Stuck (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

0:00Both of today's stories are about people who made big choices that they thought would improve their lives. But neither of them really took the time to actually learn exactly what they were signing up for. And that led to disaster. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, please gift the follow button a brand new gumball machine. But don't tell them the gum is actually just painted balls of candle wax.

0:37Okay, let's get into our first story called Dream Car.

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2:03At 8 a.m. on June 8, 2015, 72-year-old James Lee Rogers parked his beautiful red Corvette in the parking lot of a Waffle House in Port Arthur, Texas. And as he pulled that car into the lot. I mean, James, he just felt so proud to be driving this vehicle. This was a 2007 C6 Chevy Corvette, pristine condition, and it was exactly the car that James had been dreaming about like his whole life. I mean, it drove amazing. It looked incredible. And more than that, it added all these modern elements to it. I mean, it didn't even have regular door handles. Everything was like push buttons and electric. I mean, to him, owning this car was like owning a really flashy sports car.

2:48And he thought that, you know, anybody who saw him driving it, they knew this guy had made it. And on top of having this really cool car, James also had like a pretty awesome life here in Port Arthur. I mean, he had lots of family in the area. He had grown up here. He loved living here. But he also really loved this particular Waffle House. It was where he went basically every morning in his flashy car to get his coffee. But, you know, it wasn't just their coffee that he was drawn to. It was the waitstaff. It was the regulars who went to this Waffle House. This had become like a sort of second home for him.

3:24And he really looked forward to coming here basically every day. And so he parks his Corvette. He gets out. And before he walks into the restaurant, he has to tell his dog. He brought his dog along, Leia, this cute little dog, to stay in the car. because the dog was not allowed in the Waffle House. You know, this was something he knew, but it was going to be quick. So he told Leia, you know, to be a good girl and stay in the car. Don't rip it up. You know, this is his dream car. She was a very good dog. And so she sat down. He shut the doors, you know, used the electric push buttons to do it. And then once he knew his dog was secure, into the restaurant he went.

3:58Once he got inside, James took his usual seat at the counter where his friend MJ was already sitting. MJ was in his 60s. And like James, he was also a fixture at this Waffle House. And so the two immediately began chit-chatting about the weather and their kids. And then at some point, James ordered his coffee and used that as a chance to catch up with some of the waitstaff that he spoke to every morning. And then eventually, more regulars began filtering in and out, and James made a point to chat with them and laugh with them as well. I mean, again, this was like his second home. And in fact, on this particular day, there were so many people that he wanted to talk to coming in and out of the restaurant that he decided, you know what, my dog's fine out there.

4:38You know, I've only been in here for a few minutes. I'm going to order some food as well. However, right after James ordered his food, he turned and he looked out the window into the parking lot. And even though he couldn't actually see his Corvette, he could see that it was extremely sunny and very hot outside. Like he knew that when he showed up. But I mean, he's looking out there and it just looks like a desert out there. It's so hot and like there's nobody out there. It's just cars getting blasted by the sun. And he's thinking like Leia's out there. And even though he had had the AC on when he pulled up and so, you know, likely his Corvette was still a little bit cool.

5:13There was no way that it was particularly comfortable in his car right now. And so before his food showed up, James turned to MJ and just said, hey, I'm going to be right back. You want to just like hold my seat? I'm going to go out and check on something. And MJ, who was kind of busy talking to other people, he's like, yeah, go ahead. I'll save your seat. And then James left the restaurant to go check on Leah. And so James, after leaving the Waffle House, he sort of ran around the corner out of view of where he had been sitting. And he went over to his beautiful dream car. And as soon as he walked up to the window, he could see that Leah was very excited inside, happy to see James again.

5:48And just for good measure, even though he now knew his dog's OK, he climbed inside the driver's seat and shut the door. And he turned around and he pet his dog. And just he could tell the temperature inside the car was not that bad. and so he was only going to be in the restaurant for another 15-20 minutes tops. She'd be okay. However, after only having sat inside his car for a matter of maybe like 30 or 60 seconds, he felt himself getting really hot. I mean, it was definitely not cool inside the car and the sun's burning through the windows and he just was like, you know what, this is not responsible to leave my dog in here.

6:23I can't do this. And so even though he had placed his order for food, he figured he could go in there, cancel the order. He was a regular. They He'd understand, you know, he could have one more sip of coffee, but that was it. He needed to get back out here and basically put the AC back on and get him and his dog back into the comforts of their own home. But when James pushed that super fancy button on his car door that he was sort of so proud of, how modern his vehicle was, when he pushed it to open his door, nothing happened. And so James, like he's just staring at the door in confusion because this has never happened before.

