How Laura Van Wormer Remarkably Found Her Voice Again

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County living presents, conversations with Rich Bennett. 

Rich Bennett 0:27
Who knows what it means to lose your voice and then find a completely new way to use it. Laravann Warmer was a best selling novelist by 30, publishing 14 books with major houses like Double Day, Random House, and Harper Collins, until her life was shattered by a head on collision with a drunk driver. She survived, but the injuries stole her ability to write and speak the way she once had, for eight long years the stories went quiet. Then, at her 50th high school reunion, when no one could hear the her voice anymore, something unexpected happened. A simple suggestion sparked a rebirth. Today, Lar is the creator of the Class of '74, a beautifully crafted serialized audio drama set in the early 1970s. Before cell phones, before non-stop noise, actually I think even before cable TV, when stories were how we made sense of the world. And it's not just a podcast, it's resilience, memory, humor, and proof that even after life knocks you flat, your story isn't finished yet. So, those of you that are tuning in, I'm going to tell you this right now. Check out the Class of '74, but start with episode one. You must start with the first episode, because otherwise you won't understand it all. Am I right, Lar? 

Laura Van Wormer 2:06
don't. Well, there are people who just start too, 

Rich Bennett 2:11
I 

Laura Van Wormer 2:11
and 

Rich Bennett 2:11
guess 

Laura Van Wormer 2:12
then they have to catch up, 

Rich Bennett 2:13
but yeah, it's 

Laura Van Wormer 2:15
team. 

Rich Bennett 2:15
like a 

Laura Van Wormer 2:15
Well, that's what I would say. I mean, I know people, exactly, but the thing 

Rich Bennett 2:21
what 

Laura Van Wormer 2:21
that's the podcast 

Rich Bennett 2:23
is, Rich. 

Laura Van Wormer 2:24
Yes. Is that you can start at episode one and you can just stream through all the episodes if you want to. 

Rich Bennett 2:32
Binge 

Laura Van Wormer 2:32
it. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 2:34
I like that idea, 

Laura Van Wormer 2:37
people do. They get, you know, and then I hear from them like, the episodes aren't coming fast enough. 

I'm into you for a month, every day, right? They've been 

Rich Bennett 2:49
well, first of all, something I always ask my guests and I didn't even do this yet. How are you today? 

Laura Van Wormer 2:55
Well, I'm very good. Your listeners have no idea. Rich and I have been carrying on talking about everything under the sun, because that's the way we are. Friends, it's a good thing you don't live in my neighborhood. I get nothing done. 

Rich Bennett 3:12
My wife says the same thing about me because I'm always out talking 

Laura Van Wormer 3:16
to the neighbor. Exactly, and then when you're not talking to the neighbors, you're on the podcast. 

Rich Bennett 3:21
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 3:22
Right. And I love your show. I have to 

Rich Bennett 3:24
you. Oh, 

Laura Van Wormer 3:24
tell 

Rich Bennett 3:24
thank you. 

Laura Van Wormer 3:25
It you've got absolutely every kind of guest. I'm here and that was some parts that we were talking about 

Rich Bennett 3:34
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 3:34
the different shows. It's just amazing to me how well that you, the diversity of the people you talk to, it's great. 

Rich Bennett 3:42
I learned something. I learned something from them all the time, which is one of the reasons I started this. I love, which is funny because back in high school, I didn't like to 

Laura Van Wormer 3:52
learn. Right. 

Rich Bennett 3:53
But now I love to learn different 

Laura Van Wormer 3:55
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 3:55
things. 

Laura Van Wormer 3:56
I want to ask 

Rich Bennett 3:57
and 

Laura Van Wormer 3:57
you 

Rich Bennett 3:57
meet people 

Laura Van Wormer 3:58
who wrote the introduction about me. Did you write that? 

Rich Bennett 4:02
I did. 

Laura Van Wormer 4:03
We're very good writer. 

Rich Bennett 4:05
Oh, well, thank you. 

Laura Van Wormer 4:06
so you should start thinking about that too. Remember, I 

Rich Bennett 4:09
Well, 

Laura Van Wormer 4:09
used to be an editor. So I can tell you that too. No, it's 

Rich Bennett 4:13
I 

Laura Van Wormer 4:13
again. 

Rich Bennett 4:15
have. I have. And it's funny because I started writing a book. Oh, God, I don't even remember how many years ago. Not about my life story because it's like, it was a read that I started writing a book about podcasting. And then I got into it and it's like, you know what, wait, there's so many different books out there about podcasting. So then it's like, well, what if I do like different guidebooks on about podcast, but like how to monetize your podcast could be one book. Have 

Laura Van Wormer 4:46
right. 

Rich Bennett 4:47
So yeah, I started on that. And then I got wrapped up into this because when I started this podcast, I was only dropping an episode once a month. 

Laura Van Wormer 4:56
Okay. Well, 

Rich Bennett 4:57
Then it went to Weekly. Now it's every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And then I also do a monthly case for my local Chamber of Commerce, which is once a month. And I'm- you're probably gonna think I'm crazy, but I'm also now doing another pie case, which is seasonal when it's 12 episodes per season, just talking to authors. 

Laura Van Wormer 5:22
That's great, 

Rich Bennett 5:23
great 

Laura Van Wormer 5:23
that's 

Rich Bennett 5:24
because off which and you know this as a previous, well, as an author, there's no such thing as previous author, you're an author. 

Laura Van Wormer 5:32
Well, writer. 

Rich Bennett 5:33
What's been 

Laura Van Wormer 5:34
instincts are 

Rich Bennett 5:34
your 

Laura Van Wormer 5:35
right? 

Rich Bennett 5:35
Writers, what's the, 

Laura Van Wormer 5:36
oh, who write? 

Rich Bennett 5:37
right, 

Laura Van Wormer 5:37
So, 

Rich Bennett 5:38
but what's been the biggest struggle with authors after a book comes out? 

Laura Van Wormer 5:41
Oh, trying to write one that's as good as the first, because usually. 

Rich Bennett 5:44
Well, besides that's, but the marketing part, right? 

Laura Van Wormer 5:48
Well, it depends on, 

Rich Bennett 5:50
especially for independent authors. 

Laura Van Wormer 5:52
Oh, well, yeah, it's because it's very different now. 

Rich Bennett 5:55
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 5:55
Rich, I just have to tell you my screen has blacked out I can't see you anymore. So I'm. 

Rich Bennett 6:01
Oh, that's weird, because I can see you. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:02
I'm flying in the blind. Okay, well, I. 

He's very good looking everybody who listens. 

Rich Bennett 6:10
Oh, I'm. Oh, thank you. God. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:13
But he's got these dashing, you know, literally blue eyes, and now he's disappeared, and I got a 

Rich Bennett 6:20
white

Laura Van Wormer 6:20
big front of me. And so I, I don't know where I am. 

Rich Bennett 6:24
I was going to say if you wouldn't, you could only, you could log in and come right back in and you'll just pick up right where we left off. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:30
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 6:31
Let's, let's start off here. Okay, because you had, you'd already lived a full creative life as a novelist. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:38
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 6:38
yes, when the action happened, right? 

Laura Van Wormer 6:40
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 6:41
And, and then for years afterwards, I guess the, well, the writing just wasn't there. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:48
No, it 

Rich Bennett 6:48
after the 

Laura Van Wormer 6:49
it 

Rich Bennett 6:49
accident. 

Laura Van Wormer 6:50
Yeah. I, you know, anybody who's had a big trauma and head injury and all that stuff. You have a speech there. You know, we call them speech therapists, but that's really your cognitive professional, which I never knew. I thought, you know, if you have a list, you have a speech therapist, but no, all the cognitive, all the brain signals, you work with them and your wiring is just all smashed up,which  is my case. I mean, I had, 

Rich Bennett 7:22
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 7:23
16 broken ribs and my whole chest was crushed and I was out for a month. So I had all kinds of things, but I just couldn't believe it because I always had made my living with my mind, you know. 

Rich Bennett 7:36
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 7:37
And it, it was so I lived to create stories, rich. I mean, some people would say I preferred to live in a made up world and a real one, right? 

Rich Bennett 7:51
Sometimes 

that's better 

Laura Van Wormer 7:53
now. What it is. 

Rich Bennett 7:55
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 7:55
It, it, well, if I told you that I really started writing well, when I stopped drinking, that tells you everything you need to know. 

Rich Bennett 8:04
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 8:05
So instead of drinking or doing something else, you know, you go into another world and 

Rich Bennett 8:10
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 8:10
you make up this fun story and then you bring other people into your head. That's what you do as a novelist, 

Rich Bennett 8:19
you 

Laura Van Wormer 8:20
suspend people's belief to come in with you and spend time with you. And when you do that, you develop a kind of mental musculature that you can, when you're writing a novel it in the beginning, you may be only right for maybe two hours the first day. But by the end of the book, maybe a year and a half later, you're on these 20 hour days. 

