Fearful Symmetry

Summary

Love and Radio: “Fearful Symmetry” (May 24, 2023)

Host: Paul Clarion (performed by Bob Paris)

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Overview

"Fearful Symmetry" is a darkly surreal, meditative, and satirical episode of Love and Radio, adopting the frame of a confessional radio call-in show led by the enigmatic Paul Clarion. Through a series of callers—each confessing their sins or grievances—Paul offers instant, almost ritual absolution in a soothing, pseudo-spiritual tone. The episode weaves together unsettling humor, grotesque confessions, absurd commercial parodies, philosophical parables, and a profound meditation on American culture, spectacle, and innocence. The second half is anchored by a biting deconstruction of the Super Bowl XXV halftime show amid the Gulf War, focusing on the fleeting fame of a child performer, Seth Horton.

The episode explores themes of guilt and absolution, the thirst for cleansing without accountability, American ritual, spectacle, innocence corrupted, and the strange comfort of ritualized redemption in the midst of banality and atrocity.

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Key Segments and Discussion Points

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1. The Ritual of Confession and Absolution (00:09–15:28)

Format & Tone:
Paul Clarion opens his “constellation of love, caring, and forgiveness,” inviting listeners to confess their sins—styled as spiritual radio therapy mixed with deadpan absurdity and a disconcerting lack of judgment.

Confession #1: Max, the Abuse and Guilt (00:50–03:02)

• Caller Max admits to repeated physical abuse of his child, blaming the child’s behavior (“He makes me do it”), showing little remorse but seeking relief from guilty feelings.
• Paul responds with nonjudgmental acknowledgment, instantly dispensing absolution:
  • Paul (02:10): “It is done. Your sins have been washed away.”
• Max is elated, immediately reverts to more abuse in the background, thanks Paul for making him "whole," highlighting the emptiness and enabling nature of faux-forgiveness.

Confession #2: Bettina, the Poisoned Lie (03:16–05:49)

• Caller Bettina confesses to lying to her pretentious sister about their dying mother's last words, inciting the sister’s suicide attempt.
• She frames herself as the wronged party, seeking sympathy rather than repentance.
• Paul, unwaveringly forgiving, gently washes her guilt away:
  • Paul (05:27): “But when we find forgiveness, we find love. Your sins have been washed away.”
• Bettina refuses to accept responsibility, using forgiveness as a shield.

Confession #3: Jimmy, Murder and Stain Removal (06:52–14:52)

• Caller Jimmy begins with reverence for Paul, confesses to murdering a coworker—details are delivered with comic violence and detachment:
  • Jimmy (08:15): “...just poured lye all over his face and just pound it and make him scream and weep and burn so he can finally see what a pathetic sack of shit he really was.”
• Fears for his soul more than legal consequences: “Maybe I shouldn't have done what I done... it feels good just saying that out loud.”
• Paul is calmly unphased, grants him absolution:
  • Paul (11:28): “You’ve already begun the journey. Those events have been washed away. It’s all been washed away. No more pain, Jimmy. No more guilt.”
• The segment swerves into a surreal, detailed discourse on bloodstain removal for Jimmy’s beloved polo shirt, naming products and techniques with clinical enthusiasm:
  • Paul (13:40): “Blood stains are considered enzymatic stains. It's all about proteins. ... Consider Blood Buster Stain Remover... These enzymatic cleaners will also work on vomit, urine, and fecal matter.”

Parable: The Boy and the Talking Cow (16:09–20:59)

• Paul narrates a fable about a Nebraska boy befriending a talking cow; their friendship is disrupted by awkward discussions on religion, politics (“the Palestinian thing”), and culminates in an awkward family dinner.
• The tale shifts from magical realism to pointed social commentary on division, misunderstanding, and the loss of innocence.

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2. Satirical Breaks and Fake Ads (21:44, 23:43)

• Absurd commercial parody segment making fun of consumer culture and advertising’s manipulation, delivered in an escalating, manic tone:
  • “Do you want it? I want it. You gotta have it. ... For an extra 10%, just write ‘fearful symmetry’ in the special code...” (21:44)
• "Floor Work with Sedge Franklin"—a parody self-help advertisement lampooning empty wellness promises (23:43).

