enough like I said Compton was founded as uh the Reston Far farms where we are is ground zero for Compton. So the founder of Compton, G.D. Compton, was when he settled in this area, he was a farmer himself and he chose this area specifically because the land was rich. And so he settled here and when he went to incorporate Compton, he made sure that this town was deeded as an agricultural zone into perpetuity in the paperwork. he made sure that this town was deeded as an agricultural zone into perpetuity in the paperwork. So now in 2022, we still are a farm town. We don't have sidewalks. We have dirt roads and gravel and people have ranch animals and stuff. So the core essence of Compton is farming.

Well, we're talking about cowboys this week because we read this story about these two cowboys who lassoed a cow off the side of the highway when like the authorities couldn't have you ever done anything like this before um very similar situations yes uh we've definitely had to go out there and get horses out of situations that you know the typical bystander or you know community member couldn't really solve like for example you know one time a horse got loose in the neighborhood and uh there's no way to like regular dealing with horse horses and having horsemanship is a very particular skill set and a lot of times if you're just a regular everyday person you don't know how to really deal with the horse you don't know how to get them to move a certain way how to

talk to them a certain way so it usually takes people that have experience to do that and so we've definitely been out in the neighborhood chasing horses down getting them back home uh yeah and that kind of thing for sure yeah what's it what's the Compton Cowboys role in the community like do you occupy a specific place in the ecosystem I love that question I think that our role in the community mostly is to bring, yeah, bring nature to the city. You know, we love the dirt. We love the animals. We love the green trees. We plant, we have a garden and we love to dwell outside under the sky and we light fires. The more people see it, the more they kind of gravitate or at least it at least touches them in some kind of way. So your ranch sounds like a really exciting place.

Is there like a standout moment of your favorite moment on the ranch? When I'm able to come home and go back in the back and see all those kids back there just running around and riding the horses and just having the time of their life. It's just like changing the community for the better. We grew up a lot of times in these areas. I grew up rough. Me and a lot of our friends, we could have lost our lives to these streets like a lot of our friends did. The streets could have took us out and they didn't. And we owe that to these horses. And so for me to be able to make it out of that and now be able to do something with my friends to pay it forward is very rewarding. You know, that's definitely my favorite moment.

Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. It sounds like really rewarding to see like the past and the present and the future all in one place on the ranch. And all the while you're wearing really cool cowboy outfits during the whole thing. Yeah. It looks good too. That's my thing. I always try to be swagged out that's our thing we try to be like we want to be the most swaggy coolest cowboys that ever lived Part of why I love this story is because it's like one of those classic, the right person for the right job who's right there, like you mentioned. Have you ever been like the right person for the right job in that moment? So I don't have a lot of skills, which makes it difficult.

Like, but I'm trying to think of right person right time because it's like you know if i'm on a flight and i'm trying to think of like what kind of emergency like is there a doctor on the plane i'd be like i mean i'm jewish so like i know some they're not here so i feel like i feel like i always want to be the right person for i i always wish like oh time for me to snap into action like jason bourne but they never need just like uh like a smart ass yeah i guess i could use you if i'm gonna like a like a sassy fight with one of my enemies and i just i call you and did some write some jokes for me on the fly yeah that would be like if you if you need someone to babysit while you go toe-to-toe with another assassin like i

don't do that as much anymore but like i could i used to teach pre-k so like there you go those skills yeah yeah yeah right like like if someone tough was like like in in kill bill if like uma thurman had been like hold this baby while i murder a bunch of guys. I'd be like, oh, I know how to do that. You support the head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I could be there. Absolutely. Yeah. I love the, is there a doctor on the plane phenomenon?

Because whenever that happens, my dad is a doctor. And he always like goes up there. But the thing is, he always comes back a little bummed because there's like multiple doctors on every plane. And they kind of pick the one they trust the most. And my dad comes like schlepping back to his seat. And he's like, they didn't pick the one they trust the most my dad comes like schlepping back to his seat and he's like they didn't pick me but that's okay do you think in this story there was like another cowboy that's like time for old lance to shine he's like swirling his lasso in the air and like oh we already got the cow and he's like ah son of a gun yeah yeah but i don't think it would get him down. Yeah, I think he'd just shoot the air a couple times and go back into the sunset.

Yeah. Cowboys would rather shoot the air many times with their guns than go to therapy. I've always said that. Yeah, and thank you for saying that, Josh, and everyone will. Hey, Sarah. Nice to meet you. Yeah, nice to meet you. So just to start, can you introduce yourself to us?