Rich Bennett 8:48
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 8:48
Because you're closing in and in that window, you can see the whole story from above. I'm nip the end. You know, like God sees a novel, you know, or God sees your life all in one glance. 

Rich Bennett 9:04
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 9:05
Well, a novelist you can see the whole work for a very brief window. And that's how you see if it holds together kind of, you know, 

Rich Bennett 9:15
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 9:15
Yeah, it's like a hundred thousand words, right. And so I had had this gift of being able to hold, hold hunks of it, and then at the end pull it all together. And I just couldn't hold enough story in my 

Rich Bennett 9:35
head. Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 9:36
Even for a day, you know, people say, well, why don't you just write it down and then you'll remember. And I'm like, yeah, right. Well, it's getting it from 

Rich Bennett 9:44
to head 

Laura Van Wormer 9:44
here 

Rich Bennett 9:45
to paper. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 9:46
yeah, and so it was very frustrating and my old editor and publishers, they were, they were so kind to me because, you know, they wanted to try to help me bring it back, but what you're waiting for is your brain to find new synopsis, 

Rich Bennett 10:03
to 

Laura Van Wormer 10:03
connect and it just takes time, right? But in the meantime, I was so depressed, 

Rich Bennett 10:12
I 

Laura Van Wormer 10:12
because, 

Rich Bennett 10:13
bet, 

Laura Van Wormer 10:14
I mean, I, I, it'd be you 

Rich Bennett 10:16
lost your livelihood. 

Laura Van Wormer 10:17
Well, I also lost my hobbies. 

Rich Bennett 10:20
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 10:20
I couldn't play tennis, I couldn't ski, I couldn't go for hikes, I couldn't, I couldn't do anything except swim, thank God. 

Rich Bennett 10:27
Wow, which is good therapy? 

Laura Van Wormer 10:29
And it is wonderful 

Rich Bennett 10:31
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 10:31
because I feel like I'm flying, I feel so free. But I have broken so many things and and so I just, you know, I, I, I really, I thought about just 

Rich Bennett 10:46
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 10:47
you know, be 

Rich Bennett 10:48
called a quits. 

Laura Van Wormer 10:50
Well, the night, most people die in the kind of car crash that I had. 

Rich Bennett 10:55
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 10:57
Well, you'll, you'll read about the in, the newspaper every day. Drunk driver gets on the road going the wrong way. And in my case, this guy was coming through a tunnel. 

Rich Bennett 11:11
Oh, God. 

Laura Van Wormer 11:12
The wrong way on a highway. 

Rich Bennett 11:15
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 11:16
So it wasn't like had a whole lot of places to go and he, I had stopped and he hit me, like I guess he was going about 60. Head on and he walked out of the hospital. 

Rich Bennett 11:31
Of course. 

Laura Van Wormer 11:32
Right. And so that's what happened. And I was, and I was on my way to the airport. I was going to California to see Betty 

Rich Bennett 11:44
white. Oh, wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 11:46
An old friend. We had the same agent and editor and it's a long story. And I won't go into it. But I was so excited that 

Rich Bennett 11:53
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 11:53
I was going to go see her. And the next thing I know, it's a month later. And my family looks like they've died and come back. 

Rich Bennett 12:02
It 

Laura Van Wormer 12:03
been absolutely terrified. Because with that kind of crash, your chest gets crushed. Right. And after three days, your lungs swell so much it is impossible to get oxygen through them. And that's what people die three days later. Because the night I was supposed to die, you know, they had a code blue. And my other half did medical malpractice defense, defending doctors and 

Rich Bennett 12:36
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 12:36
knew. New that this wasn't good. And, you know, the code blue, they all come in and I'm already on the ventilator, but the ventilator doesn't work anymore. because my lungs are so swollen and they can't touch my chest to do compressions because 

Rich Bennett 12:54
Because 

Laura Van Wormer 12:54
all my ribs are broken. So it would so anyway, I mean, it's a great story. One of the nurses in ICU, this is at Yale New Haven Hospital. God bless you guys. Started just yelled. Breathe Laura. Because I just stopped. You know, it was over. I, you know, that was it. I've gone 

Rich Bennett 13:16
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 13:16
as far as I could go. So they all started chanting. Breathe Laura. Breathe Laura. You mean, it's a great story at the ICU. Now, where am I in all this? I'm in on a side of a stage, you know, like a school stage, 

Rich Bennett 13:35
looking, 

Laura Van Wormer 13:35
when you're 

Rich Bennett 13:35
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 13:36
on the state. I'm in the wings and I'm looking out and there's my other half sitting in a chair doing texting and a spotlight's coming down on the chair and I'm trying to get out there, but all of a sudden I hear a voice and it the voice belonged to one of my dearest friends who had died of a Geoglastoma, you know, a brain tumor, right? 

Rich Bennett 14:03
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 14:03
She had died too much before. 

Rich Bennett 14:06
Oh, God. And 

Laura Van Wormer 14:07
I hear Loureda say, blah, blah. I'm not dead. I'm just behind the curtain and I turn around and there's Loureda. And behind her, there's this huge beautiful meadow and just endless people out there. But in the front row, I mean, everybody's laughing. Everybody's healthy and gorgeous and there's my mother and father. 

Rich Bennett 14:37
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 14:37
They're like 40 years old. They were 84 when they died, you know, lung disease, 

Rich Bennett 14:43
right? 

Laura Van Wormer 14:43
So, but there they are. Beautiful, radiant, healthy, happy, and there was my uncle Sam and aunt Liv, and my friend Pam, and everybody I had ever known that I had ever loved was there. Rich. 

Rich Bennett 15:00
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 15:01
It was the most extraordinary thing and loretta said to me, 'You can talk to us any time.' Right? Okay. So, the next couple of days when I sort of came back to consciousness, apparently one of the first things I told the nurses was, 'I had seen my parents'. 

Rich Bennett 15:25
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 15:26
And, I couldn't really talk, 'cause I have ventilator voice, we call 

Rich Bennett 15:31
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 15:31
this voice. And I just, it was just the most extraordinary experience. And Rich, I gotta tell you, everybody, everybody's talking to me all the time. And, not in a invasive way, it's just thoughts. It's like my dad, but my dad is not my dad, he's all healed. 

Rich Bennett 15:56
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 15:57
All the stuff that used to be, you know, it used to be so irritable all the time. Well, he's not anymore, and it's difficult to explain, except I will say this to you. If anybody believes in God or heaven, understand that all there is is 

Rich Bennett 16:16
love. 

Laura Van Wormer 16:18
Just love. And that's where all those people are that are gone. But they're not gone. They're, 

Rich Bennett 16:26
right. 

Laura Van Wormer 16:26
On the other side of the curtain, 

Rich Bennett 16:29
it reminds me of a book I read by Mitch Alvin. 

Laura Van Wormer 16:33
Oh 

Rich Bennett 16:33
The five 

Laura Van Wormer 16:33
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:34
people you meet in 

Laura Van Wormer 16:35
heaven. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:37
Have you read that? 

Laura Van Wormer 16:38
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:38
And 

the one that got me was the little girl that 

Laura Van Wormer 16:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:44
he kept seeing. And he couldn't figure it out until late, but, and 'cause when she passed, she was older. I think, especially after watching that and then reading it, I do, like you said, your parents were in the 40s then 

Laura Van Wormer 17:02
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 17:03
it passed. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:03
they looked absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 17:05
It's like that was the happiest time of their life. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:08
I guess, 

Rich Bennett 17:09
yeah, yeah, it's like you. It's like that happy time. That's where you are or even not even yet. Because it could be. And before we started recording, I told you about our daughter that we 

Laura Van Wormer 17:22
to. 

Rich Bennett 17:22
lost 

Laura Van Wormer 17:22
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 17:22
Yes. Yes. For our first daughter. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:24
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 17:24
And I have a funny feeling, even though she was still born. I think 

Laura Van Wormer 17:28
she's there. 

Rich Bennett 17:30
there. But I do believe that she is older and probably giving my brother a hard time. But just having fun. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:41
But he, 

Rich Bennett 17:41
Oh, yeah. Yeah. There's no pain anymore. He's got probably both of his eyes because he had a glass eyes. So he's probably got both of his eyes 

Laura Van Wormer 17:49
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 17:49
and just hanging out with all his friends. And, you know, yeah, it just. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:54
she's 

Rich Bennett 17:55
Yeah. Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 17:57
The strange thing is when your enemies start talking to you, people you perceive does enemies. Then that, that, you know, because, you know, they're apologizing and stuff. 

Rich Bennett 18:10
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 18:11
I know. Now everybody thinks I'm absolutely mad. I got to tell you when that happened, it really was amazing. And, you know, things happen like I'll be at home depot. And my father's telling me what to ask for. And I have no what I'm asking for. 

Rich Bennett 18:28
But 

Laura Van Wormer 18:28
And you know, the guy says, no, no, it's a some pump. And I'm like, well, I don't know what it is, but I'm just telling you know, I'm one of my. Files in my head telling me how to fix the flooding problem and that I have no idea anyway, the knowledge just comes. 