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3. American Spectacle and Innocence: The Super Bowl XXV Deep Dive (24:43–35:15)

Deconstructing the Super Bowl, Patriotism, and War (24:43–30:14)

• Paul delivers a densely layered monologue mixing reverence and biting irony:
  • Revisits the 1991 Gulf War Super Bowl XXV halftime show, blending high patriotism, pop spectacle, innocence, and the machinery of war.
  • Paul (24:43): “No war with Iraq was going to cancel or postpone the Super Bowl. No way. The super bowl is and will always be the perfect stage to celebrate our latest, greatest war.”
  • Vivid description of Whitney Houston’s “Star Spangled Banner,” children waving flags, Disney characters, and a sea of manufactured innocence.
  • Reckons, without sentimentality, the cost:
    • Paul (28:01): “We would go on to have 100,000 bombing missions over Iraq and Kuwait… killing tens of thousands of Iraqi troops and leading to the demise of some 100,000 civilians. But the point is, hardly any American soldiers were killed. We won that war. We won.”

The Enigma of Seth Horton: Lost Innocence (30:14–35:15)

• Montage of real and fictional details about “Seth Horton,” who sang as a six-year-old in the halftime show.
• Intersperses lyrical details of his later life: working-class jobs, minor misfortunes, internet posts, a criminal conviction.
• Explores the notion of fleeting childhood glory and the contrast with adult reality.
• Paul (35:15): “Because you, or eternally the blue eyed blond haired boy in the football jersey singing your heart out before the whole world. As long as there's Disney and America and the endless wars, your glory will always shine bright in our land of the free and the brave.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• "It is done. Your sins have been washed away." — Paul (02:10)
• "I didn't do anything wrong. But thank you for understanding. That does feel. That feels good. It feels good." — Bettina (05:41)
• "I just took the knife and I stabbed him and I stabbed him again and again and again until he really didn't seem to bother me anymore." — Jimmy (09:10)
• “Blood stains are considered enzymatic stains. It's all about proteins.” — Paul (13:40)
• "No war with Iraq was going to cancel or postpone the Super Bowl. No way." — Paul (24:43)
• "We won that war. We won. We won. How it must have been for an American child at the time." — Paul (28:01)
• "Pay these creatures no mind, Seth Horton. ... As long as there's Disney and America and the endless wars, your glory will always shine bright..." — Paul (35:15)

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Episode Flow and Structure

• The episode opens and closes in Paul’s radio studio, blending the sacred and profane.
• Progressing from individual, personal guilt to collective, national rituals of redemption and denial.
• Moves seamlessly between confessional dark comedy, surreal parable, ad parody, and elegiac cultural critique.
• Surreal humor and deadpan delivery are maintained throughout, heightening the uncanny, disquieting effect on the listener.

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Conclusion

"Fearful Symmetry" stands as a powerful, unsettling meditation on the ways we seek, perform, and receive forgiveness—individual, communal, and national. Through Paul Clarion’s impassive, benevolent, and transactional offering of absolution, the episode underscores how ritualized forgiveness, spectacle, and nostalgia function as both balm and evasion in contemporary American life. The episode’s closing meditation on Seth Horton and the Super Bowl reframes innocence and spectacle as a grand, bittersweet myth—the true symmetry being not between sin and forgiveness, but between America’s dreams and its persistent, unresolved shadow.

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For more surreal meditations and layered radio storytelling, explore other episodes of Love and Radio or the referenced “Fearful Symmetry” podcast by Bob Paris.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Hey there, cosmonauts. Greetings and salutations to my fellow passengers on spaceship Earth. You've reached your destination. You've arrived at our constellation of love, caring and forgiveness.

[A]

Paul.

[B]

I'm Paul. Clarion. And we're all together now for another podcast episode of Love and Radio. Let us begin our communion. I see we already have a line of new friends waiting to come through the portal. The first transmission is now open. Greetings, new friend. Who am I speaking to this evening?

[C]

This is Max. I don't even know why I'm doing this.

