Cement City: Episode 10 | A Thousand Pairs of Untied Shoes

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“Well, I think it all comes down to money.”

And, eh, did you read the valley today about Amazon locating here in the Western Pennsylvania area? Yeah. I know that. I've been following that in the paper because they got over 90 different locations in Western Pennsylvania.

You know? And it is going to create something like 55,000 jobs. And, you know, it is all coming down to what Amazon wants and what they are willing to do. The doors got their name in there too. No.

I mean, we got, hey, we got river travel, we got railroad travel, we got good roads, squiling in and out, we got good storage, got everything's here. And we got the land for them to, based on how large they are going to be now, you know, how many square foot, it did quote square footage, because they are going to need a lot of square footage for warehouse space.

When they make a decision, should it locate in the north, this would be a boom down. I mean, just, that would be a big deal. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's getting near lunch time or lunch at that. Oh, yeah, I want to get going.

Yeah, you. I got myself on and waiting for him, you know, I send a call me, but you have one eat out night tonight or what they're taking me out. Is it, is it your birthday or what, yeah, pretty close. I'm going to lunch in tomorrow afternoon and then on Sunday, we'll party at my thesis

so I, I Sunday I'll be, I don't quite feel 88 years old yet, I'm getting there. We'll have to be birthday. Time Jean Marie Laskus on this is cement city, chapter 10, a thousand pairs of untied shoes. Oh, my friends here, we haven't been there in so long, yeah, where did we park, we're buying these?

Oh, that, oh, that taxidermy, wait, is the endie here or there? What's that? Oh, it's up here, yeah, okay, that, just that taxidermy place I'm curious about. Is it operating still?

“I drove dipping, remember that lady you got her dog friend for you strained.”

Aaron and I are closing in on the end of our year in Donora. From the beginning, we planned to stay a year.

We're down on McCain Avenue where we landed when we first got here, we're looking for

my car. I guess I parked in front of Andy's TV repair and by the way, he still has my TV. He told me he could fix it and took my deposit, but that's the last I've heard. I've meaning to look into that. I've said that formality is closed.

I know. It looks like the taxidermy renal shops closed since we were last down here. Did they move or something? So is the portrait studio that's attached to it? Building first sale.

Aside from that, it's a big one.

Nothing looks all that different than it did when we first drove into town back in February.

How did this? But it feels different.

“I had said when you knew it when it was, I remember the first time we walked down the”

street. When it wasn't that long ago, huh, huh, huh. Looking in these windows at the dusty shoes and the baroboxes and the hairdo's on the ladies on the baroboxes, it just seemed like there was nothing here.

But now I can think about as all the stuff we're going to miss.

“And I'm feeling this weird little tug of nostalgia, like preemptive nostalgia.”

Like I'm already imagining myself on the other side of this thing. We have a model and everything. And it's sad. The friendship of those we serve is the foundation of our success. It's going to be hard to leave.

Oh, the Nora. This is pretty much where my head is. Just as we turn the corner and spot a couple of our friends heading up the block. It's kitty from the pretzel getting in her sweatpants. She's with Kiyara, the Emo kid with a hoodie.

The one who plays the mountain dulcimer, Cameron's sister, Cameron with a tooth. Hey guys. We haven't seen him in a while. Neither of them. How are you?

Good. What are you guys up to? Why don't we go? We've found giant light bulbs and we broke them in the alley. Like I put them on the ground and it's like, no, I swung my light bulb around and it smashed

into hers and the end of hers broke. And then we went to alley and I talked to her. We were going to smash him in the alley and then like she dropped it. We heard someone say the basement doors unlocked and then we ran. I dropped mine.

It didn't break. She dropped hers and it shattered. Like bulbs. Is that what you said? Yeah.

Like the big one. Like the big one. Like the big one. Like the big one. What are you going to do?

Break the mash in the alley. Where are they now? In the alley. I had no idea these two were friends and they're clearly friends.

The kind of friends you smash light bulbs together and complete each other's senses. I love this about tonight. The whole six degrees of Kevin Bacon thing.

Except here it's never more than three degrees, Max.

Everyone's connected to everyone else. It's just a matter of how. And I guess these two are both seventh graders. They probably ride the bus together up to the middle school. I've heard a lot about that bus.

We're bad kids when we're with each other. Yeah, we are. It's cool. We can't even sit next to each other in school. That's how bad it is.

We're up stairs and just start screaming. We're not allowed by each other and it's going more. Like in the hallway at lunch, in class, we're not allowed by each other anymore. We've gotten to know Kitty pretty well by now, but we haven't spent much time with Kira. We've seen her at the skating rink.

She goes there a lot. And up at Ken Griffey Field for her brother's little league games. Her dad's the coach. Kira helps with a concession stand. We've seen her there behind the counter and her braces.

She's always wearing that hoodie.

It's the kind of hoodie kids like her basically live in.

“Are you bad when you're by yourself or with other kids?”

I'm innocent as crap if you couldn't already tell, but when I was her, I do whatever I want. And what about you? I get in trouble normally a lot on daily basis. Wait, we got to do the emo dance. Kitty and Kira are suddenly out in the middle of the street.

Dry rating their hips and flailing their arms around in the air. I guess this is the emo dance. I can kind of see whether these two aren't allowed to sit together in school. I had a friend like this when I was their age. Like a partner in crime.

