Pod Person

Vocab Word of the Day: Pod

Pod is one of those words that sounds wrong if you say it out loud it several times in a row. Try it. I’ll wait. Right?

But there’s more to those three little letters than THAT. Grasshoppers hatch from pods. Peas come in pods (not the same pods of course). There is a kitsch classic movie from the early 1980s, The Pod People. By most accounts it is howlingly dreadful, veering into the “so bad it’s good” territory. Maybe one of these years I’ll watch it, after I’ve gotten through the 10,000-film back log of movies I actually am interested in seeing.

During the past few years, “pod” (along with “bubble”) has been used to describe a small group of people it is considered safe to be with during a pandemic. My pod includes my immediate family and a few vaccinated-and-boostered friends. “Pod” also refers to a group of whales. Now that I think about it, I became rather more whale-like as I sheltered in place, with that place’s easy access to snacks.

Speaking of things “pod” related, I have been toying with the possibility of starting a podcast for several years now. Lord knows I listen to enough of them, and I love to talk, so there’s that. But I get stuck on one tiny detail: what do I have to offer the world as a podcaster? Various ideas flit through my head: humor, spirituality, humorous spirituality. Cooking. Spiritual cooking with humor. None of it sounds very compelling. Then I came up with: do a podcast WITH someone else!! My #1 candidate is my Rose. She is very funny, and we see the world quite differently, a lot of the time. Maybe we could interview each other’s choices of guests. Just to mix it up? But even writing this down, it sounds simultaneously too daunting, and quite possibly boring.

There is something about me that dreams of pursuing hard things, things I often have no talent for, while distrusting the activities that come easily to me. If I can write funny skits, for example, without much forethought, they are automatically not nearly as valuable as writing, say, a white paper (which I would love to attempt just as soon as I find out what a white paper is.) It’s all part of the self-sabotage at which I excel. If I can do it, how good can it possibly be?

But back to the podcast. I don’t think I need a fancy studio. Marc Maron interviews very famous people in his garage. I HAVE a garage. I’d just need to clean it out. But then, like giving a mouse a cookie, I’d have to find a place to put everything. I would be quite elderly by the time that task was completed. But wait! How about a podcast for 90 year olds? I don’t think that’s been done! Maybe AARP could sponsor!

I think I’m on to something! Check back with me in 2046!