[B]

Hi, Max. How are you feeling?

[C]

Not good. Not good at all.

[B]

I'm sorry to hear that, Max.

[C]

I just smacked my kid again. Keep doing that. He makes me do it.

[B]

I see.

[C]

Yeah, he just. He just keeps doing stupid all the time. I'm tired of it.

[B]

You sound upset, Max.

[C]

Goddamn right I'm upset. Drives me up the walls.

[A]

Mother.

[C]

He's a little bitch. And there's only one way to handle that.

[B]

I see.

[C]

Just. Just no respect, you know? No. No obedience.

[B]

Right.

[C]

But on the other hand, I don't know, part of me feels a little bad, a little conflicted. Okay.

[B]

Right. How can I help you tonight, Max?

[C]

I feel almost, you know, guilty. Like. Like. Like I'm doing something wrong. Just. Just hate that. Hate that. Hate that guilty feeling, like. Like it's not okay or something.

[B]

I see. You seek expiation then.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Expiation.

[A]

Then.

[B]

It is done. Your sins have been washed away.

[C]

Right. You mean that's. That's it.

[B]

Totally washed away. Thank you, Max.

[C]

All right. Good, good. That means a lot. Actually, it feels. I already feel better. It just. I feel lighter or something. Excuse me a moment. You stay in that fucking corner. Don't you look at me. Don't you look at me. Don't make me come over there because I will fuck you up. You can see what I'm dealing with here. Anyhow, thanks, I. I feel better. I feel. Thanks for making me, you know, whole.

[B]

The universe is healing. The universe is love. The universe is forgiveness. I see that A new friend is on the threshold. Please come in, new friend. Tell me your name.

[C]

My name is Bettina.

[B]

How can the universe help you, Bettina?

[C]

I'm not always maybe as honest as I should be. From time to time, I might fib a little.

[B]

I see.

[C]

It's a small thing. Just little white lies. I mean no harm, of course.

[B]

Of course.

[C]

For instance, I've lied to my sister recently. She's very, you know, pretentious. She and her rich husband they're pretentious and they always have to shove all their jewelry right under my nose.

[B]

I see.

[C]

She's just an awful woman, really. So selfish. Just terrible. Anyhow, our mother died last month and my sister was at some spa in the Caribbean getting some kind of butt lift procedure. You've heard of that? You know, nothing is ever good enough for her. And she's never there when you need her. And so I'm the one who has to call her and tell her about mom dying.

[B]

I see.

[C]

She's so darn mad, you know? And, well, I told my sister that our mother on her deathbed called her an ungrateful worm. And. And that she said she always hated my sister. And that she said that my sister should be the one who deserves to die.

[B]

I see.

[C]

Which, you know, technically was untrue since mom really just made a lot of gurgling noises at the end.

[B]

Gurgling noises?

[C]

But I was so darn mad. And I suppose I wanted to wound my sister, right? But how was I supposed to know she was going to take a bunch of pills and walk out into the ocean? Who does that, right? I mean, everything has to be about her. And they apparently rescued her, but that wasn't good enough. And now she's on some kind of machine and her brain is like all jello. And now I'm the bad guy.

[B]

I see.

[C]

And it's not fair. Like this was all her fault.

[B]

Life can be unfair, Bettina. But when we find forgiveness, we find love. Your sins have been washed away.

[C]

I didn't do anything wrong.

[B]

Technically, go back into the world with a lighter load.

[C]

Again, I didn't do anything wrong. But thank you for understanding. That does feel. That feels good. It feels good.

[B]

It does feel good when we open our hearts to the universe.

[C]

My sister is a very selfish woman. She's not a good woman.

[B]

Perhaps I can share a little something with all of our listeners. Each morning when I commence my rising devotions, I am entirely filled with the goodness of creation. When I am on my deck above the mountains, the sweet sound of a stream gently running through my estate. The many animals for my bestiary frolicking here and there, I feel a strong sense of love and place. Even the servants stand content in quiet expectation of my next need and desire. And I think, what a wonderful universe we find ourselves in. And now I see we have a new friend on the threshold. Are you there, new friend?