I was definitely the kitty. What do you guys been up to besides smashing light bulbs? Not been really. We were just up there talking to your brother. Yeah.

Hello ladies, how are you? Good to see you. We're going over the dukes. We weren't planning on going to dukes, but what's going on at dukes? Well, we're going to go eat.

That's me, the big thing. Is that spot there? Yeah, maybe we went. You shanked him. Hello ladies, how are you?

Hi. I was a little over enthusiastic with that hello. It's just that we don't usually run into Jim McDonough out in the wild. We mostly see him up on a ladder at his diner. And it's particularly weird seeing him in the same frame as these kids.

It's like a colliding at worlds or something. Kitty and Kira probably have no idea who this guy even is, but he's about to become their new mayor. They're more interested in these light bulbs. Yeah, I'm about to go back down there and break them.

Do you want to go do that? Yeah, I'm about to go. Wait, we'll come with you.

“Yeah, we can pretend we're not with you, doesn't it?”

Okay. Yeah, you can just wait over here. The alleys right down there. This is like a really boring thing. I'm about to say a grown-up thing.

I'm about to say like, "No cares, I mean, in the denora, who cares? We're in the north. Who cares, really?" Right? I mean, no one cares.

I mean, we were out there and they heard it, but they didn't do nothing about it. They heard it. Like it literally, if someone came outside and was doing it, they wouldn't have stopped this at all. They'd probably say, "Go do that somewhere else."

The alleys just like right here, so you can like wait up there or something. I don't know. You're trying to pretend you're not with us. Oh, we gotta do the E-mo run. [CHEERING]

Kira is chasing after Kitty. They're running downhill, deeper into the alley. Erin and I are falling behind them at a safe distance, pretending we're not with them. But of course, we are. And I'm suddenly feeling a little guilty.

I mean, I am the adult here. I probably should have tried harder to talk to Matt at us.

Everything's on camera.

This breaking of the light bulbs.

Oh, you guys? That's him. [SCREAMING] We're standing back watching the carnage. They're having so much fun.

You can just see it. It's like, this is freedom. I could see this guy in the distance, yelling in their direction. Our direction. He's clearly an eyewitness.

And now I feel really bad. I haven't encouraged that yet, but I would have done that. That's part of the phone. I'm sorry. Erin's laughing, and I feel a little better, a little.

I mean, if Erin's laughing at it, off it can't be that bad.

“Although I think I might have started rubbing off on her after all these months.”

She's loosened up. She's become my partner in crime. The Kira are to my kitty. Did you see that guy? No.

Oh, there was a guy.

I don't think he thinks he's--

Did he see us? He saw he hurt something, and he's-- Yo, do you know there's cameras up and down this alley, don't you? I doubt that. It's where I figured--

I don't know, this is you. No, my dude. Everybody knows my dad. OK, I did it. Look, OK.

Look at that, look at that, look at that. I got you on me. Do you-- everybody knows my dad. I'm watching Kitty and Kira try to get their story straight. Trying to figure out if they're going to get caught.

I'm going to be able to do a cut copy. And what's going to happen if they do? I don't find you seen her face. I believe me, I've been there. There's cameras that could see your face.

Yo, what's been-- Of course, there are cameras. All over the place. This camera they have, right? We sat with a police chief and watched the feed.

Did you see what you said about scare us? I don't have any meat to tell them that now.

“Honestly, I should have thought of it earlier.”

I'll just go home at the moment. I came home. So I accidentally dropped a big light bulb that I found in the garbage next to that place. Actually, OK.

I like to see Molly on the show. We found some light bulbs and broke them in the alley. From dood yelled and said, "We're not bringing me into this. I'd rather not get in trouble." OK, I'll be like, "Hey, Molly.

I don't want to get you around if I'm going to hot topic. I love hot topic. I literally live there." I don't want to get you around if I'm going to hot topic. I literally live there.

It sounds like Kitty's going to take the fall. I got to pull my dad. And her mom will be happy. Poor Nicole. I could just see her.

She'll be furious. Kitty won't be giving the house for weeks. And I'm sure Kitty knows that. But she's willing to step up, anyway, to make she did it.

Kitty's loyal like that. She doesn't want her friend to miss out on hot topic. I hate it. Pop-tarts. As we walk back up the hill,

“Kitty points to an empty box of pop-tarts.”

She bought them a dollar dinner with the other day, and then ate them, and then threw the box on the ground. I'm not sure why she wants us to know this. But it's making me think of something else she said, a few minutes ago.

Her response to my one feeble attempt to talk her out of smashing those light bulbs. The grown-up thing I was about to tell her before she interrupted me and said, "Who cares?

It's Denora. Who even cares?" This is something I'll keep thinking about. Because that's not a thing a little kid would say. Just like a little kid wouldn't point out trash

on the ground and take credit for it. Kids aren't typically that cynical. And I'm just left with this feeling. It's like I can really feel the passage of time. Like we're stepping into a whole new chapter here.

These kids aren't kids anymore. When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city to see a marching band. He said, "Son, man, you grow up. Would you be the savior of the broken?

The beaten and the damned." He said, "Well, you don't mean them." You don't even know the song. Dad don't. You're disgraced with the e-motronity. Hey.