Rich Bennett 18:45
I 

Laura Van Wormer 18:46
just share with 

Rich Bennett 18:48
you, but then after all that because you couldn't you didn't have the ability to write anything down. 

Laura Van Wormer 18:53
No, and I wanted to. I interviewed all my doctors, the people who saved me. I was going to write a book called Saving Laura. And 

Rich Bennett 19:02
Oh. 

Laura Van Wormer 19:02
because everybody had done exactly what they were supposed to do. 

Rich Bennett 19:07
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 19:07
And I got too overwhelmed by it. It just was two. It was just too much to know, you know, I should have died, you know, and. 

Rich Bennett 19:18
But you could help other people out by writing it too. 

Laura Van Wormer 19:21
Well, and I may be at that place now that I can do. 

Rich Bennett 19:25
Yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 19:25
yeah. Um, I mean, I have letters which there's sitting here my entire class from Darien High School in 1974. They all wrote me letters because they thought I was going to die. 

Rich Bennett 19:41
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 19:41
And the head cheerleader, and the... 

You know, one of my dear friends, Lizzie and Debbie, they, they had been keeping people as I was in the ICU, what was going on and you know, they knew that it was not good. And so people wrote me things, and wrote me things, you know, I was gonna die, so I'd never tell anybody. I'm not gonna tell anybody. But it, reading it, it's so strange that they really thought, and now that I'm in a better place. 

Rich Bennett 20:16
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 20:16
I'm so horrified that I thought, even thought for a moment, that I would end my own life, you know, just, it's so appalling to me because I have never been happier in my life than I am right now because the gifts, when they come back to you, It's staggering because 

Rich Bennett 20:37
yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 20:37
you didn't believe it ever would come back.And  what, 

Rich Bennett 20:42
you 

Laura Van Wormer 20:42
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 20:43
appreciate life more. 

Laura Van Wormer 20:44
Oh my God, yes, because also, I'm not scared of dying anymore. 

Rich Bennett 20:48
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's like, uh, oh my God, twice, I'm reference and Mitch awl, I'm in this podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 20:58
Yes, well, because he-- 

Rich Bennett 20:59
The Tuesdays with Maury. Yeah. Remember and Tuesday, he said, you don't know how to live until you learn how to die. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:07
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:08
And it's too, too many people take life for granted. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:16
easy to, 

Rich Bennett 21:16
It's, 

Laura Van Wormer 21:16
and 

Rich Bennett 21:17
it's 

Laura Van Wormer 21:17
the 

Rich Bennett 21:17
very 

Laura Van Wormer 21:17
world that we have created does that. And this was another thing about my podcast and what I like about yours is that I'm sick of how people are behaving in this 

Rich Bennett 21:28
world. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:29
You know, I mean, it's like, why don't people know how to behave? And I, the podcast world became very important to me in my recovery because there's something very personal. 

Rich Bennett 21:43
Yes. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:43
About the connection between the listener and the host. 

Rich Bennett 21:47
Mm-hmm. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:48
It's a very intimate medium, and I, it just was wonderful 

Rich Bennett 21:55
me. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:56
for 

Rich Bennett 21:56
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 21:57
So I knew I was drawn to it. And when I was at my class reunion that night, and nobody could hear me. You know, this big dinner listen. In the old days in high school rich, I used to get up in the middle of a keg party and say, okay, everybody, wait, wait. I want 

Rich Bennett 22:16
and 

Laura Van Wormer 22:16
to 

Rich Bennett 22:16
they 

Laura Van Wormer 22:17
read 

Rich Bennett 22:17
would 

Laura Van Wormer 22:17
you a story. And everybody go, oh, God, right. And, you know, and, but I thought, wouldn't it be funny for our 50th reunion, if I got up and did it again, then everybody would laugh. 

Rich Bennett 22:32
Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 22:33
And, but I couldn't, nobody could hear me and I couldn't write, right? So when I came home, I was really sad again. And my other half said, Laura, why don't you write a story for your classmates and read it to them as a podcast. Then they can hear you, and you love, and I said, well, yeah, but nobody listens to podcasts, and Mike, 

Rich Bennett 23:03
you 

Laura Van Wormer 23:03
you know, 

Rich Bennett 23:03
did not say that. 

Laura Van Wormer 23:05
Yes, I did. Um, you know, I mean, because our, our group is pretty well known for just saying, all right. After that, after iTunes, I'm out, I'm not learning. No, I mean, we went to high school when there were no such thing as cell phones. There weren't even video cameras yet. 

Rich Bennett 23:28
That's true. 

Laura Van Wormer 23:30
Yeah. No one knew where you were, 

Rich Bennett 23:31
We had 

Laura Van Wormer 23:32
ever. 

Rich Bennett 23:32
the old eight millimeter 

Laura Van Wormer 23:34
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 23:35
cameras. 

Laura Van Wormer 23:35
Super eight. Yeah. Yeah. And there were no answering machines. So when you call somebody's house, they could be at the grocery store or they could be dead in Paris. It made no. 

Rich Bennett 23:48
Yeah. And our social media was talking on the playground or at 

Laura Van Wormer 23:53
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 23:53
somebody's house. 

Laura Van Wormer 23:54
Well, in that weekly newspaper, right, the town newspaper. 

Rich Bennett 23:58
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 23:59
And two Dixie cups and a string. Well, we did have walkie talkies. The cops have 

Rich Bennett 24:04
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 24:05
yeah. And that we learned when they tried to track you down because school. 

Anyway, I started to write a story about the first day we went to high school. And that was 

Rich Bennett 24:19
This 

Laura Van Wormer 24:19
a. 

Rich Bennett 24:19
was after the reunion. 

Laura Van Wormer 24:21
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 24:22
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 24:23
September 8th, 1971, and I thought, let's just write about this world for a little bit. So I invented a character a 15 year old going to her first day of high school and we meet characters on the way. And we have the PA system giving the announcements. Right. That there's smoking area is open. 

Rich Bennett 24:47
Oh, my. 

Laura Van Wormer 24:49
every... and that's what everybody says when they listen to the podcast. Oh my god. I forgot that. Everybody smoked and everybody drank. 

Rich Bennett 24:58
Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 24:58
And everybody's parents drove drunk. 

Rich Bennett 25:16
Those cars had the big rear shelf in the back. And you lay up there. Dad, sleep on the brakes and you go rolling down onto- and then you 

Laura Van Wormer 25:25
up. 

Rich Bennett 25:26
get back 

Laura Van Wormer 25:26
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 25:27
Again, dad. Do it again. 

Laura Van Wormer 25:29
In the second episode I have this character Cynthia and she's driving with her mother and nobody uses the seatbelts because her mother says that the steering wheel will protect her. So she doesn't- 

Rich Bennett 25:40
but yeah. End of the dash, 

Laura Van Wormer 25:42
yep. But when she slows down, she automatically puts her 

Rich Bennett 25:44
out. 

Laura Van Wormer 25:44
arm 

Rich Bennett 25:45
Uh-huh. Oh my god. Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 25:48
A way of life, 

Rich Bennett 25:49
Ha-ha. 

Laura Van Wormer 25:50
right 

Rich Bennett 25:50
Man, you are bringing 

Laura Van Wormer 25:51
now. 

Rich Bennett 25:51
back memories. 

Laura Van Wormer 25:52
Yeah. Okay. When she goes into home room somebody turns on a radio. Now the only radios are AM radios. 

Rich Bennett 26:01
Yep. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:02
Right? The big hit song is Donnie Osman. 

Rich Bennett 26:06
Puppy love. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:08
Nope, 

Rich Bennett 26:08
No, um, 

Laura Van Wormer 26:09
early. 

Rich Bennett 26:09
go away. Was it go away, little girl? 

Laura Van Wormer 26:11
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 26:12
Yeah. Ha-ha. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:13
So in the first episode somebody says, "I hate that song." And throws a book across the room to shut it up because the home room teacher hasn't shown up yet. Nobody knows where he is either. And the book that's thrown is The Godfather Mario 

Rich Bennett 26:34
yes. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:34
Poosa, Paperback which has it written on the cover where the dirty part 

Rich Bennett 26:41
is 

Laura Van Wormer 26:42
the pages to read, right? Is this bringing back a memory or what? 

Rich Bennett 26:46
Oh, God. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:48
This was our world. 

Rich Bennett 26:49
I love the 70s and 80s were. I'm sorry. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:52
Yeah. Well, I am. There's so Nixon is president. 

Rich Bennett 26:56
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 26:57
We're still in Vietnam. We just had in August the first lottery draft. 

Rich Bennett 27:07
Oh my God. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:08
When they changed Right. It was the strict draft where 

Rich Bennett 27:14
it. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:14
they just 

Rich Bennett 27:14
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:14
took you no matter where they were. And people were getting out of the draft with all kinds of stuff from there. 

Rich Bennett 27:20
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:21
Doctors. But then what they did is they pulled people's birthdays. 