[C]

Yes, yes. I am so happy to talk to you, Paul. You're just a hero of mine.

[B]

What is your name?

[A]

Friend.

[C]

Call me Jimmy. Paul. Wow. Listen to me. I can't get over I'm really talking to you. Please accept my celestial greetings of love and appreciation.

[B]

I accept, Jimmy. Thank you so much.

[C]

You've just given so much to so many, Paul. And now. And now I'm part of it too. It's just wonderful.

[B]

It is all the dance of life. What brings you here today, Jimmy?

[C]

Well, this is a doozy. Where do I begin? I'm just all. I'm just all tongue tied. Let me take a breath here.

[B]

Take your time, Jimmy.

[C]

Okay, Okay. I had a co worker, right? And he was, you know, just full of really bad energy.

[B]

Oh, I see.

[C]

And I was always trying to. To help him, okay? Like. Like to fix him, right? And I mean, I was trying. I was trying. I was coming with love and, you know, peace and good vibrations, right? But because he was just such a pus filled moron, a real maggot brain douchebag. And he had a face that you just wanted to slap hard, right? Like you just wanted to take his face and slap it hard and maybe even just poured lye all over his face and just pound it and make him scream and weep and burn so he can finally see what a. What a pathetic sack of shit he really was.

[B]

I understand, but I knew.

[C]

I knew. I just can't act on every impulse. I mean, holy smokes, where am I gonna find Ly? Anyway, right?

[B]

Right.

[C]

So we're in the office kitchen and there's a big bagel knife there, right? But it's a sharp one, you know, it's a sharp one.

[B]

A sharp bagel knife, exactly.

[C]

So he says. He says to me, please, can you just stop bothering me? Can you believe it? He's telling me to stop bothering him because he's totally in denial, right? Because he's the one who's bothering me. Everybody knows that bagel knife. So I just took the knife and I stabbed him and I stabbed him again and again and again until he really didn't seem. He didn't seem to bother me anymore.

[B]

I see.

[C]

And then, okay, I had to start stabbing myself too. So I can say it's all in self defense, right?

[B]

Right.

[C]

And now there's blood everywhere. Like on the coffee machine and the paper plates and the chairs. And I've got his blood and his gore and my blood all over my clothes. Including, including Paul, my favorite polo shirt that I happened to wear that day. And that part really, really bums me out. Cause I had that for years and years and it was made it was made, Paul, by a company, a family company in Vermont that went out of business. And I don't need to name it, but you just. That shirt just always looked really good on me.

[D]

It never.

[C]

It would never be wrinkled and it went with the color of my skin. And now, you know, it's just filled with blood.

[B]

You certainly sound frustrated, Jimmy.

[C]

Oh, you bet I am. You bet I am. Sorry. So, okay, so I was questioned by the police. And I told them I always felt he was a ticking time bomb and I had no idea what set him off. And that he finally went berserk and I had to defend myself and manage to get the knife from him. Now it turned out that there were, you know, complaints about that scum bucket before. Actually, these were anonymous complaints that I once made, or rather I got a series of different people to make for me on the phone. You know, saying stuff about sexual harassment, drug abuse, whatnot, you know, he was just such a maggot. Brain douchebag. Did I say that already? He was such. He was one of those.

[B]

I understand.

[C]

So for now I seem to be in the clear, right? But I. I don't know, I. I'm not sure I feel right about the whole business, you know, maybe. Maybe I shouldn't have done what I done. You know what I mean? Boy, I can't believe I just said that. It feels good just saying that. You know, just saying that out loud.

[B]

I hear you saying that you're ready to move on.

[C]

Yeah, I'm ready. I need to move on.

[B]

You've already begun the journey. Those events have been washed away. It's all been washed away. No more pain, Jimmy. No more guilt. Total expiation of your sins.

[C]

Oh, I can breathe. I can breathe. I can breathe now. Paul, thank you so much. Life is so precious. Thank you. Life is. Life is precious. So good.

[B]

The gifts of the universe never cease, Jimmy. Love is endless.