Hello. What's how tired you look?

Oh, I'm just getting my second whip.

Oh, come on. What are you doing? Oh, I'm revishing the table. Oh, I'm on the floor. I just went to the bathroom after it's been so big.

Wow. We're downtown at Jim's diner. We stopped in at Duke's for dinner, but we just missed him. We figured we'd find him over here. So it looks different from last time we were here.

I'm really amazing. I'll read you. I'm wearing a part. I've been wanting you to get over here for a peek at the diner. Last three left off.

Jim was playing dope in this place by the end of the year. But the year's almost over, and it looks like he's still got a ways to go. Oh, man. So you've seen all that down? Yep.

We're going to stay in this metal, get all the pits out of him. We're reforming them, and then putting them back together, fixing whatever's broken. Frankly, I'm a little surprised to see the state of things.

it. They're exposed wires everywhere. The boots are pulled out of the wall and sitting in the middle of the room. I mean, it's clear he's working hard. He's hand-sounding the pedestal of every stool stool.

There's also pretty clear no-in-zating pancakes here anytime soon. Who hours each? This is going to say, this is a lot of elbow grease. Yeah. Very satisfying, though.

Is it? It sounded good when I said it. I was like a drink when a Pepsi or a beer. I'm going to miss being offered a Pepsi.

I'm never offered a Pepsi.

Anywhere else in my life. It's only Jim. Every time we see him, we have a Pepsi or a beer, and we sit down at this counter. It's the same counter where we sat and talked to him the first time we met him back in May, then I did the primary thing.

I remember thinking, that's our new mayor. In fact, I remember saying it before it was even a done deal. It was just so clear to me that this was the guy. And I have to say this. Everyone who run into, and we talk about what's a future of dinner and some people

are going to be good, we're pulling it out. Some people are like, uh, it's going down the tubes. You know, you hear it all? I will tell you this, and I'm not kidding you. The one consistent thing we hear is, well, you know, we got that new mayor coming in.

He really seems like a really good guy. And that's either any side of this. So you're getting some serious, like, support all over the place. I think I summed it up for me, the best to infer, and to. I told you guys, we, we lived our lives a certain way, and I've been in this time of

whole life since I was, I think, one or two years old, I've only known DaNora, never really

been in trouble. Just been your typical run of the middle guy, go to work every day, try to raise my family, and we, we, we lived a certain way, and you always wonder that, will it matter? Is, is this the way you see it? It feels like every time we talk to Jim, this is how it goes.

We sit down at the counter, I ask him half a question, or maybe it's not even a question, and boom, he's off for the races.

“It's like all you have to do is hit play, and he's waxing poetic.”

About the heart and soul of this town, and the good people who live here, and duty, and honor, and doing the right thing. We just have to start doing the right thing constantly. I wonder if this is the kind of stuff he thinks about while he's sanding down the tables. We're doing the stainless metal, getting all the pits out.

We take no acclimates, and we just proceed to the next problem. That's it. That's all we got. Whatever else you want to say about him, Jim definitely has a way of putting you at ease. Making you feel like the town's in good hands, which is something I feel like I really

need right now. I guess it's something we all need. When everything feels uncertain, and you don't know what's going to happen next. I need to do this, and they expect someone like me to do this, so I should do this. I guess that's what civic responsibility is.

I mean, theodore Roosevelt, the man in the arena, that's what it is, that's where we're at.

I've seen it work in this town for years where we have great plans of grandeur that never

happened. We've shot ourselves in a foot, everything we've ever done.

“The only way to make things move forward is having a leader and having all the people in”

place. I don't know if I'm that leader, but I'm going to try. I think you're that leader. I hope you are. I need you to be.

It's funny. I said, and I still would stick by it and everybody knows, it takes more than one person. I realize that, but I'm a bit of a history buff, and I can tell you that it's one person that gets this going, and then everything falls into place from there. Jim's got this far away look in his eyes.

He's leaning on the counter, resting his elbows. I can see where the front mic is worn from years of people resting your elbows. It's got to feel exciting. Sitting here in his diner, or is soon to be diner, in his hometown, getting ready to become mayor.

It must feel like everything's falling into place, like it's destiny or something. I feel like Jim's the kind of guy who believes in destiny. He's the kind of guy whose name is Kid Lincoln. Because if you tell me yesterday was yesterday, I'll tell you, yesterday is tomorrow, unless you acknowledge yesterday, that's the way that works.

I'll be honest. Sometimes I just get so lost in Jim's voice. His delivery, the whole vibe, that I almost stopped listening to what he's even saying, and I have to catch myself and ask, what are we actually talking about? The long-term plan is, grow, grow, grow, constantly think to the next solution to the

“problem you don't even have, and that's what we need to do.”

Speaking of growing, what do we know about the community college?

They're still talking about it, but I haven't seen them come back into town as of late.

“This isn't something that I feel we should wait back on our haunches and then try to anticipate”

what they want from us. It should be pursued, constant, constant. It should be almost a daily call to somebody saying, we are from DeNora, we are still here, our building is doing nothing but getting another day without your presence. How do we make that change?

What exactly is going to make this happen? We want to commit it. Make the bones about it. DeNora needs CCAC. CCAC.