Rich Bennett 27:27
Mm-hmm. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:28
And if you were in a certain group. So in this, uh, in the class of 74, the main character's brother had just his lottery number was way down. 

Rich Bennett 27:40
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 27:40
So he immediately left college to take a year off because he didn't have to worry about the draft. And so he's off drifting around in Alaska. But her classmate. His brother had been killed. The year before. Right. Who was in the Green Berets. 

Rich Bennett 28:04
Mm-hmm. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:05
And that, you know, this was a fictional story. I'm making up characters. But this all really happened. 

Rich Bennett 28:14
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:14
So what's happened is that as this podcast has gone on rich, all the guys love the history in it. 

Rich Bennett 28:21
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:22
So after I do, I saw me day, what do you call it? Sorry. I'm still 

Rich Bennett 28:31
on 

Laura Van Wormer 28:31
not 

Rich Bennett 28:31
trailer. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:33
No. A. Um. Patreon 

Rich Bennett 28:37
page. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:39
A lot of stuff we have the detention club for the class of 74. There. And some people there's a lot of free stuff to look at. 

Rich Bennett 28:48
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 28:49
And a lot of the free stuff are posts that I put up. After I write an episode, I have all the research notes that I have. So what I'll do is I will put up the original video for Donia's men, go away little girl. And Mario Puzzo, the godfather, what that book looked 

Rich Bennett 29:09
like. Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 29:10
For back. And what. Um. How the draft worked. In that period. You 

Rich Bennett 29:18
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 29:18
know, in other words, all the historical stuff. And I. Do a profile of a real life guy from my hometown who was killed and was a green beret who was behind enemy lines in Cambodia and had hurled himself in front of a rocket launcher to save his unit. So his unit could get out and they did because they had gone back to get a pilot who was shot down. 

Rich Bennett 29:45
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 29:45
And, so all this stuff is endlessly fascinating, so there's the podcast about what's going on in 71, and then there's the historical aspect that's going on over, you know, in the, um, patreon page for 

Rich Bennett 30:02
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 30:03
class of 74. And then there are listeners who want to talk about high school stuff. So, they pay me five bucks a month. Are you ready for this, Rich? For, uh, the detention club. And every 

Rich Bennett 30:22
their 

Laura Van Wormer 30:23
Tuesday, we have a Zoom call. So imagine all these people of a certain age from all around the world coming on this Zoom call, and in the beginning, we were supposed to be talking about what went on in that week's episode. But everybody's in a different place in, 

Rich Bennett 30:45
yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 30:46
So, nobody want, okay, so we're not going to talk about that. So I'll ask a question like, when you wanted to be alone in high school, where did you go? 

Rich Bennett 31:01
During school? 

Laura Van Wormer 31:02
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:03
Up in the woods. 

Laura Van Wormer 31:05
Right. Okay. So that's what you would share in this phone call. Now I'm writing all this down, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 31:10
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 31:11
Every Tuesday I've got writer's cramp. I can't even write it all down because people are sharing what they did and someone out to a car. 

Rich Bennett 31:19
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 31:20
But a lot of people went out to where the athletic fields were in at our high school we had places you could, 

Rich Bennett 31:27
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 31:28
or to hide in the dug out of the visiting team on the baseball field because the back was towards the school, you know, and somebody else talked about the prop room for the auditorium. He had the keys so we could go in there with his friends. So they'd be smoking and doing all that, anyway, you just keep writing it down and it, it's wonderful and it gives me more ideas because then in next week's episode, we're going to see something else. Now, what is the problem with this? The problem is you learn so much about what was going on on that particular 

Rich Bennett 32:11
day. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 32:12
For a week. The days go very slowly in this podcast. In fact, we did an entire season and we only went two weeks. 

Rich Bennett 32:24
Why? 

Laura Van Wormer 32:25
Well, because guess what on the second day of high school, we had Attica Prison uprising. 

Rich Bennett 32:35
Oh, 

Laura Van Wormer 32:36
breakout. Now, 

Rich Bennett 32:37
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 32:38
in those days, everybody has to remember, we don't have any communication. 

Rich Bennett 32:43
No. 

Laura Van Wormer 32:43
The only communication that like a newspaper could have would be over the phone. But in the Attica uprising, as it proceeded, they did a blackout on that they shut the phones off around the prison. Okay. So people like the New York Times had to go to ham radios to try and get their message to their paper in New York. So I have a whole episode about Cynthia going down the hall and she gets hauled in by the ham radio club because there is a teacher in their body and only one of the members of the ham and they need somebody to write everything down. So Cynthia comes in and we see how ham radios worked in those days the ham radio clubs. 

Rich Bennett 33:38
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 33:39
And a reporter comes on and asks, is there anyone out there with a phone? You know, so he's just putting out a blind call. And at the high school, they're waiting to see if anybody listening. And this signal, you know, is going out all around the world. And so the teacher says, no, tell him you're here. So the guy comes on the ham radio and says, we're here. We've got a phone. And so it's the whole procedure, how they would do it. 

Rich Bennett 34:12
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 34:13
And they, and the episode itself teaches it to you because, because Cynthia's learning it. And then she goes with the teacher to the office to call the paper and deliver the message that 17 prisoners have been killed up there. Or they think that somebody's being killed. They don't know who's killing who, at that point. And then we follow that storyline every day, what's coming out in the papers. 

Rich Bennett 34:45
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 34:45
But what really happened? And then I'll do stories. AT THE PATREON PAGE FOR FREE about what were the stories, what was going on, what was the timeline of Attica Prison. 

Rich Bennett 35:00
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 35:00
So you can see that. It's a lot of work. Let me tell you. But- 

Rich Bennett 35:03
But it's FUN! 

Laura Van Wormer 35:05
Yes! 

Rich Bennett 35:05
I mean, you bring it back memories 

Laura Van Wormer 35:07
FUN! 

Rich Bennett 35:07
because I remember going to my neighbors, he was teaching me ham radio. 

Laura Van Wormer 35:12
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 35:12
And- and not just the talking part, 

Laura Van Wormer 35:14
also te- I 

Rich Bennett 35:14
he was 

Laura Van Wormer 35:15
remember the big end, TANAS, and- 

Rich Bennett 35:17
yes! He was also teaching me more school! 

Laura Van Wormer 35:19
Yes! 

Rich Bennett 35:20
As well! 

Laura Van Wormer 35:21
Yes! 

Rich Bennett 35:21
Wow! 

You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Laura Van Wormer 36:26
And what the young people now, like even your grandchildren and even your kids, they don't know what it was like. And so they're all listening and going, this is a Patreon page. They all say, "like great kids are listening." They're like, "That's why grandpa's the way he is." This school conservative and a social liberal, right? Why was that happening? And the reason why that was happening is that in 1971, when the show opens, we've got Black Liberation, the Women's Movement, we've got all kinds of stuff happening, the whole world is changing. And those people are going to high school than never lost those values. They believe that all Americans are created equal. Okay? They believe that people who, in the armed services are the closest thing to God that you can get because 

Rich Bennett 37:31
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 37:31
they have a real belief in their country and defending it. And they believe in America, they believe in freedom. And that's why we're all the way we are, you know? And so they're getting their, get in here, listen to this episode. Now, all the kids who are gonna be gay are in the closet completely in high school. There's no such thing as a gay person, 

Rich Bennett 37:58
in 

Laura Van Wormer 38:00
1971. And you couldn't be, because the bullies that existed in high school were unbelievable, well, guess what, Rich? I get to beat the crap out of those. All the villains, people tell me about their villains and they came in. So of course we have villains at the 

Rich Bennett 38:21
school. 

Laura Van Wormer 38:21
high But I want people to have fun in the class of '74. So we're gonna get them. We're not gonna do all that, 

Rich Bennett 38:32
oh, God, 

Laura Van Wormer 38:33
Flicked it on us. All our lives. 

Rich Bennett 38:36
right. 

Laura Van Wormer 38:36
All the physical torture. All the, name calling the, 

I had a young woman, well, she actually was a classmate living in Germany. She's listening in Germany. Don't ask me how she found it in Germany, but she 

Rich Bennett 38:56
Germany. 

Laura Van Wormer 38:56
found it in And she was talking about, there's an episode where a kid, a guy who really doesn't fit in very well. He gets discovered for the drama club because he has this boomer voice. And she was saying, oh, I liked that. That how, you know, something nice happened for him because at my school, the drama coach didn't like me. So he wouldn't, nobody would tell me when the sessions were. So I couldn't come. a different kind of bullying. 

Rich Bennett 39:34
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 39:34
Being excluded. Remember 

Rich Bennett 39:36
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 39:36
that felt like, 

Rich Bennett 39:37
yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 39:38
God. I mean, this is on top of all the relationship stuff. 

So that was interesting. And I thought now that's an interesting villain, a teacher who has it out for a kid. 

I remember those. 

Rich Bennett 39:56
Oh, yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 39:57
so we need one of those. I'm right down in my book. 

and, uh, we- we just keep crawling and now I'm so excited. I'm finally to the first football game. Yay! 