[C]

Sorry, Paul, before you go, one more thing. It's just. It's just that darn shirt of mine. I've been. I've been trying to get the blood out of it and I just love the shirt so much. But there was. There was so much blood and gore and more blood and more gore and I don't. I don't know what type of blood he had, but that stuff is not coming out. Do you have any idea how. How I might get out these blood stains?

[B]

Of course I do. Jimmy, you need to get yourself a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Just apply a small amount directly to the red blood stain areas and Watch as the stains disappear.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

If they're stubborn blood stains, then reapply as needed. The sooner you do this, the better off you'll be. Once it starts to dry, it's a lot harder to get out.

[C]

Right. Okay.

[B]

And if your shirt was white, you might spray it with a little bleach.

[C]

Well, the shirt is more of a fuchsia actually. It really goes with my skin tone. I look good in white. I look good in white, but not as good as fuchsia. It's fuchsia.

[B]

And for large and entrenched blood stains, I suggest you try Carbona blood stain remover 4. That should get you some quality results.

[C]

Oh yeah, yeah. I've heard that a friend of mine has a lot of experience with blood, you know, and he was talking about blood removal and he was talking about Carbona Blood Stain removal number four too.

[B]

You see, Jimmy, blood stains are considered enzymatic stains. It's all about proteins. You may need a top notch enzyme cleaner to break down these large protein molecules into smaller soluble chunks. Consider purchasing a bottle of Blood Buster Stain Remover. It's a reliable enzyme cleaner available on Amazon. And remember, these enzymatic cleaners will also work on vomit, urine and fecal matter.

[C]

Oh, good, good.

[B]

Now Jimmy, if we're talking about a tremendous amount of blood.

[C]

Well, we are, we are, we are. We certainly are. That shirt of mine, oh boy. That shirt was absolutely drenched with blood. It was just thick all over with blood.

[B]

Then let me recommend a product called Calais. Totally Awesome Oxygen Power All Purpose Spot Remover. It's wonderful on deep coats of dried blood. It may take several hours of soaking the blood stained area, but it should get the job done.

[C]

I will, I will. Wow, Paul, thank you so much.

[B]

And now we move on. We love, we care, we forgive. Let us wash away the past and live in the ever flowing. Now.

[C]

Sam.

[B]

Once upon a time there was a boy from Nebraska and he took care of the cows on his father's farm. Now you think about Nebraska as corn and husking corn, but there's lots of cows out there. And this boy, he liked the cows. He felt good and right with the cows. He liked taking the udder of a cow and holding it just right and gently squeezing the teat to milk the cow in a sensitive way. He didn't want to do anything crude or disrespectful to the cow. And one day, early in the morning, he was handling the udder of a certain cow. And this cow starts thinking, this guy is all right. This feels Good, I like it, I like what he's doing. And so the cow suddenly decides, I'm going to talk to this guy. I know I'm not supposed to, but I've just gotta thank him and let him know that I really appreciate this. Now every time the boy finished milking a cow, he always took the time to face the animal and look in its big brown eyes. Sort of a gesture of connection. And when he did it, this time with this particular cow, the cow opens its mouth and says, hey man, thanks for treating me right. Feels good. Feels real good that you're treating me right. And the boy, really almost a young man, he's 15 years old, he says, no problem, my pleasure. And then the cow says, hey O, what are you up to later? What do you got going on? And the boy says, I don't know, I've got a lot of chores, but when I'm done, I was hoping to just chill and maybe play some video games. And the cow says, call of Duty. And the boy says, yeah, yeah, how'd you know that you play video games? And the cow says, no, no, no, we don't get a chance to do that, that. But I, I don't know, nobody really ever asked me to play and. And the boy said, well, come over to the crib, play with me. And the cow did come over and did play with him. The crib was just a bedroom in his parents house, but you know, it was cool, it was cool. They drank Mountain Dew, smoked a little weed, played video games. Then later they were just hanging out, shooting the ship. The cow was telling him a joke about chewing grass and then he told another one about chewing. He had a lot of jokes connected to chewing grass actually. And at some point the kid said, hey, what do you think about the whole Palestinian thing, you know, with Israel? And the cow says, well, I don't, I, I don't really know. I don't really consider myself informed to comment on that issue. And the boy says, well, how can you not, how can you not have an opinion? Do you have some trouble with Jews, is that it? And the cow says, no, I don't have any trouble with Jews. There are some cows around me that are Jewish. I have no problem with it. I mean, to each his own, but I, I suppose, yes, I find the ongoing Israeli appropriation of Palestinian land rather disturbing. And the boy says, you're not even going to mention the enormity of the Holocaust? And the cow says, well, of course, that was really terrible, but there's also the plight of some 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Well, they went on like this for a long time. And when the kid's mom called him down to dinner and he brought the cow, it was a little awkward because nobody, you know, he didn't say he was having anybody over for dinner and that cow here's his cow and all. And it, well, it was just quiet. It was just a very quiet meal. And it did not help that they were eating cheeseburgers that night, which was obviously a source of embarrassment for the boy to be a good guest. The cow ate some of the burger, but you could see the cow wasn't very happy with it. And when the cow took an enormous crap on the dining room floor floor, it was just an uncomfortable moment. Later, as a kid quietly walked the cow back to the cow shed, he wondered, ah, maybe. Maybe I shouldn't have brought up all this political stuff. It really gets in the way. I hope I haven't jeopardized my friendship with this cow.