6:56And so he starts pushing it a few more times. But again, nothing happened. And then after a few moments, when this car door was not budging, James reached across and started pushing the button on the passenger side door to see if maybe it was just an issue with his door. But no, that door wouldn't open either. And so finally, he decided he would just try to turn the car on to see if maybe that would help. But he couldn't get his car to turn on. The Corvette was completely dead. And James had no idea why. But he knew this was not good because, you know, this car, because it's so modern, didn't have normal handles.

7:35They really were all electric, all buttons. And so if these buttons aren't working and all the windows are up, like, what do you do? How do you get out? And so James, he's starting to stress out about like, what's going to happen here? Is he going to have to break a window of his beloved vehicle here? Is that what he's going to have to do? And also, how crazy is that? How could he have wound up in this position? But also, the sun is just burning through the glass, and he's suddenly becoming really aware of just how hot it was getting inside of his car. Like, this is sort of becoming an emergency really quickly.

8:08I mean, because again, he can't even turn on the car, so he can't turn on the AC. He's like inside of an oven at this point. And so James instinctively reached for where his phone would normally be, but it wasn't there. And that's when he remembered he had left his phone inside the Waffle House. When he had gone in earlier, it was low on charge and he had handed it off to one of the wait staff to go plug in somewhere. And so his phone's inside. He has no way to contact anyone. But luckily, right at that point, James looked out the corner of his eye and he saw a couple walking out of the Waffle House.

8:41And he's like, oh, thank goodness. Someone's coming out. I can get their attention. They can come over here and get me out of here, or at least, you know, call someone who can. And so he starts waving, you know, through the front windshield at this couple as they're sort of walking generally in his direction, but they clearly didn't see him. Like the sun is glaring off the glass, kind of making it hard to see inside. And so James is sort of realizing this and he's becoming more and more desperate as he and his dog are getting more and more overheated. And so he began leaning on the horn to get their attention that way, but no sound came out of his Corvette because the horn was powered by electricity.

9:16And again, the car is dead. And so James now is getting frantic. He's banging on the windows. He's screaming to them. But this is a nice car. It's totally soundproof inside. Again, there's the glare from the sun and the glass. The windows are partially tinted. They can't see or hear him. And so this couple eventually comes right near his vehicle. They climb in their car and they drive away without ever noticing him. Once they were gone, James told himself that, you know what, this is a busy area. Lots of people come in and out of this Waffle House, someone's going to see us. Someone's going to get us out of this car.

9:53And so for the next several minutes, James looked all around him looking for anybody walking through this parking lot, looking for people coming out of the Waffle House. And anybody who came even close to his vehicle, he would scream and yell and bang and do anything he could to get their attention. But nobody noticed him. Like no one could see or hear him. And now James and his dog were really starting to struggle with the heat inside of this vehicle. It really was like they were trapped inside of an oven. And so eventually, when it seemed like no one was going to notice them, James just began frantically looking around the interior of his car for a toolkit.

10:30He thought he had left a toolkit in here somewhere, you know, in case of emergencies. And he's thinking, you know, maybe there was a tool in there he could use to maybe jimmy open one of the doors. Or if he had to, he could maybe use something heavy in the toolkit to break a window, just to get out that way. And so eventually in the back seat near Leia, he found this toolkit. But when he cracked it open, he was disappointed because it really didn't have anything that useful. There were some pliers, there were some jumper cables and a flashlight. But, you know, James, he still took the pliers and he jammed the head of the pliers into the crack of the driver's side door to attempt to basically wrench open the door.

11:09But the pliers were very thin. And so he didn't budge the door at all. and he used a lot of energy trying to, you know, force the door open. And remember, it's like blisteringly hot inside of the vehicle at this point, and it's getting harder and harder to breathe. Like, Lee is struggling to breathe. James is, you know, drenched in sweat, and so he drops the pliers, and he just has this huge wave of anxiety come over him that like, oh my goodness, like, is this it? Are we going to die in here?

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15:29Like it felt like he was kicking a concrete wall. There was no budge, nothing. And so again, after exerting even more energy and now sweating even more and it's getting harder and harder to breathe, James took those pliers and he's like, he's really gassed. He can barely breathe. And he starts smashing the head of the pliers into the window. That didn't do anything. So it's like, I can't do anything to get out of this vehicle. And so James, he sort of just like lays back in the driver's seat, which he had reclined at this point. And he's just, he's panting. He can barely breathe. He's opened up his shirt a little bit and he's looking back at his dog and she's really struggling.

16:03And he's just like, I can't believe this is happening. And as he's laying there, he sort of looks towards the front of the car and his eyes land on the glove box in front of the passenger seat. And it was like, oh my goodness, how could I forget? There's a manual inside of there. there has got to be instructions for what to do if your car dies. There's got to be a way to get out. Like, it's got to be in that manual. And so suddenly having all this energy, James sat up, he opened up the glove box, and he pulled out this manual that he had never read before. I mean, he had no reason to, but he opened it up, and he began looking through it, looking for, you know, the section that would explain what to do in case of, you know, total power outage, and you're stuck inside the vehicle.