It doesn't need DeNora. Washington County is big, and there's lots of land, and lots of old dilapidated buildings, and lots of communities that will want them. So we need to make it quite clear to them that they should come here. You're going to be such a good man, like your answer is so good.

Like if we were on TV right now, which we're not, like we're not that.

“But if we were, like that would have played that, you know?”

We're not on TV, but of course we do have a microphone, and eventually I'll listen back to this tape, and to all the other cringy stuff I said, that we recorded almost without

thinking, just because they are never shut the recorder off.

There are definitely times I wish you a shut the recorder off. I mean, I just want it to be true, because he's so insightful, and so, um, wanted, I mean, at least the rhetoric is, he really wants to do the right thing. I mean, I hope it's all true. I don't, I don't see a crack in it.

I think it is true. I just don't want to be disappointed, because I do feel, I mean, what I was saying in there, I really meant, like, if DeNora has hope is that guy. I mean, you know how, it's another one of his times, like, here we are, like, wanting to believe.

Like, I'm having one of my really bad, like, one of my really big wanting to believe moments, because this guy. Yeah, I get it. It could crash in a second. But I think he's everything I do.

I'm gonna see any cracks.

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It is not hard to destroy a college. Last season, the Podcast Campus Files brought you stories of fraternity drug rings, stolen body parts, campus cults, and more. And now, Campus Files is back for another season. There's a guy screaming into his phone, he's like, "Just turn the Kirkya assassinated

right in front of me." Every week is a new episode and a new story. Yeah, it's okay. I like, it's almost a university on a siege. Listen to and follow Campus Files, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Good. Early for the council meeting, so we wanted to stop in. Hey, I went down in New York and I put $2 in that poker machine thing that I got. And I won $15 and John didn't have enough $5, so I bought a $20 scratch up and how he arrived.

He said, "Don't waste your money, don't waste your money." And you know what? $100 winner. Thank you. Thank you.

What's that like? $100? But I couldn't cash it because he didn't have enough money. The money in the cash register, to give it my money. You're like the luckiest, like, with the luckiest, but I have been very fortunate lately.

Erin and I are at the Burrow Building inside the police station, killing time before the council meeting. It's December. The last council meeting of the year, Cindy's here, unless she's at her Delhi, she's almost always here.

Donnie's here too, leaning against the wall and a button down shirt and tie.

I've never seen him all dressed up like this.

He's usually wearing camo. So, this is your last council meeting. How are you feeling? Oh, sad. You know what?

You're going to be sorry because you're going to miss us. Probably will. I'm not sure why, but it hadn't really fully hit me until right at this moment.

Mayor Piglet, Pivelka.

“I guess I've just been so excited about Jim coming in about this new crew taking over, that”

I hadn't really thought about the goby's and it's going to be a big change. All that good with words, so, but I play it on the ram while I'm a little bit tonight. You see what happens? It feels like the end of an era. Would you like to give your farewell speech?

Can I just order? Did you write it down? Nope.

I've been thinking about it for two weeks, I've been, like I said, I've never been a well-spoken

person, so I'm going to ramble. Did you pick out that tie special for today? Yep. I thought about it, I had a Christmas tie and this tie, so I figured I would just tie. Well, how do you describe that tie?

I'm American, I wonder if it's made in America. Donnie's got his chin pressed down against his chest, searching for the tag on the back of his tie. It's silky and covered in plaid. I can't see what it does.

I don't have a little, no. I'm patriotic. I like it. I like the blazer. They're looking really good for this guy tag on it.

Yeah, but nothing on it. What's that red dude? I thought it was America. What if I was made in America? There you go.

I'm still trying to go. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. There's something so sweet about this moment, Cindy leaning in to inspect Donnie's

tie before she straightens it and gives the knot a little tug.

“It's so simple and tender, a little gesture that tells you everything you need to know”

about these two. It's the kind of moment that will really stick with me after we eventually leave this place. There have been so many moments like this. And Nuzling into Jim's chest after he got the big news. Kitty standing on the porch face to face with one of the boys who likes her, trying to decide

if she likes him back. Art the organists alone in the church, practicing, tiptoeing his fingers across the keys of the organist mom bought. It just makes me realize how much we've become a part of this place.

We're not denorants, we never aspire to be, that's not the point.

It's more like we've had a backstage pass, VIP access to people being people in all the rawness and vulnerability. It's a privilege, but it's a delicate one and don't take it for granted. It's the kind of thing you hand it with care. All right, we'll go ahead and miss this charge of public safety.

Thank you, Mr. President. Please report on the month of November, 2017, 36 total offenses reported and 35 total arrests. I don't have no motions. Thank you, Mr. Drogo.

We have a knockdown. Santa will be delivering treats on a fire truck on Thursday, December 21st, starting to 6pm. Now we'll head to the emergency port with the Mayor, the life of all come. Thank you, Mr. President.

Well, to put it in the words of former council person, Thomas Collins, the landscape. This is going to be my swan song. So 18 years and four months has gone by pretty fast. And I think I'm going to ramble for a little bit here.

You know, I never called the Burrow Building and never had a problem.

Never complained about anything. But when my children, Emily and Katie were cheerleaders with the major football, I start hearing from people their concerns. So I decided to run for council. People asked me, why are you running for council?

Well, my answer always was always do good for the North. I hope I have. I couldn't solve everybody's problems. And you knew council people in New Mayor. They're going to be times when you want to help somebody off so bad.