[E]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Maybe it's something about America and blonde little boys. Maybe it's a righteous pleasure embalming strangers 7, 10,000 miles away. Or maybe it's just our undying love for flags, football, and Jesus. But no war with Iraq was going to cancel or postpone the Super Bowl. No way. The super bowl is and will always be the perfect stage to celebrate our latest, greatest war. That is why on January, January 29, 1991, 11 days after the start of Desert Storm, the electronic patriotic spectacle of Super Bowl 25 took its rightful place in human history. 750 million people watched around the world as pop star Whitney Houston, majestically clad in a red, white and blue tracksuit, stood, stood in Tampa Stadium and belted out a Star Spangled Banner rendition so moving, so beloved, that it was soon released as a single and soared to the top of the charts. When she reached the climactic finish of the Home of the Brave and rapturous, fans roared their approval. Four supersonic F16 fighter jets streaked overhead, a furious but loving emanation of America's godly military might. But you can't truly celebrate celebrate war unless you have children. A stadium full of innocent children. An extravaganza sponsored by Disney, featuring 3,500 cute little boys and girls in the uniforms of football players, cheerleaders and referees. Marching, singing, dancing, dedicated to all the servicemen and women protecting us in the Persian Gulf. That was a halftime show and it was glorious. It featured the boy band sensation, New Kids on the Block and an endless array of beloved Disney characters. But the big moment belonged to a six year old blond haired boy by the name of Seth Horton. Surrounded by a sea of children waving American flags, Seth Horton stood before the magical Disney castle and sang to our soldiers everywhere that they were his heroes.

[C]

Did you ever know that you're my hero and everything I would like to.

[A]

Be.

[C]

I can cry.

[B]

And we got to see these heroes in a video montage of American troops overseas. And we got to see President George Herbert Walker Bush and First Lady Barbara and hear their brave and kindly words.

[C]

And.

[B]

And a mighty chorus started singing America, America, America. As throngs of cheerleaders formed a giant USA White doves were released into the air, fireworks exploded, and Mickey Mouse personally thanked our armed forces everywhere. Yes, all was right with the world that day. We would go on to have 100,000 bombing missions over Iraq and Kuwait and a magnificent ground war all in all killing tens of thousands of Iraqi troops and leading to the demise of some 100,000 civilians. But the point is, hardly any American soldiers were killed. We won that war. We won. We won. How it must have been for an American child at the time. Watching the super bowl and seeing all these great things coming together. Football and fireworks, flags and family and Disney floats, songs and costumes. Jets, soldiers, princesses and pop stars. Mickey and Goofy and Donald Duck and the President of the of the United States. All coming together for freedom, for America, for the future. How good, how good war must be and how good it feels.