Yeah, my name is Sarah Fulton. I live in Brooklyn. I've been in New York for about 13 years now. And I'm originally from Alaska. So we heard this crazy story about you involving a possum. Would you tell it to us? Yeah, sure. Yeah, I was hanging out at a bar next to the place I work. I work at Stowaway in Greenpoint and the bar Tempkins next door. I was hanging out outside with my friend. And then this creature like runs into the bar. And we're like, what was that? And my friend was like, Oh, I think that was a dog and I was like I don't know that looks like a possum and we run into the bar everyone's on the other side of the bar freaking out they're

like what do we do what do we do what is that and then we're all just trying to figure out how to like capture it and like take it back outside and everyone's like just losing it and I was just like well guess I'm the calmest one here so I just just went over, like, you know, crouched down and just picked him, scruffed him and carried him outside and let him be on his merry way. That's so crazy to me because I'm the kind of person who sees a pigeon on my AC and I'm like. Well, this week on the show, we're talking about people who were the right person for the job at the right time and you were like that person exactly weren't you yeah absolutely did your head go into like alaska mode where you had like a specific thought process of how to how to deal with it yeah yeah i mean i was like right before i did that when i told everyone i was like

all right i got this i'm from alaska you know and i was like it's like i'd I did that, when I told everyone, I was like, all right, I got this. I'm from Alaska. You know? And I was like, I'd never pull that card. But I was like, I'm going to do it because if I do, no one is going to question me. Exactly. And I'm just going to be able to. They're like, okay. She's from Alaska, guys. Yeah.

Yeah. Because I was like, I mean, this is not a moose or a bear. It's a possum. I can easily handle a possum. Take me to the moment where you like actually grab its neck like did it what does what does it even feel like to grab a possum right i mean it's just like elm it felt like picking up a heavy cat you know it's just like i felt like that was like the safest way to do it without harming him you know and i was

just like he was just frozen in fear in the corner. And so, you know, I just crouched down and he wasn't moving because he was like, he's playing possum. I mean, when you look back at your life, do you feel like, what do you feel like prepared you for this moment? You know? I mean, growing up and living in Alaska, having moose grow up in my backyard and like going camping with black bears, you i think just being around all these wild animals i thought i was brave enough as a human being and a person before but now after like handling an opossum and realizing that's not a normal thing that everybody does i know that kind of is like i was like i feel like that's just like proving how alaskan i am and like just like being more comfortable with like saying yes I am from Alaska

so what happens after like you just everyone just goes back to normal yeah there was just like shots lined up on the bar for me they're like you're a hero I'm like well all right I'll take it I'll take it. Well, Josh, we want to play a game with you, if that's okay. I would love that. And it's called, What Would a Cowboy Say? It's a fun one.

So we're going to give you a scenario, and you give us what kooky thing a cowboy might say in response. Does that make sense? It makes perfect sense. Nothing's ever made more sense to me than this. Great. Okay, let's get into it. How about he accidentally drops his ice cream cone on the ground.

What would a cowboy say? Darn. This is like a day with no sunset. Love it. Love it. Simile. Got it. He forgot to do the dishes.

What's he saying? Dang, Curtis. That's his roommate. Dang, Curtis. That's his roommate. Dang, Curtis. I'm sorrier than a shaved porcupine. That was really good. His cat got stuck up a tree. What does a cowboy say?

He'll be like, Fluffernutter. That's the cat's name. Fluffernutter. Y'all better come down here in one twitch of a bull's tail, or I'm coming up after you with the speed of a hailstone on a hot day. Ooh-wee, I love that one. His best friend is marrying his ex-girlfriend. What's a cowboy saying? Dang, Curtis.

They're roommates and best friends. Yeah, I get it, Curtis. They're roommates and best friends. Yeah, I get it. I thought you were true blue, but you're whatever color a snake's blood is. And twice as poison. Oh, ouch. That's hard. Here's a movie spoiler. What does a cowboy say? Ain't you know how to keep a secret under your hat?

I want to enjoy the devil wears Prada. One more, okay? He saves the day. What does the cowboy say? Much obliged. All in a day's work for a range-roving, horse-straddling, rope-rustler like myself. And a good day to y'all. Yeah.

Josh just tipped his hat as a final in-character. I'm not wearing a cowboy hat. It's a Red Sox baseball cap, but I did tip it in the fashion that I imagine a cowboy might. Close enough. And I loved it. Well, Josh, that was beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Here's the rootin' tootin'-us part of the podcast. The credits. This show is brought to you by Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. This episode was produced by Haley Fager, Zola Ray, and Nancy Seichow. With help from Oja Lopez, Blythe Robertson, Lillian King, Sophie Arnetis-Muniz, and the lady that gave me a free mango in the store. Thanks, lady! Our supervising producer is Jennifer Mills,

and our Mikey boy is Mike Danforth. Once again, Lorna White, you make her sound incredible and we love you. Thank you. Thanks to Sarah Fulton for being a gentle vanquisher of Brooklyn possums. Just don't think about it. Just go. Orville Peck, thank you for being the coolest horse girl I know. I don't know what anybody here is talking about.

His album Bronco is available now and it is really good. Thank you to Randy Savvy for keeping the spirit of the cowboy around. Ah, sounds elusive. You can find and listen to Randy's music at randysavvy.com. That's R-A-N-D-Y-S-A-V-V-Y dot com. Thank you to my co-host, comedian, week-week panelist

and needlepoint pillow enthusiast Josh Gondelman. Live, laugh, moo. His stand-up special People Pleaser is available to stream on platforms like YouTube, Amazon, Apple TV, and more. I'm Emma Choi, and you can find me at WaitWaitNPR, and playing it real cool at the movie theater, pretending that I definitely do not have four cobs of corn in my bag. Okay, I'm done. This is NPR.