desmondsdecker

I'd prefer her marrying a similarly religious man. In particular, her dad's co-host, Father Marsala.

A Veal-Marsala marriage is a much more savory arrangement.

My mom got involved in BBBS after my sister moved out post-college, and she's said this has been the highlight of her post-child life. Also, it's been more rewarding for her than taking on a bigger role in her church, getting involved in animal rescue, travelling, cultural events, etc.

She was matched with her little (let's say "Sarah") because while Sarah was always quiet, after her father had committed suicide, she had become very withdrawn and self-loathing because she felt responsible for her father's actions. Fortunately, her "acting out" peaked with typical early-teen rebellion: black hair dye, undercut shaved head, etc.

Fortunately, my mother has always had an innate ability to find fun activities and pour her all into hyping them, making the drive/ride and meals activities on their own, and challenging us out of comfort zones with supportive coaxing.

And so, she was a PERFECT fit for Sarah during the awkward tween/early teen years with a, "oh stop being paranoid, no one at Medieval Times/the park/show/concert/game/arcade/etc. are going to care or judge if you act like an idiot and enjoy yourself! And even if they do, they'll forget within five minutes, and you might regret not being silly and having as much fun as you could!" And I think that in part to my mom's efforts, now she's in her late teens, very well-adjusted, and will hopefully be the first member of her family to go to college! Last I heard she and Sarah started the school search, Mom is giving her advice based on her personal and maternal experience, and I would be very surprised if Sarah drops out of her life any time soon.

Sorry for the long-winded setup for what is a very short question. I was wondering what your experience with Ben's attitude was like. Did he have any behavioral or emotional issues before you started hanging out with him? If so, has your friendship and mentoring helped him? Was there any specific life experience that you could draw from to help him? or a unique/relevant life experience that played into your matching?

At first I thought you meant Occupy Wall Street. Interesting paradox between Swanson the libertarian and Offerman the humanist.

I'm a fan of your radio interviews I've heard on Opie and Anthony and others, and the couple of episodes of "Minding the Store," your short-lived podcast.

• Any plans to bring the podcast back? And are you recording any of the Pauly~tics shows for a podcast or just the DRM-free video?

• Have you looked into a Sirius-XM gig? Or are you sticking to standup?