16:47But like, as he's looking at the pages, like his vision's swimming, it's so hot. He's so tired. And he just, it's all this little text. It's hundreds and hundreds of pages. And like nothing explained the situation. It was like, so not user-friendly. And so James, he's flipping through all these pages. And even just the act of turning the page was becoming so laborious. Like he is just beginning to shut down. I mean, he's basically dying inside of an oven and he can barely turn the page. And then before long, after about a quarter of the way through, it's like he couldn't see anymore. And he literally just like he couldn't turn the page anymore.

17:25He had no strength left. MJ, so James's buddy, the guy in his 60s who was also a regular at the Waffle House, he's inside the Waffle House. He's having his breakfast and his coffee. He knew James had stepped out. You know, he was going to be right back and he did not come right back, but he figured no big deal. Like, you know, he probably got caught up with something. Maybe he forgot that he had ordered food. But, you know, MJ, he's got all these reasons for why James has not come back to the restaurant. And also, MJ, being a regular, he's chatting it up with other people. He's not really even aware of the fact that James has not come back inside the Waffle House.

18:00And eventually, after MJ had had his coffee and his food, he's getting ready to maybe make an exit himself when two employees come running in the front door of the Waffle House. And so everybody turns to these employees who clearly are sort of making a scene here. And they're like, what? What's going on? And the employees, they're like, we just saw James. He's asleep in his car and we can't open the doors. We slammed on the windows, but he's not reacting. At this point, MJ felt sick to his stomach because he suddenly realized when he looked at his watch, it had been four hours since James had gone outside saying he'd be right back.

18:38Now, MJ, you know, he got caught up doing other things and he was in here all the time. He loved being here. Time flew when he was in here. But even he, like, didn't understand how much time had passed. And he's thinking like, oh my gosh, what's happened to James? And so MJ jumps out of his seat and he runs outside into the blistering heat. He goes around the corner to the red Corvette. He sees, you know, through the tinted glass, there's James inside of the vehicle. He starts hitting on the window, but there's no answer. You know, James isn't moving. And so MJ calls 911. It would turn out when James bought the red Corvette, I mean, it really was like his dream car.

19:18He fell in love with it. I mean, it was beautiful. It was flashy. It oozed status. It had all this new tech. It looked so expensive. I mean, it was perfect. And James, I mean, he didn't just, you know, buy this car and that was it. I mean, after he had it, he obsessed over it. He learned every little detail about it. He took great care of it. He drove it everywhere. I mean, this was like his child. But despite, you know, really obsessing over the car, he never learned one really important thing about this car, which is what do you do if you happen to be inside of the vehicle with the windows rolled up and your power goes out?

19:59Because the doors are not regular doors. They're powered by buttons. They're electrical. And if you have no power, you can't open them, as he found. Well, it turns out there's actually a lever under the driver's seat that once you pull it up, it pops open the driver's side door. And you can get out, no matter if there's electricity or not. But that information was buried on page 80 of that owner's manual that he had pulled out and begun flipping through. But he was so delirious from heat exhaustion, he couldn't get that far into the manual. He's like combing through all this really dense text.

20:31He made it about a quarter of the way through when unfortunately he and his dog Leia died from heat exhaustion. James's family filed a wrongful death case with Chevrolet, the maker of the Corvette, in 2018, but the case was dismissed. Chevrolet still makes Corvettes with these special electric doors, and there have been numerous additional incidents of people getting locked in and trapped. But in more recent Corvette models, the manuals have the information about the door's release lever much closer to the front of the manual.

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21:54What I like about ShipStation is that it simplifies a process that can otherwise become really time-consuming. Having everything in one place, from comparing rates to tracking shipments, makes things much easier. And knowing you're not overpaying for shipping every time an order goes out is a huge bonus. The sooner you switch, the sooner you start saving time and money. Get started with ShipStation today and get 60 days free at ShipStation.com with code MrBollin. That's ShipStation.com, code MrBollin. ShipStation.com, code Mr. Ballin, taxes and fees apply. You know how you look around your house and you think, man, this room could really use an update, but then you also convince yourself that it'll be so expensive or just like a massive project, and so you don't do it.

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23:54On the morning of August 20th, 1862, a 17-year-old farmhand named Jean LaRue carried his axe over to a stack of logs by a barn on a farm in Ottawa Township, Minnesota. As a farmhand, Jean was responsible for lots of different odd jobs, like splitting the firewood and feeding the animals and helping with the crops. Basically, Jean had to know every single inch of the farm and the woods that surrounded it and how to take care of it all. But even though he was basically constantly busy, Jean still found his mind wandering to a place that was sort of difficult, which was he felt a lot of times pretty homesick.