You could fill it in your bones. But there is absolutely nothing you could do for.

“It's heartbreaking sometimes the decisions you have to make.”

But I would like to thank the people of the North for electing me five times. First council and one is Mayor, and I appreciate that. I hope that you can somewhere along the line say that Donnie did good for the door. And I'm very emotional so you have to excuse me there. But I like to say that.

Donnie's misty-eyed staring up at the ceiling, visibly struggling to keep himself from full and crying, maybe wishing he'd written some of the stuff down. Wonderful, wonderful police force. He starts stumbling through as many thank yous, praising the police department, and chief Bryce, who deals with every kind of situation you can imagine.

volunteers.

“The skeleton crew that's keeping this place going.”

He even gives a special nod to Mrs. Trozo, Mrs. Rails to trails Trozo. She's stepping down after decades of service. I had no idea she'd been doing this for so long. I had no idea she was even that old. I guess she used to babysit for Donnie, not for Donnie's kids for Donnie, and even after

all they've been through together, all the disagreements and disappointments that come with being on a small town council. He says he still thinks of her like an ant. "I'm friendly ant." "Like I said, I'm not feeling for the North is the North is family.

It's always been that way.

And I hope that the new council members and new new mayor keep this philosophy alive." With that, I wish it was all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and I hope that the new council will move the North forward. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor, thank you, men, and they're both reservant in your time.

Thank you, Mrs. Trozo.

“Same way, I'll say everything else you want to add.”

We have a motion to adjourn, so we'll have Mr. Trozo. I want favor. All right, all right, all right, all right. After the meeting ends, I find myself looking around at the crowd, giving a little nod to my fellow council regulars.

Mr. Kevin Davis with his steps, and Mr. Suburner with the teeth, and Chantall, the town do good are where they're clean up days.

They're all packing up and putting on their winter coats, getting ready to head outside.

I noticed both the college kids not here, but I guess neither is his friend Jimmy Colter. This was supposed to be Colter's last meeting as Council Vice President, but we haven't seen him since the big police raid on his Delhi. We went by there to check on him, but the door was locked. I imagine there's going to be a lot coming down the pipe for our friend Jimmy with an

IE. "You're going to a good job, man. Seriously, can you be back here?" As for Eancy, he's still pending trial, and still coming to these council meetings.

“I'm watching him shake hands with Donnie, and scan the room for his next hand shake.”

I wonder if he'll still be here next month when this new group comes in. His arrangements have been pushed back three times, but as far as I know, it's scheduled for January, so we'll see what happens. The other person I'm really curious about is Ed. What's going to happen with Ed?

It's crazy to think how long he's been coming here to these meetings, sitting in the audience, waiting for his chance, and now his moments arrived. He's going to be up there in the front of the room in the seat of power, and wonder what that's going to be like. "Hey, congratulations.

I haven't seen you. Are you kidding?" "I'm not a mischief for a while."

"Okay, I'm waiting for the second.

That's the realization meeting." "The second?" "Is when you first meet?" "The second of January, yes. I have a lot of work ahead of us.

They won't be easy, but we have to be brave enough to face it." "What are you anticipating your first, your main work?" "I'm hoping to be sure to finance actually, and if not that public safety. We need to do a full financial audits, see where the money's going, what's coming in. I'm going to look at the real numbers, no matter what I have to dig into, I'll do it."

"Do you tell us a little bit of just for a second, like how it was when you found out that you won?" "I was very excited, actually. I thought it was going to be much, much closer than it was, one by over a hundred votes, and he went down in flames essentially, but he did it himself.

Okay, he's gone anyway, I'm very pleased that there's still some decency left in this town, but that was when it come down in just a few votes between us, he ended up with three hundred and one, I ended up with four hundred and ten plus extra writings on top of that. "That's a good win."

"So it's like some truth, sometimes." "Okay." "No, so what were you doing when you got the news or you at your house?" "I was having dinner, actually, and I was having dinner in my grandmother's house, actually." "What are you guys having for dinner?"

"Poruggish." "Hello, Mrs. Rice." "Hi, how are you?" "I'm good tonight." "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely. I can't wait." "I've been waiting for this for 18 months now." "Okay." "Well."

"Good for us." "Cheers to the new dinner." "I'm looking forward to it." "I really am. I think we're going to work out fine because all of us are going to get along.

"So that's great." "That's great." "That's great, gentlemen."

"I can't wait till the second."

"I know. It's coming." "Oh, here we go." "Jimmy Dennis here."

“This is his last meeting as an ordinary citizen.”

He gave a little speech earlier and said something to that effect, and also something about chainsaws that I wasn't quite following. He's standing here gossiping with Cindy, he's got her by the elbow. They're laughing. It feels like an inside joke.

Meanwhile, it's just standing here politely, and his stick will trench coat, waiting for them to finish. Jim's acting almost like Ed is an even here. I can't say for sure if it's deliberate, but it kind of feels that way. And I feel bad for Ed.

The way you feel bad for the kid, who has no one to sit with in the long-term. "Okay, so we're going to dance for a drink.

Would you like to go up there and get something to eat or have something to eat?"

"Yeah, we gotta go up there too." "Okay. Have a good night." "Well, we're going up there now. See you soon."