Rich Bennett 40:13
(laughing) 

Laura Van Wormer 40:14
We have had so much going on with the football players and the cheerleaders. And I've got all these guys I've heard from about trick plays that I should use. 

Rich Bennett 40:27
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 40:29
Then I'm hearing from all the girls about, well remember what was going on under the bleachers 

Rich Bennett 40:34
and- 

Laura Van Wormer 40:37
and then, yeah, the drinkers out in the parking lot and- anyway, it's a lot of material, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 40:43
And- 

Laura Van Wormer 40:43
and- Autumaterial. 

Rich Bennett 40:44
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you just- you just started the podcast last year, right? 

Laura Van Wormer 40:49
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 40:50
April- April of 25. 

Laura Van Wormer 40:53
Yes. Yep. 

Rich Bennett 40:54
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 40:54
I just had a year and, uh, let's see, where are we, just did 12 episodes this- so we're on- there's 37 episodes that 

Rich Bennett 41:03
Nice. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:04
people can stream, you know? So, people, you know, very often- this is why I love podcasts is that, you know- you just put it on- you say Alexa. 

Rich Bennett 41:15
said, 

Laura Van Wormer 41:15
Classes 

Rich Bennett 41:16
"Uh-huh." 

Laura Van Wormer 41:17
Or, and it'll cue it right up for you. Or Siri on your phone. I want to listen to the Classes 74, episode one. 

Rich Bennett 41:26
It is a fun podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:28
And then 

Rich Bennett 41:29
It's 

Laura Van Wormer 41:30
you can listen. 

Rich Bennett 41:30
educational. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:32
And so- well, you laughed out 

Rich Bennett 41:34
Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:34
too, I mean, I hope. But there's a lot of serious stuff too, 

Rich Bennett 41:38
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:38
because it underscores what's going on today? That can really get you down. 

Rich Bennett 41:45
Mm-hmm. 

Laura Van Wormer 41:45
And it makes you remember all the stuff that's right with America. You know, even when it was really messed up, I mean that- the thing I always say at the end of every podcast is, remember, we don't drink and drive anymore. 

Rich Bennett 42:00
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 42:01
Ever. But we do have fun. Doesn't mean you can't drink. Of course you can. The world's different. We've learned stuff, and it makes it a better world, and a more fun world. But it is fun to go back to a place where a lot of people have painful memories, and they can laugh at it. That suddenly, you know, the way I present it. It's like I did in novels. 

Rich Bennett 42:28
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 42:29
I want people to go there safely with me. You have to trust me. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to bring you back to high school in a safe way that you can look at it again, and you can laugh, and in a way, see what was wrong with all those people that picked on you. 

Rich Bennett 42:50
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 42:51
Now, what was so screwed up, and don't feel like you're alone, all of us feel that way. None of us want to go back to high school. None of us want to have to go do that 

Rich Bennett 43:03
and... 

Laura Van Wormer 43:04
again, 

Rich Bennett 43:04
No. Oh God no. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:06
But it can be fun to go back. 

Rich Bennett 43:09
It could be. 

Would I do it? I'd go back in the Marine Corps before I went back to high school. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:17
Well, there 

Rich Bennett 43:18
go. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:18
you 

Rich Bennett 43:19
High school is hard for me because my sister did very good in high school. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:24
And you weren't very 

Rich Bennett 43:26
it. I 

Laura Van Wormer 43:26
good at 

Rich Bennett 43:26
wasn't very good. My brother never got past, my older brother never got past ninth grade. But everybody knew my older brother because he was the hell razor. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:35
Right. 

Rich Bennett 43:36
So it's like... 

Laura Van Wormer 43:37
Right. 

Rich Bennett 43:37
Teachers expected me to be as good as my sister and nothing 

Laura Van Wormer 43:41
Right. 

Rich Bennett 43:41
like my brother. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:42
Right. 

Rich Bennett 43:42
But yet other people that I went to high school with, some people would bully me because they knew my brother wasn't there and couldn't do anything. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:53
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 43:54
And others, like wanted to hang 

Laura Van Wormer 43:57
Wanted 

Rich Bennett 43:57
around. 

Laura Van Wormer 43:57
to just make fun 

Rich Bennett 43:58
Because 

Laura Van Wormer 43:58
of you 

Rich Bennett 43:58
of my... 

Laura Van Wormer 43:59
because of your smart sister. 

Rich Bennett 44:01
Well, most of them, 

Laura Van Wormer 44:02
the teachers didn't say... 

Rich Bennett 44:04
Well, the teachers, yeah. But as far as the people I went to school with, it was... Some of them would hang out with me and I think it was because of whom my older brother was. And then others picked on me because of who he was. Think they could get away with it. 

Laura Van Wormer 44:23
The younger sibling. I have that younger sibling syndrome in the school between brothers and sisters. Yeah. And again, you're not alone. I mean, the fact that... 

Rich Bennett 44:35
Everybody's got that, 

Laura Van Wormer 44:37
When the fact, when I listen to what you wrote 

Rich Bennett 44:41
yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 44:42
in that introduction, that tells me you must have had some sort of learning disability that nobody picked out for you. 

Rich Bennett 44:50
Probably, that probably had 

Laura Van Wormer 44:51
No, 

Rich Bennett 44:51
either. 

Laura Van Wormer 44:52
but attention. Yes, ADD, 

Rich Bennett 44:54
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 44:55
right? Well, kids like you, nobody was diagnosed. Nobody was helping anybody. And today, you've been, been whisked out, had some special attention to get you caught up. Well, that is something I have to look at in the podcast. I've got you, I've got you in there. 

Rich Bennett 45:14
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 45:14
And I've got the ones who are ready to drop out because they're already starting to skip school and. 

Rich Bennett 45:20
How's me? 

Laura Van Wormer 45:21
Yeah. Why? Yeah, well, even the main character is like she was so good and ninth grade in junior high, she doesn't understand, you know, she doesn't want to be the low person on the totem pole, but she's not very outstanding at anything. 

Rich Bennett 45:35
And. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 45:36
She doesn't like it. You know, and she's not good looking like the cheerleaders. And. The only thing that keeps her there for a while is an unexpected boy who is the best looking boy in school suddenly likes her for no reason, but she goes out with him and then she finds out he's a Christian scientist. He doesn't drink. And she's like, what do people do when they don't drink? Right, because even a 15, we're all drinking beer. 

Because we don't know what else to 

Rich Bennett 46:12
do. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 46:14
And it's sophisticated, right? 

Rich Bennett 46:16
Anyway,have  have you heard from anybody in your class that listens to the 

Laura Van Wormer 46:21
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 46:21
podcast? 

Laura Van Wormer 46:22
God, yes. Who do you think they're the first ones who paid five dollars at the. 

Rich Bennett 46:27
Well, here is an 

Laura Van Wormer 46:29
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 46:29
idea. I don't know if you thought about this and I knew you'd do it through a Patreon group. But have you ever thought about having any of them on to do interviews. 

Laura Van Wormer 46:40
Hmm. 

Rich Bennett 46:41
About it as like special episodes or something. 

Laura Van Wormer 46:45
I yes. 

Rich Bennett 46:46
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 46:48
And I always thought at first, I thought it would be like, oh, I'll just. Love a show where we read what people wrote in to me, 

Rich Bennett 46:57
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 46:57
right? The memories of it. And then I heard from a couple of other classmates and there are four of us now. And we are working on a new interview podcast. 

Rich Bennett 47:10
Good good. 

Laura Van Wormer 47:12
And 

what it's going to be is just right now, I think the 

working name of it is something weird like. Oh, how it turned out was weird. 

You know, like the class dummy is the richest guy in the class, right? You know that 

Rich Bennett 47:36
the cool thing is with this was 

Laura Van Wormer 47:38
yes. 

Rich Bennett 47:39
your 

Laura Van Wormer 47:39
And 

Rich Bennett 47:39
podcast, Class of 74. You have a whole series here. I mean, I know this is a series, 

Laura Van Wormer 47:44
right, but 

Rich Bennett 47:45
but 

Laura Van Wormer 47:45
Chies 

Rich Bennett 47:45
even. Oh, yeah, because you could also do classes 75 said and 

Laura Van Wormer 47:49
right. 

Rich Bennett 47:49
so on. 

Laura Van Wormer 47:50
right. 

Rich Bennett 47:50
Well, 

Laura Van Wormer 47:50
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 47:51
yes, you're 

Laura Van Wormer 47:51
R 

Rich Bennett 47:52
because why can you? 

Laura Van Wormer 47:53
Are you going to be the executive producer? 

Rich Bennett 47:56
Oh, good Lord. No. 

Laura Van Wormer 47:58
No, no way. 

Rich Bennett 47:58
Look, I've already got. I got friends of mine already upset with me because they want me to produce their podcast. I'm like, guys, do you realize all the work I'm doing now? 

Laura Van Wormer 48:09
Right. 

Rich Bennett 48:10
If I ever retired from hosting podcast, that's what I would do is become a producer. 

