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On my ninth birthday, I stood with my face pressed against the cold window, watching for my dad’s headlights. They never came.

In Episode 2 of Strange Friends, Shane and I go back to the beginning of my story. I grew up in Lansing, Michigan, one of seven kids raising ourselves while my mom was in and out of the hospital and my dad was gone. We went without heat, water, and food, collected pop cans just to eat, and I got mocked at school for dirty clothes until I stopped going.

This is also a story about the people who showed up: Aunt Jennifer, our neighbors Fred, Jackie, and Julie, Grandma Weir, and Uncle Greg, who told me he saw something in me and would never make me play music, only help me if I wanted it. From there it goes to Texas, losing everything, a vision at Cornerstone, forming Least of These, getting kicked out of the band, and choosing forgiveness over revenge.

We close with a challenge: teach the kids in your life to choose curiosity over judgment, because you never know what someone is carrying.

If this episode meant something to you, share it with someone who needs it. That’s how Strange Friends grows.

Content note: this episode discusses childhood neglect, physical abuse, and addiction.

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Judgment is easy. Curiosity takes courage, and it might be the one thing that can still repair relationships in a culture that loves labels more than people. We kick off Strange Friends by explaining why this show exists and why we’re convinced that stories are the fastest way to melt stereotypes, soften defensiveness, and make room for actual connection.

We talk about what we mean by “strange” and why being peculiar is not a curse. Shane shares his “road trip list” idea: he loves everybody, but he’s not taking an eight-hour drive with everybody, and that’s what healthy boundaries look like when you’re trying to stay present for your closest people. From there we zoom out to the bigger problem: online outrage and real-life division thrive when we judge without context. Shane’s mom had a rule that still hits hard: never judge someone without knowing the whole story.

Then we tell two stories that make the point real. First, a childhood moment where Shane misjudges Alfonso, feels intimidated, and later gets defended in a way that turns a “scary stranger” into a lifelong brother. Second, how Shane meets Josh at a long-awaited show, leading to Josh opening up about being unexpectedly removed from his band, processing loss, and discovering his music kept blessing people for 15 years. It’s funny, raw, and surprisingly hopeful.

If you want a podcast about empathy, friendship, storytelling, and rebuilding connection across differences, come hang with us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves a good story, and leave a review so more strange friends can find us.

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