"Okay, see you soon." "All right. You working tomorrow?" "I work every day." "I'm working every day.

“I'll be back every time somebody has a claim.”

I help them take care of it." "Yeah." "Oh, that's great." "Okay. I'll see you later."

"Good night, sir." "All right. Good night." "You gotta head to us.

They may as well be your men arm."

"They're heading to dukes and so are Erin and I." "We'll probably be seeing Janey there too," the parrot lady. "And maybe Mike McDowell." "They all hang out at dukes." "As far as I know, no one's ever invited Ed."

"I'm so tired." "I'm so tired of watch." "What are you doing with that?" "All the scandal and intrigue." "You say that with a big smile on your face."

"Well, I know it." "That's one of the reasons I ran." "What? Because of the intrigue?" "Oh, absolutely.

Yes. I'd have a little fun every now and then." "This is the moment when I officially stop worrying about it." "Because you know what? Ed doesn't give two shits where he sits in the little entroom."

"How a good night." "He's got his own thing going on." "How cool." " Erin and I watch him walk off into the distance, yet again, with his briefcase in hand." "At the insurance guy, the lung wolf."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh." "What a great day. I've been ready." "We're gonna go out and see all the little children at the door." ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

>> [NOISE] >> Erin and I are standing on the corner of six of a cane in a sea of children. They're all bundled up in bouncing, pushing past each other to get a better look at the fire truck creeping down the street. Santa's up there, perched up high on the cherry picker, waving down at them, legs dangling. It's twinkle bright night in downtown Denore, PA.

There's been a lot of build up to twinkle bright night. This is the biggest party of the year, right up there with the Halloween parade, and just a cinematic. There are literal bowels of holly on every iron line post, and blinking lights everywhere. And so many people, it's a total transformation. I swear it feels like the whole town's been packed away in the attic, like a Christmas decoration gathering dust.

And someone just took it out and plugged it back in again. >> [NOISE]

“>> I think you're going to put it to get a mouthful of where the Santa house.”

We also have Santa inside a house. You guys want to make your way over. There's also 50, 50 tickets up on the DJ booth at the moment. If anybody wants to buy any, they'll be over by Santa's house. Also, already 350 sandwiches, Tom Megas.

He's over there cooking up his chicken sandwiches. They're very awesome. As well as the fireman at the barbecue. They also have free hot tots through all the children. They're slay rods, keep coming around, make sure you get out one of those.

Place paintings behind seeing this house. There's a bell-south all the way in the corner behind me. And we also have a live native TV said. We're rocking live here for light up night, 2017. Thank you.

[MUSIC] I love the holidays, but not as much as I love this DJ. DJ Khalifa. They say he's the best DJ in the valley. We see him everywhere.

At every block party, every spaghetti dinner fundraiser. We've heard every playlist.

They're totally inseparable from the social life of the town. I'm standing here watching him rock out in his pompadour and his diamond studs, pointing out at the crowd. And honestly, it's tugging at my freaking heartstrings. And I don't know what it is, but something about this night, the whole fest of vibe,

is feeling very much like the season finale. Like the Christmas special at the end of Doughton Abbey. It feels just like that. It's like everyone's here, the whole cast of characters. And everyone's doing their part.

Just like they always do with these things.

They're just wearing different hats. Deans over at the Santa House dressed as an elf. She's passing out mittens to the kids. Donnie's at the ticket table selling chances for half the take. Cheap prices stationed down by the barricades, waving through the horse-drawn carriage.

And then, of course, they're Cindy. All right, that's it. You too. Come on out. She's doing crowd control at the fancy house. Come on out. You too, right here. Come on out. No, why do you in the middle?

Come on out.

“You have to come on out or I'll shut it down.”

There's always Cindy. Don't touch each other. Then there's all the other people we know. The minor characters in our story. Kitty's brother Cameron with a skateboard.

And keep the cop. And Kenny, who lives in the attic of the old mill boss's house. The guy Aaron Chained to his beast. He's here with his flip phone. Trying to snap pictures of his kids on Santa's lap.

It feels like we know everyone here. I know. You want to know? We even know the guy in the Santa costume. But we've been sworn to secrecy.

I don't know what to say. That's the list. Looking around, it occurs to me that pretty much the only person we haven't seen yet is Jim McDonough. That's how we would have run into him by now, passing out free hotdogs to the kids or something. We walked by his diner in the way in and looked in the window.

A half expected to see him up on that ladder. I look in that window every time we walk by. It's almost like the diner has become a symbol for me. Or like a barometer for what Mayor Jim McDonough is going to do for this town. Woody can accomplish.

It cannot wait for that diner to open. I really hope he pulls it off. So what's your light up night experience? Yeah. Would you like to comment?

It's really, it makes my heart big and I want to return the gifts I stole. That's my husband Alex. He tagged along. I invited him. I mean it's Christmas.

You can't miss Twinkle Bright Knight. We've been dragging him around all night. It's fun having him here. At least Erin and I are having fun. We're going to make a delay to clock around.

These are fun. Alex has been a great sport for all of this, by the way.

“I remember that day we first walked in the door at 113 in Ida Avenue.”

How adamity was. He really didn't want to buy a house or a mother long or get the duck worked cleaned out. He didn't want any of it. And to his credit, he's not yet bringing up the inevitable question of when we're going to get rid of the house. There's something I haven't really thought about yet.

