We know you appreciate a good love story ... so we're bringing you two stories of relationships that have stood the test of time, from another podcast from WBUR, called "Endless Thread." Hear the story of the couple featured in an iconic photo from Woodstock, and one about a relationship that started with a note sent in second grade.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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produced by the island, W B. U R, Boston.
Oh, hey modern lovers. I know what you're thinking this
when we normally release our episodes. And yes, you are right, but we have some
especially wanted to share with you. We know you will
He a good love story, so we thought we'd bring you to more this week. They come from
Other W B, you are part cast called endless thread. It's a show featuring stories found on red it. This episode is called.
waste of time and it's from their second season, which has just launched, give it a shot. I have a feeling you're gonna like it,
we'll be back on Wednesday with a new episode of modern love, but in the meantime here's endless thread.
Murray, First movie or tv show crush, go David Bowie playing King Gareth in the labyrinth. Ah yeah it's
yeah. What about you? I'm going to go so basic right now that I'm kind of embarrassed, but my eleven year old self was so into PAMELA. Anderson on Baywatch,
well, you know most crushes tv or otherwise, I think, are probably not meant to stand the test of time and that my friend is a pretty good at the sewed title test of time. So
well test of time. It is the I
Johnson and this is endless thread. The show featuring stories found in the vast ecosystem of online communities called Reddit. I'm here
I producer and caused Emory seaports in one does not simply walk into our show that saying how it is made. We are coming to you from Boston's NPR station, W B, one
my first real crush was in fourth grade, but compared to Richie
it's a late bloomer! Do you remember when you first noticed Camille? Oh definitely, and I don't think it was any past the first hour honestly that I was there there in this case is a grade school in Minas
I just thought that she was really cute. She was a a small blonde girl with freckles, and I thought
freckles were adorable yeah. I remember like it was yesterday.
It wasn't yesterday. Of course, it was like decades ago, but something happened
burn. This whole experience into Richie's memory, there's evidence in the form of a note
Do you remember actually writing this thing. Yep
or actually writing it. So there
are some boys in our class that were teasing me about liking Camille and she was right there while they were teasing
and I didn't want to say cause. I was too embarrassed, so I said no, absolutely not. I don't like Emil no,
Yeah anytime, I hated here black gross cooties, so she heard all of that and then I just I thought about it for the next cup
flowers and it just felt so bad that I am
and I said that in front of her, and I just wanted to make it right, so I tore
the corner off of my pink notebook paper and I wrote on the notebook paper at two Camille from Richie and on the other side it said all misspelled
I was too embarrassed to tell you, but I really do like you. How did you spell embarrassed because I M be a r? I s t embarrassed already rough, I now and when you're a kid. Everything just feels that much more
intense and important you're like I'll. Never live this down. Right and Richie makes a strategic error by trying to fix this, because that only makes things worse so right after I gave a tour,
and put her under her school box, and she didn't notice it right away. But there was a girl in our class named Leyla and lay largest right away, probably
ten seconds after I put it under there. She saw me put under there. She goes under Camille School,
and takes it out and then reads it in so starts laughing, and then she takes it to our teacher, Miss Winters and,
she read it out loud before she said to herself and am sure- and I was too embarrassed-
oh you, but I really do like you from Richie and that just cash that embarrass me so
bad and Layla now has a great career at the National Security Agency. Probably
two years later. Richie is still hurting from his public humiliation, but he gets a restart. His mom gets a new job, far from innocent, so my mom got a job down there with the company ills
scientific atlanta yeah? We moved down there when I was ten and then I lived there for fourteen years. I think it was
and Ritchie lived. Happily ever after having left behind his epic childhood, I M B, a r I s m, I n t forever. No, he didn't know he didn't time for some Camille. So I think we were sixteen. He messages me on Facebook.
and we weren't friends on Facebook. He just sent me a message and said: hey, remember me and I did it
I had no idea who he was. I remember looking at his profile, seeing that he was from.
Atlanta and thinking remember me: I've never been to Atlanta. I don't know anyone from Atlanta. This is weird,
basically just said nope. I don't remember you at all. He message
back and said, oh no, we went to second grade together, like I'm from Minnesota and went ECHO Park with you and check your yearbook, look,
and so I did and he existed. He wasn't. I always say he wasn't like that. Creepy guy
internet, your grandma's trying to tell you about all the time. Did you ever think that he was that creepy guy the internet, a hundred percent your I mean
told me like. I know I had a big crush on you in second grade. He touched, I think he told me about
note pretty early on kind of.