Laura Van Wormer 48:17
well, and it's interesting because that's where you have to look at your old classmates and 

Rich Bennett 48:23
Then, 

Laura Van Wormer 48:23
people you've interviewed who were in the field. And this is where you need to talk to the founder of, you know, how we found each other. The media matchup. Pod 

Rich Bennett 48:32
match. Oh, Alex. 

Laura Van Wormer 48:33
Yeah. Stu a little ad for pod match. That's how I found you. 

Rich Bennett 48:38
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 48:40
He's the kind of person that could put something together. 

Rich Bennett 48:45
A 

Laura Van Wormer 48:46
syndicate, a 

Rich Bennett 48:47
And all honesty, if it wasn't for Alex and pod 

Laura Van Wormer 48:50
friend. 

Rich Bennett 48:50
match, 

Laura Van Wormer 48:51
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 48:51
my podcast probably would have ended a few years ago. 

Laura Van Wormer 48:55
Sure. 

Rich Bennett 48:56
Because I was only interviewing local people. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:00
Right. 

Rich Bennett 49:01
And then a friend of mine using TV suggested I change the name and start talking to people throughout the world. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:07
And you say how? 

Rich Bennett 49:08
Yeah. Well, and I was already a member of pod match, but I wasn't using it. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:12
there you go. 

Rich Bennett 49:13
And then 

Laura Van Wormer 49:13
That's the rich we know and love from high school. 

Rich Bennett 49:16
And then I got the email from Alex how they were getting ready to change everything is like, it was like good timing. And 

Laura Van Wormer 49:24
Right. 

Rich Bennett 49:25
I started getting guests from pod match 

Laura Van Wormer 49:27
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 49:28
and pod match. I guess you could say he's been a, I don't want to say a life 

Laura Van Wormer 49:32
Life 

Rich Bennett 49:32
saver, but a podcast saver. Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:35
changes. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 49:35
And the people that I've met through there. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 49:39
It's a. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:40
The community. 

Rich Bennett 49:41
Stay in 

Laura Van Wormer 49:41
Unity. 

Rich Bennett 49:41
touch. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:42
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 49:42
It's 

Laura Van Wormer 49:43
And, 

Rich Bennett 49:43
networking. 

Laura Van Wormer 49:44
yes, and so I'm thinking, judging from the people that I've spoken to, that Alex is the guy, well, you know what, when I get off of this, I'm gonna send him an email and say, OK, my new best friend, 

Rich Bennett 49:58
[laughs] 

Laura Van Wormer 49:59
Rich, we need to syndicate the class of '74 for every class, right? 

Rich Bennett 50:06
I-I think it'd be great. 

Laura Van Wormer 50:08
Well, I-well, it's the history part too. yeah. It-it is wonderful, and this is a gift that God gave me. Let me tell 

Rich Bennett 50:17
Yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 50:17
you, just to be able to write these episodes. So the idea of going back into business is daunting, and I-I've agreed to do this other podcast, really, only because- was the only one who knew anything about a podcasting, but now they're learning, 

Rich Bennett 50:36
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 50:37
and so we'll-we'll figure that it all out, but, yes, 

Rich Bennett 50:41
It is 

Laura Van Wormer 50:41
but-it's 

Rich Bennett 50:41
a-yes. 

Laura Van Wormer 50:42
the connection, but 

Rich Bennett 50:43
...I 

Laura Van Wormer 50:44
you've got it. And I think that's also what's special about various age groups that young people that they don't get. That sense of tightness 

Rich Bennett 50:56
Mm-hmm. 

Laura Van Wormer 50:57
with other people, maybe you have one friend and you, like, text them and you do all this stuff. No, that's not where the bonding 

Rich Bennett 51:04
happens. No. 

Laura Van Wormer 51:06
It happens when, you know, you're pulling the other one out of a ditch when you're drunk in some field, and-and then lying to somebody's parents, and get in a way with it, right? And then you see them ten years later, and we're like, oh my God, remember that night. No. 

The one-on-one, and this camera, your viewers, your listeners don't know, but you and I can see each other. 

Rich Bennett 51:34
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 51:34
Now, and so this intimacy of interacting, 

Rich Bennett 51:40
it's 

Laura Van Wormer 51:42
not a substitute. It's forming new relationships. Like, I have no doubt whatsoever. Someday you and I will meet at a podcast convention. 

Rich Bennett 51:51
Eventually, I'm going to get the one, and then I know once I get the one, I'm going to be going to other ones. 

Laura Van Wormer 51:57
But you're going to do a live-taped event there. 

Rich Bennett 52:02
Uh-uh. 

Laura Van Wormer 52:02
Right? 

Rich Bennett 52:03
Maybe? 

Laura Van Wormer 52:03
Because we will have talked Alex into setting up a studio 

Rich Bennett 52:07
Oh, 

Laura Van Wormer 52:08
for 

Rich Bennett 52:08
good. 

Laura Van Wormer 52:08
all of us to use. 

Rich Bennett 52:10
All right. So this 

Laura Van Wormer 52:13
this 

Rich Bennett 52:13
is 

Laura Van Wormer 52:14
is 

Rich Bennett 52:14
one of my goals is, when I was a DJ, a mobile DJ, I wanted to buy an ambulance and put a jam in front of the, you 

Laura Van Wormer 52:23
there 

Rich Bennett 52:23
know, 

Laura Van Wormer 52:23
you go. 

Rich Bennett 52:23
a and called the Jambi Lance and use that to DJ remotely going to, 

Laura Van Wormer 52:28
Because 

Rich Bennett 52:29
you know, outside thing. That's what I would love to put it. An ambulance isn't big enough. I need a RV. I would love to get a RV. And one of my co-hosts Wendy suggested this is, you need to take the podcast on the route. 

Laura Van Wormer 52:45
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 52:45
Just because of the people you meet, well, we're doing it virtually now. And you're in what, uh, I want to say Connecticut, but I, 

Laura Van Wormer 52:53
yes, 

Rich Bennett 52:54
you? 

Laura Van Wormer 52:54
I mean, can 

Rich Bennett 52:55
You're Connecticut. I'm in Maryland. I've had people on in Scotland. 

Laura Van Wormer 52:59
Yes, I know 

Rich Bennett 52:59
New Zealand. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:00
Want to go there? 

Rich Bennett 53:02
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:02
Yeah. Well, you know, 

Rich Bennett 53:03
anything 

Laura Van Wormer 53:03
my 

Rich Bennett 53:03
is if you look at where your listeners are. Because I know if my podcast is in 139 different countries, I wish I knew who the listeners were in that country, and they would pay for me to come out there. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:16
Well, no. 

Rich Bennett 53:17
Oh! 

Laura Van Wormer 53:17
Well, that's why you've got to do beyond page. 

Rich Bennett 53:22
Rich, 

Laura Van Wormer 53:22
you've got to do this. You've got to get your Patreon page and get members. I know it's hard. It takes time to learn the system. 

Rich Bennett 53:31
I looked at the pay drive before they 

Laura Van Wormer 53:33
could do a dollar a month. 

Rich Bennett 53:34
can. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:35
Who 

Rich Bennett 53:36
But 

Laura Van Wormer 53:36
it will keep you going and finance new projects. 

Rich Bennett 53:41
Oh, yeah. Well, that's why I have sponsors though. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:44
Well, that's, 

Rich Bennett 53:45
that's, yeah. Then that's why I have sponsors for the podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:48
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 53:48
Because if it was, I'll be honest with you, if I didn't have sponsors, I wouldn't be doing this. 

Laura Van Wormer 53:54
Right. 

Rich Bennett 53:54
And those of you listening that when it get into podcasting, yes, it does cost money. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:00
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 54:00
It's, it's not cheap trust me. But it's again, it's so much 

Laura Van Wormer 54:08
It's 

Rich Bennett 54:08
fun. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:09
a different world. 

Rich Bennett 54:10
And it is a 

Laura Van Wormer 54:11
Get to remake our own personal 

Rich Bennett 54:13
different. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:13
worlds by 

Rich Bennett 54:14
Yes. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:14
finding all the nice people. 

Rich Bennett 54:16
I love it a lot more. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:18
I 

Rich Bennett 54:18
did radio. Tha for sure. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:19
Yeah. Yeah. Because 

Rich Bennett 54:21
a lot more. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:23
It's, you know, in your case, you are broadcasting like your old days as a radio. I mean, as a radio DJ, right? 

Rich Bennett 54:30
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:31
Well, did you say, uh, what I'm doing is more like narrow casting in a world way, meaning I'm focusing in on a certain generation. 

Rich Bennett 54:41
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:42
But yet I'm getting, 

Rich Bennett 54:43
but the younger generation you can learn from it. 

Laura Van Wormer 54:45
Exactly. And actually, oh, I should mention that tomorrow, I have a little booklet that's coming out from Amazon called How To Listen To a Podcast. And 

Rich Bennett 54:59
'I 

Laura Van Wormer 54:59
it's 

Rich Bennett 54:59
love that'. 