I guess I don't want to think about it. He was standing in line for maybe something. And then we moved. This is a real thing. This is a good line.

We're standing in line for the horse-torn carriage rides. At least I think we are.

We've been standing in a lot of lines, but we never seem to get to the front.

These lines are ridiculous, and I'm impatient. So we keep bouncing around. On the same way it didn't land. I'll only wait so long. Eventually we give up and take a walk up in the Cane Avenue.

Thinking we might head to the gazebo where the live nativity is supposed to be. On the way, we pass by Trisha's thrift store, and the pharmacy that used to be a bank. And of course the old Chinese restaurant on the corner. We've assigned above this is Donora's smog these in. And the lights are on.

It looks like it's open. The smog these in is almost never open. Oh, we got to go in. I run back to find my kids. They're here too.

I brought the whole family. I really wanted them to see this place. I've been spending so much time here. It's kind of a light talk about it.

“At this point, I'm sure they're getting sick of it.”

You want to come in? You have the pay to go in? Nope. It's free. You haven't been in here yet, have you?

Ooh, it's good. There are so many things in this town that are really hard to explain. Like you kind of have to be there. And this smog museum is definitely one of them. It's great.

This is Jean-Marie's husband. What's your name? Mark. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Pretty lively out there.

It is. Big party. I'm impressed. Right. I haven't been down here.

We haven't opened up in probably three years or so. We've opened in the past. We usually didn't get much of a crowd. So we decided to open up this year because we have new t-shirts. Hey there.

Hello. I didn't even open this whole time.

I finally catch back up with Aaron and Alex.

And I find them standing alone in an empty museum. With Mark, the business guy. Mark with this cash box.

There's a tote bag. I need to get one of those tote bags. I'm going to sit.

“You're going to like sell out of your stuff here.”

I'm like, well, that's not tote bags. Oh, really? That's the only one left. Oh, can I get it? Sure.

I hadn't occurred to me to go shopping. I came for the gas masks. I'm showing them to my daughter. But Aaron's over there deep into it. I didn't know this about Aaron.

She's acting like it's the last day of vacation. And she can't leave it out all the souvenirs. I'm getting that last tote bag. Yeah. We just got this.

Oh, look at that. Is that a new denora forged in 1901? That is a new shirt. We, you know, it's a thing where we, there's a lot of different dragons portrayed a lot of different ways.

And, you know, we cater to the old generation. And so we have to make the transition to the newer generations. And, you know, we're finding that young people have a lot of pride in the fact that they're come from denora.

“And so we, you know, we have a limited quantity.”

And, but we're trying to see how these go. And we'll probably sell them at the library. And, um, but yeah, that's those are our new t-shirts. Very cool. Okay.

What are all the things I can buy from you? Like, I want a, can I get a mug? Well, that is the last, the very last box. Is it for sale? It is.

So I'm desperate for that mug. Okay. Amazing. This is the last one. I'm standing off to the side,

watching Erin on her shopping spree. And it's freaking me out a little. It's like this whole world reversal. Because this is more my thing. This is what I do.

I always want the t-shirt.

The very last mug. I've never questioned this before. I've never asked souvenirs or why I want them. I just want them.

“But there is something interesting about the impulse to take stuff home.”

Key chains and refrigerator magnets. And those weird little spoons. All the stuff that just ends up in your junk drawer. What's that even about? It's like you had this great experience.

And it was precious. So precious, you want to hold on to it. You want to take a piece of it with you. A kind of reminder that it never happened at all. Oh, wow.

You go, how good I'll go. It's Christmas. Can we let it go? Yeah, okay. You start with these too.

Yeah, we don't. All right, see you again, nice. Walking at the smog museum, I feel weirdly happy. Everything's still here. Everything's in its place.

I turned to look at the windows. They're still cracked. Still held together with tape. And I think to myself. Somebody had to put that up there.

Somebody just keeps adding another layer of tape.

I remember back when we first got here.

I couldn't get past this question. If why people chose to stay in Denora, I have to everything that happened. The smog and the steel mill pulling out, and nothing coming in to take its place.

I wanted to understand why people still stay here, even now. And all these months later, I'm starting to feel like I get it. And the way I didn't expect. And it's not just a sense of community,

which is real, and which I'm discovering. I probably don't get enough of these days. It's something else. It's hard to describe. It's this feeling.

This feeling that you're part of something that needs you. It really needs you. It's something you have to care for. And that gives your life a purpose. It's like you matter.

It's up to you to keep this thing alive. And maybe that's just how communities work. All communities. Maybe that's just what holds it all together. It's just that here, it feels so urgent.

It's so easy to see. If I come away with nothing else from my ear in Dinarra, I guess that's it. It's the tape on the cracks and the windows. It really feels good.

It really feels good. This is great. What a big production this is. I'm really impressed. Yeah, we pull off a little bit here.

But I mean, you know, the main just scene, and then the horse, the horse, the horse,

at the end of the night, we finally make it to the live nativity. And when they say live nativity, they mean live.