Trigger my memory about that and I was like no no idea. I don't know who you are
and then he told me that his family some extended family still of them in a soda, so he made trips appear. We once in a while. He made
References to like an amusement park- that's here and said- is that still there
We should go there some time when you come up here when I come up to Minnesota that while wow this kid is really forward,
like I've never met you before and you're trying to take me to Valley Fair, but we just kept
king alleys. Take me devalue. Fair, is not a euphemism right, no political,
it's not fair and an amusement park is true that I guess he remembered from second grader. Whatever
yeah, so we started talking and I was pretty hesitant, I would say at first I was honestly kind of mean, like we've pulled up those facebook messages from way back when and I am not very kind so
it took a while, but they got to talking and surprisingly kind a hit it off. Richie was funny Camille five
There's no harm in talking online. I we were just talking and it kind of progressed to like. Oh we're more than talking we're talking about how we like each other
the good things about each other and we're flirting and eventually, I think in December. He asked me out, but we ve never seen each other we'd never seen.
any time together other than in second great, I suppose- and I said yes so we were
officially dating as of this-
of our junior year of high school, having not seen each other since we were eight years old and eventually, though, Richie made good on the promised to come visit, but they were just teenagers, so it was tricky.
parents didn't know he existed, so I snuck around for that whole weekend that he was here. I had a car, so I picked him up and we drove around and we went to the mall we went to.
My friends, houses and watch the movie cuz. We couldn't go back to my house, cuz, my parents didn't know he existed. They thought I was at my cousin's house.
snuck round all weekend and we hung out. I dropped him back off at the airport on Sunday night and said: good bye did not know the next time. You see each other. What why didn't your parents know?
You know sixteen seventeen year old me had never had a really likes you,
dating relationship I'd like kind of dated guys, but my family wasn't super open about like mushy, gushy feeling stuff so kind of weird to say: hey, there's,
guy that lives in Georgia, and I really like him. So I'm dating him. How long did that go on?
after he came to Minnesota that first time, okay, the guilt got to me
and my mom said: oh yeah, I knew something was up and she d
I mean just that weekend. She meant like over the last five months. She could tell there was something different and I was like what how did you know
then so sneaky and shoes like now, you ve been different. I can just tell me mom. I knew I knew something was up
Richie's family had a different reaction. They didn't think it was creepy, noted and think,
it was they thought it was romantic and that's how I see it from my side to romantic sure, but this was the beginning:
have a six year long distance relationship that pretty much nobody thought would last
I remember once we were visiting some of his
standard family. It was the first time I'd ever met them, and I remember
I'm point a couple of his cousins were saying
Ask me how we really like you, and we really hope you stick around, but this is gonna be tough. This is gonna, be a tough relationship and we hope you can do it, but who knows kind of throwing out that sense of doubt, and I think we ve
away from that house, going we're going to prove them wrong.
if we're going to show him that this is hard, but we can also do it so yup. I've always said I always like when we heard stuff like that. I always would tell her like doesn't matter. We know, we've,
there.
Was one thing they didn't know they had. Camille is in college
One day her mom takes her side and says she has something to show her and she pulls out there.
That we've been talking about since the beginning of our relationship. I mean everyone knew the story about the note and I was flabbergasted. I could not believe that that reads had resurfaced
No one knows how it ended up back at my parents house. I don't know if, like Miss Winters gave it to my parents at conferences, thinking it was something they'd want to hang on to my mom. Does
remember having it or why we had it, but there it was.
it's funny cause you talk about your parents not being very like sentimental or whatever, and yet your mom saved this note. It's true, I think she's,
I'd like secretly sentimental like she does. She has feel
We just don't know what they are
the
You guys got married last summer and you put the note on display.
Yes, it was there, we had it in a little frame. Camille doesn't usually post to Reddit.
But she saw the ask Reddit question: what is your true love story and she answered- and this is one,
the only times that I was like yeah hey, I want to say something cause. I actually have something to contribute and it it panned out. Do you guys have anything you would say to each other at the end of this conversation,.
We keep looking over at each other and smiling and I would honestly just say, like there you go. You know we
the world wrong? We said we would here. We are we're in a place right now, where our relationship is thriving, it couldn't be better
we absolutely love our lives- and you know, is there's a there's: a ton of love in our household.
I never imagined that at the age of seventeen I would begin my journey with the man I intended to marry and
We can be long distance for five and a half you six years. Then we can do anything cause. That was
the hardest thing that we've done so I probably will do. I hope
so that's something I said my values was. If we can do that, we can kind of prevail through anything, and I really believe that. So I would say that to you: let's keep prevail.
Pretty hairy
spell embarrassed.