Laura Van Wormer 55:00
It's for all of my old Riverside Drive fans. You know who you are out there. That was my big bestseller, a book called Riverside 

Rich Bennett 55:10
Drive. 

Laura Van Wormer 55:11
So I've written it and what I did is I printed the first episode of the Class of '74 so they could read it. And if they 

Rich Bennett 55:24
podcast into a 

Laura Van Wormer 55:26
book, well, that's 

Rich Bennett 55:27
books, 

Laura Van Wormer 55:28
maybe. But if they like it, then it tells them right how they could listen to the next episode right now. 

Rich Bennett 55:37
Yeah, I 

Laura Van Wormer 55:38
that. 

Rich Bennett 55:38
love 

Laura Van Wormer 55:38
Because they don't listen to podcast. And that's what I say. The first thing is, you don't know a podcast you're not alone. I 

Rich Bennett 55:48
Yeah. A lot of 

Laura Van Wormer 55:49
didn't. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:49
people don't know. Because when I started mine, it originally started as a YouTube show and it was broadcast on a local radio station. 

Laura Van Wormer 55:57
Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 55:58
And then my sponsor, because I, well, 

Laura Van Wormer 56:01
the credit, 

Rich Bennett 56:02
long story, no, 

Laura Van Wormer 56:04
no, no. 

Rich Bennett 56:04
no, 

Laura Van Wormer 56:04
Oh, a different 

Rich Bennett 56:05
spots. There's a restaurant at the time, 10th, growing pub. They, I ended the thing with the radio station because it just wasn't working. And the restaurant said, why don't you come here and record in the sign? 

Laura Van Wormer 56:17
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:18
And turn it into a podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:20
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:20
I was already listening to podcast. So I 

Laura Van Wormer 56:22
podcast. 

Rich Bennett 56:22
knew what a 

Laura Van Wormer 56:23
Okay. So you, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:24
But well, yeah, it's like, okay, not a bad idea. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:30
Right. 

Rich Bennett 56:30
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:31
And it's a whole different 

Rich Bennett 56:32
world. Oh, yeah. Whole different world. And the funny thing is now you're seeing so many more people getting into it. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:43
Well, of course, because it's, 

Rich Bennett 56:44
but 

Laura Van Wormer 56:44
later. But 

Rich Bennett 56:45
they're still and Alex puts the numbers out all the time. I think it's up to only 7% or successful. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:53
Yeah. Look at snow. 

Rich Bennett 56:55
A lot of people don't stick with it. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:57
Well, 

Rich Bennett 56:57
the final it's hard work. 

Laura Van Wormer 56:59
Yes. We know that from real life. Don't. 

Rich Bennett 57:03
Oh, yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:03
The stick to it. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 57:06
Uh huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:07
Right. 

Rich Bennett 57:08
Nope. Well, I'm looking at the time because I get ready for another recording. I, 

Laura Van Wormer 57:12
Well. 

Rich Bennett 57:14
I, before I get to my last question, would you're going to pick, of course? is there anything you would like to add like your website where people can 

Laura Van Wormer 57:21
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 57:21
follow you and listen to the podcast 

Laura Van Wormer 57:22
Um, 

Rich Bennett 57:22
at all? 

Laura Van Wormer 57:23
well, as a podcast, 

Rich Bennett 57:24
is, 

Laura Van Wormer 57:24
it 

Rich Bennett 57:24
and get your books. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:26
Well, that you can go anywhere and just put 

Rich Bennett 57:29
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:29
Laura Van Warmer in 

Rich Bennett 57:32
the, and 

Laura Van Wormer 57:35
you'll see W O R M. Yeah, V A N W O R M E R. Yep. Well, even if you misspell it, you'll see a 

Rich Bennett 57:43
you'll find it 

Laura Van Wormer 57:44
around a long time. 

Rich Bennett 57:45
Right. But 

Laura Van Wormer 57:45
there's Laura Van Warmer dot net. 

Rich Bennett 57:48
my. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:49
That's 

Rich Bennett 57:49
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 57:49
Writers. That's my book publishing website. But this is class of 74 podcast dot com. Class of 74 podcast dot com. Just go there and you can start listening and then there's a lot of peace. They'll see this interview there. 

Rich Bennett 58:09
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 58:10
Eventually. 

Rich Bennett 58:10
I do have to get you on again, though, because 

Laura Van Wormer 58:12
Oh, I'd 

Rich Bennett 58:13
I, 

Laura Van Wormer 58:13
love 

Rich Bennett 58:13
if you're up for it, I would 

Laura Van Wormer 58:14
to. 

Rich Bennett 58:14
love 

Laura Van Wormer 58:14
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 58:15
to talk 

Laura Van Wormer 58:15
absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 58:15
to you about being an author. And because I think aspiring authors need 

Laura Van Wormer 58:21
someone. Oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:22
to hear from 

Laura Van Wormer 58:23
They do. 

Rich Bennett 58:23
Thank you. 

Laura Van Wormer 58:24
They do. And you know, you had a guess that we were talking about before who was talking about various kinds of addiction. And I had a word of advice for him that that means there's a creative person under there dying to get out. 

Rich Bennett 58:41
Yes. 

Laura Van Wormer 58:41
That's all that means. So 

Rich Bennett 58:44
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 58:44
he needs to look for what that is. 

Rich Bennett 58:47
And I believe he is. 

Laura Van Wormer 58:49
Yeah. Because that's. That's the thing. And that spiritual center that we all have. I feel like podcasting is like connecting every. I'm talking about religion. I'm just talking about his spiritual person. And who, you know, the nicest people in America. Here we all are podcasting world. 

Rich Bennett 59:14
us. 

Laura Van Wormer 59:14
That's 

Rich Bennett 59:15
Oh, it's a load of fun. And I tell you, some of the ones that we do when we do round tables, where we have a bunch of people on. 

Laura Van Wormer 59:23
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:23
Those are blasts too. You 

Laura Van Wormer 59:26
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:26
could do that with your Patreon group, although I don't know if everybody, if you could recruit, well, you own 

Laura Van Wormer 59:31
No, I 

Rich Bennett 59:32
'em 

Laura Van Wormer 59:32
can't. 

Rich Bennett 59:32
all. 

Laura Van Wormer 59:32
We tried. 

Rich Bennett 59:33
Yeah. 

Everybody don't do that. 

Laura Van Wormer 59:48
Oh, right. Um, anyway, but anybody wants to get, you know, how to listen to a podcast? It's like, you know, it's $7, and you can buy it as a gift for friends, right? And else 

Rich Bennett 1:00:03
everybody should be listening to the podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:05
Oh, but particularly older people, 'cause it's sense of isolation. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:09
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:10
The people feel, I mean, you and I are in comparatively good physical health, right? A lot of people aren't. And podcast is like a lifeline. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:20
It 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:20
Can 

Rich Bennett 1:00:20
is. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:21
control when they listen, how they listen and what they listen to, right? 

Rich Bennett 1:00:26
I gotta tell you this, 'cause I had the laugh. I was talking to somebody, it probably is probably about a year or two And I told him about what I do. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:36
ago. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:36
I have 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:36
Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:36
a podcast. They're like, I cannot listen to somebody talk. I was like, oh, really? So what do you, listen to this? Why I love talking to and you name the station? I said, that's talk. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:49
Right, right. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:49
you 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:50
What do 

Rich Bennett 1:00:51
say? Yeah, I said, it's the same thing. We're just not censored. It's like, oh, Oh, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:58
oh. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:59
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:00:59
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:59
but don't have to listen to it on my phone. I said, no, you can listen to it on the computer. You can listen. If you 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:06
have on your tablet, 

Rich Bennett 1:01:07
on your tablet, on your TV, if you have Lexi or Google Nest or whatever, you can listen to it on there too. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:14
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:01:15
I have to call her Lexi. Otherwise, she'll come on. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:18
yeah, 

Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:22
Yes. Oh, but yeah, it's, it's a blessing. I love listening. You know what, before I get to my last question. I have to ask you this. I know you listen to mine. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:30
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:31
What's one of your favorite, what's one of two of your favorite podcasts to 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:37
listen to? Oh, it's got to be my favorite murder, because and I'll tell you why, because I have a long personal relationship listening to those two young ladies. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:48
Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:01:49
And that goofball first episode, they have. They don't we don't know what this is. I mean, they are, you know, And both of them have a lot of challenges in life. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:01
right? 