So is their job just to sit there? Or is their job just to sit there? Well, they just got over there about half an hour ago. So they'll pour another half hour in the quid. Girl standing around this plywood stable. Stuff was strong crawling with livestock. Really at three goats, three sheep, a donkey, and a yak. And then there he is, Jim McDonough, sitting on a haybell dressed as Joseph, with his wife Andrews

Mary, cradling their baby Lincoln. Baby Jesus, the son of God. Now that I see it, I wouldn't have expected anything different. But no mayor. Now you know what you got to sell bender now. What that animal is? It's a yak.

Excuse me, what thing that animal is not went over?

“It's a miniature cattle. She's in cow. Really? A miniature brahma.”

It's a miniature cow. A miniature little pickles brahma.

Wow, I've never seen one. I've never seen one like that before.

Very cool. That's adorable. I didn't look it up. I've never seen it. I didn't want to get some cows this year.

So, how does it feel like upcoming mayorhood? How's it feel? I can't, we can't do it like that, that's not going to work. No, what did you say, though? I said, it feels like I'm looking at a thousand untied shoes.

It's not the same as I'd say. Oh, this, let me redo it. I'll replay it because he didn't do it very well. It feels like looking at a thousand untied shoes. No, I think you're going to coach me. It feels, that's try to relive the moment.

It feels like I'm looking at a thousand pairs of untied shoes.

“I think he stuck pairs in there and it ruined the rhythm.”

He said a thousand untied shoes. It feels like I'm looking at a thousand untied shoes. That's really good. That's what I need to do. Can we do that now?

If I ever have to give like a mate or you'll speech of some sorts, I can't. It helps. Yeah, yeah. Denores the kind of town you pass by on the highway on your way to someplace else.

You've never heard of it.

You have no reason to go there. These towns are everywhere all over the country. They're just exit signs. It's like they don't even exist except for that second while you're passing them. And then they're gone.

“But what if one day you took the exit and went in?”

And what if you stayed for a while? That was our big idea, which really isn't that big at all. It's pretty simple. At least that's what we thought. When Aaron and I first set foot in Denora, we had no story.

Oh, we have as a town, and the people living in it. But of course, now there are so many stories. So many people we've met who stories are ongoing and unfinished. They're just so many untied shoes. And I don't know exactly when it happened.

If I'm honest with myself, I've had this feeling for a while. And I think Aaron has too. But at some point, it started to become clear that our story isn't over. We're not ready to let this town go. We're not going anywhere.

So today is the second of January, right?

There's a new year, and it's 14 degrees out. And we're driving down the keen. And this is the first time I'm seeing how it looks so different because something is missing. Holy crap.

There are no trees. Oh my god. They're all gone. Look at the keeps going and going. What?

Everyone of these were trees. Were all they all trees? All those planners? Have you seen a one? Yeah, yeah.

Oh, God. Holy crap. They're all gone. And I bet this is going to be the thing that keeps me in the mayor. We're going to get a divorce.

Look at that stump. That's a stump. Look at that. Right, you see it? Yeah.

So men's city was written and produced by Aaron Anderson. And me, Jean Marie Lascas, for Odyssey, with some men's city productions. Our story editor is Michael Benoit. Sound design in engineering for cement city is by Mike Woolley. Production assistants by Kira Wittkin.

Research and fact checking by Tim Maddox.

Additional research and production support by Susan Scott Peterson, Tyler McClowski,

“Julian Sato Parker and Rachel Wilkinson.”

Legal services by lawyers for reporters. Original music for the series by Danny Bracken, low lumens and Tyler Morrisett. Additional music courtesy of APN. Our credit's music is by Danora. cement city is an Odyssey original podcast from executive producers Jenna Weiss-Berman,

Lee Reese Dennis and Maddie Sprung Kaiser.

The series was developed with support from the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh.

“Special thanks to photographer Dana Singer for the photographs we used in our show art.”

You can check out more of Dana's photos and learn more about our series on our website at cementcity.org. Or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X at cement city productions. We'd also like to thank the many friends of the project who've helped us along the way, including Annie Brown, Ian Fox, Max Linsky, Matthew Share and Lisa Tobin.

Thanks also to our families for all their support, especially Danny Bracken, Nancy Jennings,

and Peter and Carol Benoit, and to our friends Kid Ayers, Barbara Klein, and Linka Clayton, and our studio dog Honey Puggles. And of course to the people of Danora for trusting us with their stories and putting up with us for all these years, you made us feel like part of the family. cement city is dedicated to the victims of the 1948 Danora smog disaster,

and to the memory of Alex Levy, who really didn't want to buy that house, but he went along with it anyway. ♪ I don't know what happens now ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, I guess we live the rasta ♪ ♪ I don't know what happens now ♪

♪ I guess we live the rasta ♪ ♪ I don't know what happens now ♪ ♪ Oh, I guess we live the rasta ♪ ♪ I don't know what happens now ♪ ♪ I don't know what happens now ♪

♪ I don't know what happens now ♪ For years, gone south has been a podcast about crime in the American south, but for our new season, we're widening the lens. Through deeply reported narrative-driven stories, we're digging into the myths, scandals, and power structures that still shape the south,

and in a lot of ways, the country itself. Follow and listen to Gone South Season 5, an Odyssey podcast, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows. ♪ ♪

Well, all your people stand, Danora.

“I mean, it's easy, we're here. What's so important is just keep hanging around the horror for it.”

What's so important? Well, it's nice to fetch the fit on it.