E, a r r, a s s e d. Well done
it's every two hours to SS, just wow
I'm glad you didn't ask me that I went from zero to hero in the game, that's for sure, Camille, Carlson Ortiz and Richard Ortiz thanks a lot for talking with us. Thank you yeah. Definitely thanks for having us
Okay, I just want to acknowledge how much of a cheesy ass hallmark card of an episode. We are a pair
we doing today because Emory this chafes, my dark, mysterious, cynical so can't deny true love, then Joe narrowed. It's true
also. We got something more up. Your alley coming out: drugs, sex rock,
all mud mud.
So my ass, my dark and twisted saw urine to wallow in the sex, drugs rock and roll might. Well. You got back to look forward to coming up.
Amory today I learned that you are really into cars. Maybe despite not having a car of your own, that's true! I love them. I mean not all cars
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one alright. So a minute ago we went back in time with Richie and Camille about fifteen years, but for this one, let's go back a little further. The February of nineteen sixty nine
Nick was a college student working as a bar tender in middle town. New York at a place called denotes Bobby, was
out with one of my waiters and the waiters used.
Station, the their dates are the girl
friends in front of their bartenders, and so her boyfriend at the time introduced us and asked me to keep an eye on her
which I was glad to do by way Nick kept
good. I am Bobby that by may they were dating a few months later. Everyone was
buzzing about a music festival happening about forty miles away from DNS in Bethel new
Woodstock
is the largest fruit
people ever assembled in one place. The important thing
Improving the world
young people get together and have three days.
One, the thing
nothing but fun on music- a night God bless apart. It was opening day of the festival, Friday August 15th.
Bobby and Nick we're sitting on her front. Porch. Listening to the radio, the broadcasters in common
up here, the roads are blocked. You can't move. If you plan on coming do not well, we were twenty. We had to yeah. What do you expect for twenty year olds twenty year olds? Am I right? The next morning Bobby and Nick headed to Askers farm and their friend Corky, his car well technically Gorky's mom's car this vehicle is a nineteen sixty five Chevy Palace station wagon with a white with a red interior. You couldn't,
Is it for anything and I think he needed a captain's license to drive it because it was so large and we knew Southern was different when we got there, because when we get out of the vehicle there was
young man sitting on the on the hood of the trooper car, but he was wearing a pair of blue jeans, no shirt and moccasins, and you smoking. A joint
and there was a young trooper standing, maybe about fifteen feet away, and we looked at each other because we knew back then you'd during a Rockville, a drug laws. If you got caught with a joint smoking it you could end up in prison for five years with that and he just looked at each other. What what is this? You know the thing was: it was no one up ahead. Texting I started tweeting or sending us back any information, so we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. We just followed the crowd. Thousands of us on that little back road, just slapping of our sandals, just all going in the same direction and then once they got to the festival. Well, your senses were assaulted and there were little vignettes of group.
Things all around. You, families, individuals, a group of men, women, children, singing dancing, laughing yelling, yodeling playing instruments and crying the smells, and it was a combination of campfire, weed and mud
humidity body, odor, puke,
patchouli oil, the site,
in sounds of thought. I did we used to read it's worth saying again, probably there you go it just and it was like a kaleidoscope. It was an lsd trip without him,
I dropped any acid. You notice anything missing from this list. Bed mud. Do we do mud yup, got mud, sex sex mud mud, sex
I think you're you're, looking for Rock n roll the answer here, looking for his rock n roll, you got it no disrespect,
the artist for sure, because we we loved
being there and listening to them. However, to me
I think of Woodstock. I think what was going on around me, the mass of humanity that was swirling around me, but let's face it. The music was the draw.
Folks there, but what everybody remembers is the crowd that was there. You had four hundred and fifty thousand people sitting in one alfalfa field, listening to
bands play in
important to remember. Not only is that number huge, even by today's mature music festival, market standards like twice Coachella and eight times Bonnaroo,
The modern versions also have like sprinkler zones, art markets, massage parlors, bougie food options and ten dollars. Water
doc. On the other hand,
carrying member a case of bananas would go overhead we'd, reaching grab some bananas and pass the case on wonder bread cases of wonder bread bottle
water or gallons of water. It wasn't bottled water and everybody shared what they had. Some of the folks put their garden hoses out, so the kids could get drink some water some gave it for free others charged a quarter. There's no place to go to the bathroom at all I mean so you can imagine kids tromping through the woods or or
Amber who somebody's garage a barn or something like that. Do you remember any of the actual music that you heard any specific musicians,
if she could, but to have heard of it, was a
number sliding in the family stone
Nick and Bobby slept on a hill that night surrounded by thousands of other festival, goers
this morning was Sunday August, 17th. Nineteen sixty nine
Do you remember that morning in particular? No! No! No, we did not know them.
picture was taken at the Woodstock. You don't remember anything v, PIC
a man and woman wrapped in a dirty blanket with pink trim
you're standing on the hill and behind them people sleeping on the ground some trash.
as early in the morning, the photo take
by Guy named Burke US all which of course the guy's name was Burke as all other
Smithsonian Magazine, Gracie Slick of Jefferson airplane was singing bringing up the dawn and just magically. This couple stood up and hugged.