Laura Van Wormer 1:02:01
They have been through a lot. So the podcast, they think it's about true crime. It's about the friendship between these 

Rich Bennett 1:02:08
right 

Laura Van Wormer 1:02:09
women and the help they finally get. And making a little money in their life and everything changing around them that every week, they're like, oh my God, all these people are listening to us. Why? You know, and then as they published a book called, how, what? Yeah. I'm not to get murdered. Well, no. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:36
I'm not to get 

Laura Van Wormer 1:02:37
murdered. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:38
I just think of being a good book. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:02:41
Yeah. Right. Now, of course, I can't even remember, but they wrote a book and what their publisher did was a very good idea to tell the pod kept people, go into the bookstores, go into any Barnes and Noble. And they're going to have you guys sit down and talk to each other about the podcast just to see if people would come in. It was a meant to sell the book. And I, at the time, was working part time at Barnes and Noble to get my cognitive 

Rich Bennett 1:03:14
right 

Laura Van Wormer 1:03:15
stuff going. And I saw a young woman outside. And she wasn't very attractive and she was dressed in black.And , you know, she just look strange. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:27
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:03:27
And I went out and I said, are you looking for my favorite murder? And she went, yes, they said on the podcast, there be a discussion group. And I said, well I'm it. Come on in. Because I was in Georgia, the bookgroups. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:44
Oh, okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:03:45
Well, then another person came in and then a guy, a gay guy from Yale walked in this. And 

Rich Bennett 1:03:54
I love that idea 

Laura Van Wormer 1:03:55
They 

Rich Bennett 1:03:55
though. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:03:55
all were listeners and they came in and they just wanted to talk about the host. They wanted to talk about Georgia and Karen, you know, and how these women help them because they talked about getting psychological help. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:13
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:04:14
and that there's no shame in substance abuse, there's no shame in feeling as though you're a failure or you don't get along with your parents and credit problems and all that stuff. That's what that show really was about. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:29
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:04:29
And they are good at my favorite. Everyone says, 'Oh, it's true crime', and I think, 'Yeah'. 

They met each other at a party and the other one was the weird one who liked true crime and watched endless episodes of, you know, um, all the true crime on TV. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:57
Right. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:04:58
Of course, I can't even remember anything. Um, you know, give me an episode, right? 

Rich Bennett 1:05:04
Like CSI and all 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:05
that. Well, that's the fictional, they're talking about, 

Rich Bennett 1:05:08
yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:08
nonfiction, 

Rich Bennett 1:05:09
uh, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:10
everybody would be so appalled that you listen to that, you know, all those, um, two crime shows. Oh, come on, now what's wrong with this rich? Why can't we think of one of them? There's an entire network devoted to them now it's called nb. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:26
Like, is it, uh, I 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:28
Date line, 

Rich Bennett 1:05:29
date. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:29
date line, 

Rich Bennett 1:05:31
Yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:31
right? 

Rich Bennett 1:05:31
okay. Yeah. Okay. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:33
There's a reason why date line and the date line podcast is not, well, everybody likes that, right? But these are the girls that made date line happen. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:43
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:05:43
Because they were weird and they love to watch that. And then the, uh, Bill Curtis show on A&E the, um, uh, alright, all the murders. But anyway, so they were at that's at some party and they were the two weird ones because they loved true. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:00
I love that. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:02
that. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:02
I love 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:02
Now, Karen was the head writer for Ellen DeGeneres' show. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:07
A really? 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:08
Yes, behind the scenes. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:11
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:11
You know, so she never talked about struggles with her weight or her psychiatric problems or her health problem. Anyway, 

Rich Bennett 1:06:20
wow, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:21
my favorite podcast because I'm so proud of those 

Rich Bennett 1:06:24
two. Yeah, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:25
but out they started listening. They do something called the rewind. They went back to the early episodes and they talk about them. And about themselves. And then they update the cases that they talked about, but they're just hilarious. There. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:43
Wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:44
If you think Ellen DeGeneres is funny. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:47
Listen 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:47
to 

Rich Bennett 1:06:47
to them 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:47
hear Karen. Yeah. So that's my favorite podcast. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:51
And I'll have 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:52
listening to them for years. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:54
I'll have to definitely check them out that 

Laura Van Wormer 1:06:56
my accident. My accident was in 2015. I found them in 2017. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:03
I've been listening to them ever since. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:05
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:06
it. They 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:06
And 

Rich Bennett 1:07:06
need 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:06
it 

Rich Bennett 1:07:06
to 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:06
was 

Rich Bennett 1:07:07
have you on the show. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:09
No. Well, They have a whole network now. I 

Rich Bennett 1:07:14
wow. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:14
thought about I should write them. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:16
you 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:16
Um, 

Rich Bennett 1:07:16
should. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:17
But, um, well, time. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:19
Yeah. Well, yeah, that's just true. This is true. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:23
Anyway, 

Rich Bennett 1:07:23
alright, I need you to pick a number between one and five 

three three 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:30
because I'm well balanced. 

Rich Bennett 1:07:32
I love that now pick a number between forty one and 60. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:37
Oh, gosh, 60, 

Rich Bennett 1:07:41
60. 

What's a moment you experienced profound gratitude? 

Laura Van Wormer 1:07:51
Oh, 

when I sat down to my computer and realized I could write the first episode of the class of 74. I knew I could do it. I could write in a short burst, not expect myself to write a whole novel. Just 

Rich Bennett 1:08:08
right. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:08:09
Do an episode. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:12
I do have to ask you one more 

Laura Van Wormer 1:08:14
question. Sure. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:15
Because this is not the question you asked for. This is the question that the class of 74 asked for question number 74. 

I just I have to because I have a hundred questions. It's like it makes sense. Ask number 74. if you had dinner with the wisest person, you know 

Laura Van Wormer 1:08:38
Um, 

Rich Bennett 1:08:39
what would be the topic. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:08:42
Oh, 

the wisest person I did know was Betty White. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:51
Oh, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:08:51
no longer alive, but I will tell you, I did ask her, why are you so happy? 

Rich Bennett 1:09:00
Yeah, that's a good topic. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:09:03
And she described to me, she was married to the guy from password Alan Ludden and she adored him. And when he died, she was so sad. And she had decided she was going to make the most of her life as an actress on TV. And she made time to sit down at the house, he bought her in the specific palisades. And have a martini just the way they like them. turn on the music that was their favorite music and to talk to him. 

And she said, I feel so grounded after that because I remember all of our dreams and then I realize I'm still here. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:52
Yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:09:53
I can still work. 

Just to play games with. But, and I just, I thought, well, that's right, and so then there I am years later, with this experience I had in the hospital and I thought, okay, Laura, listen, go talk to the people that you love. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:23
She was hilarious. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:26
And she, 

Rich Bennett 1:10:27
I love watching her. Love watching 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:30
And people loved 

Rich Bennett 1:10:31
her, 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:32
her for 

Rich Bennett 1:10:32
yeah. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:32
a good reason. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:35
Yeah, and it's funny because she's the type of person you see on TV and you could just 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:40
tell 

Rich Bennett 1:10:41
her energy. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:43
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 1:10:43
he had the love coming from her. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:46
Oh gosh, I'll watch an old episode of the match game, right? 

Rich Bennett 1:10:50
Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:50
Or password. And I just, you know, go on YouTube and find one. Just a Betty White 

Rich Bennett 1:10:55
Uh-huh. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:10:56
in this show. And it just, I feel honored and that I ever even knew her. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:02
And she was beautiful too. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:11:04
Oh gosh, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:05
yes, God. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:11:06
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:07
Oh, well, Laura, I want to thank you so much. Those of you listening, make sure you listen to classes, 74 podcasts and leave a review about 

Laura Van Wormer 1:11:18
podcast 

Rich Bennett 1:11:18
the as well and subscribe to it. And then join her Patreon, join the group and let her know what you thought about the podcast. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:11:27
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:28
you're going to learn some stuff, I guarantee you are. Laura, thanks so much. 

Laura Van Wormer 1:11:33
Thank you, dear. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:35
When we started today we talked about losing your voice and finding a new way to use it. But after listening to Lara, I think this episode became about something even bigger than that. It's about resilience. It's about purpose. It's about what happens when life changes in an instant. And you're forced to figure out who you are all over again. Lara went from being a best-selling novelist to face an injuries that could have ended her creative journey forever. But somehow, through all the pain, all the uncertainty, and all those years of silence, she found her way back to storytelling, but not in the way she expected, but in the way she needed. And I think that's one of the biggest takeaways from this conversation. 

Sometimes, the chapter we thought we were supposed to write isn't the one that changes our lives. Sometimes, it's the unexpected chapter that comes next. Through the Class of '74, Lara isn't just telling stories about high school in the early '70s. She's preserving memories, bringing people together, helping listeners reconnect with their own past, and reminding us that every generation has stories worth sharing and lessons worth passing on. If today's conversation resonated with you, I encourage you. Check out the Class of '74. Start with episode 1. I know you say you can start with episode 1. Immerse yourself in the world. Lara has created. And see why so many listeners have fallen in love with these characters and the era they represent. Let me take a moment to think about your own story, what chapter are you in right now? What experiences, memories, or lessons are waiting to be shared? Because as Lara's journey reminds us, your story isn't over just because life takes an unexpected turn. Lara, thank you for sharing your heart, your wisdom, and your incredible journey with us. And to all of you listening, thank you for joining the conversation. Until next time, take care of yourself, take care of each other, and remember, sometimes the most meaningful chapters are the ones we never saw coming.