They kissed smiled at each other and the woman leaned her head on the man shoulder. I just had time to get off a few frames, a black and white and a few of color
and that's how Nick and Bobby Herbaline unknowingly became the cover of the official Woodstock Album.
the
I'm here now our buddy Quirky is is basically a of a two legged music bible. He has an enormous collection
so on a typical Friday night we all got together and and had his apartment and we're sitting around listening
so the album and were drinking
Aaron, doing whatever and and passing the album jacket around and then somebody says who's in the picture, and it was like. Oh my god, you gotta be kidding me and that it was at that time. I felt. Maybe I ought to tell my mother that I went two years and ten days after that picture was taken Nick and Bobby got married,
at first son, was born eight years after that, our second son, two years later, the life moved on
settled down and middle town New York, where they first met Bobby became a school nurse. Nick became a carpenter, things were pretty quiet until the twentieth anniversary of Woodstock whirled around
one thousand nine hundred and eighty nine Bobby saw an ad in her local newspaper Life magazine was putting together a special edition for the anniversary of Woodstock
and they wanted stories from people who were there Bobby
little something and sent it in the phone started to ring and ring and ring and
and with every radio station, a news organization I think in the world. Oh man, you went viral before going viral- was a hit pretty much in on that one,
For a show why I know I know I know we were on her showed significant photos of the twentieth century. What's that's pretty me? Why do you think that photo of you, too was chosen to be the cover? I dont know why was chosen, but I do think that it has maintained its popularity and people are so interested in it because Nick and I are still together that theory
Finally, checks out on red it. Making Bobby story has surfaced dozens of times there over the years like this post from nine years ago,
holy moly. The couple hugging under
blanket on the cover of the Woodstock Album are still together.
Forty, nine years in total, two kids for grandkids,
show me where the song about is till you can find it on Youtube. It's just called the couple in the cover. It's really cute wheat be kind.
We kinda enjoy it. How does it feel to have this thing? That is a representation of yes, your love, but also something so much bigger than that. You know there's a lot of scary, sad stuff in today's world. A lot of troublesome burdensome stuff- that's just can be oppressive and depressing. This is happy.
I love being part of it, even if it is just a little bit. We should probably say Woodstock is a happy memory, but it was also arguably a reaction to a lot of scary, sad,
stuff going on in the sixties. Nick and Bobby continue to be a part of that reaction. The volunteer regularly at the Bethel would centre for the arts of performance in education centre that sits on the original side, the festival and that's where you will find them next year
the fiftieth anniversary of Woodstock. Do you think another Woodstock could happen today in out? There can be another Woodstock, but don't call it would stock make your own make your own memories make your own biggie. Then it's just a different time. Now it's it's a different time. What about the blank
in that photo. You know the dirty blanket with the pink trim that Nick and Bobby found on the ground at Woodstock. Will they kept it for about ten years they took it to picnics and kept it in their car and now
They have no idea where it is it's probably in a landfill somewhere. As for the photo that photographer Burke, as all had only three physical
he's made one of them hangs in his gallery and others in this myth, Sony in and the third, its hanging up and Nick and Bobby's kitchen
the,
I look at the pictures is a couple of twenty year old kids falling in love with each other. That's how I look at that
but it also is is somewhat of a responsibility to it to
make sure that people know what it stands for. What the truth is about it, how it happened. What really happened there
Why do you think your relationship has stood the test of time because we love each other? Well,
from that within the answers, without a doubt, but you know marriages hard good times in Theirs bear times you gotta choose your battles. Sometimes it's a whole lot easier to be to be happy than to be right, and you have to ask yourself: am I better off with or without this person and if you're, better off with you make it work
thus to Bobby and Nick Urca line a k, the Woodstock couple, making it work since nineteen sixty nine Emory. What do you think these
stories tell us, bring some bananas in a blanket the next time you go to a music festival and always tell them
truths about your second grade, crush, at least in note,
Otherwise, you'll never be able to prove you're, not a random weirdo on the internet, or at least
if you are a random weirdo on the internet you're one of the good ones. I cannot wait for next week's at
the crushing tales of sadness and woe to follow this Disney animated movie ending of an episode you loved it. Ok, I did
thanks for checking out this episode of endless thread. If you like what you heard
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Transcript generated on 2022-04-16.