[A]

Seth Horton in Harrisburg, North Carolina is available and dedicated to providing you with unmatched customer service. Seth Horton in Grand Rapids, Michigan is the curriculum coordinator at Pregnancy Resource center and the resident theologian at Jimmy Johns. Seth Horton is a line cook at Moe's Southwest Grill in Tucker, Georgia. Seth Horton is a resource efficiency manager. He's based in the Greater Orlando area with specialties that include renewables, H Vac and resilience. Seth Horton is the kitchen staff supervisor for the Monadnock Bible Conference in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It's a high pace, high stress work environment, but he manages his staff of eight and ensures Efficiency. Seth Horton is part of the Healing Hands therapeutic massage team in Belfast, Maine. He suggests that you should be kind Whenever possible. Seth will guide your muscles to be more in sync with your life. On September 17, Seth Horton became a ward of the Kentucky Department of corrections. He's 5 foot 7, 190 pounds, one white, blue eyes, brown hair and is currently serving a one year sentence for sexual abuse in the first degree. Seth Horton lives in Powell, Wyoming, population 6,310. Seth will tell you that he's just a small town guy living the small town dream. Seth is a high school wrestler. He's a state champion in his weight class. He wrestles at 152 pounds. He'll be a senior this fall. On February 17, he offered, if you think sex is great, try cleaning your room and finding old shit that unlocks the deepest depths of your memories. On March 13, his 2006 silver Toyota Camry was stolen. On June 28, he asked, does anyone else want a woman who would go fishing with you on a Sunday? Sunday evening, his dad is letting him raise two steers. He named the steers Chip and Nut. It's an opportunity he won't soon forget. Of course, not all of these Seth Hortons sang during Tampa Bay, Florida's Super Bowl 25 halftime show in 1990. Some of these Seth Hortons weren't even born in 1991. The Seth Horton we seek was born in 1985. He was six years old when he sang in front of a stadium crowd of 74,000 six years old when he sang while 45 foot tall balloons inflated. 45 foot tall balloons shaped like Chip and Dale, Pluto, Daisy, Duck, Donald Duck wearing a sombrero and holding maracas. Mickey Mouse dressed as the Sorcerer's apprentice. And Pinocchio holding what appears to be an enormous sex toy. Six years old when some sources tell us 2000 children wearing yellow ribbons marched across the Football Field. Field. 2000 children dressed as cub scouts, girl scouts, pirates, leprechauns, martial artists, aviators, roustabouts, Zulu warriors, firemen, can can dancers, court jesters, Sufi mystics, baseball players, hillbillies, flamenco dancer. Touted as one of the young stars of the entertainment world, Seth Horton was probably not fazed by the spectacle. You see, Seth was part of Kentucky Country, a musical family of brothers, sisters, cousins, moms, dads and a grandpa. A group under contract with the Las Vegas Riviera Hotel. At this point in his six year old life, Seth might have thought something like the super bowl was a regular event. Like he'd be singing at all the Super Bowls forever. Was Super Bowl 25 the high point in Seth's life? How could it not be? Did anyone ever tell young Seth that the halftime show was preempted by live updates from the Iraq invasion? That the halftime show wasn't actually shown until after the New York Giants had beaten the Buffalo Bills by a score of 20 to 19? What has become of 1991's little Seth Horton, our darling boy, our bright hope?

[B]

There will always be downers. There will always be people that bring you down. People that leave you low. People that crush your spirit and then shit all over that crushed up beautiful spirit. Because that's how they do. Because that's how they feel alive by making you feel down. They're always telling you something for your own good. Like how that burger you're eating comes from a cow that was tortured for it bled out. Or how your posture is bad and you could really lose 20 pounds. Or even how most Americans never did see the Super Bowl 25 halftime show and Seth Horton's greatest triumph is a lie. One more pathetic pipe dream and an empty and pain encrusted life. Yep, that's their way. Our pain is their pleasure. Our failures their triumph. Our lamentations provide them with amusement for their soirees, their message boards and their little indie podcasts. Pay these creatures no mind, Seth Horton. Do you hear me? Pay them no mind. Because you, or eternally the blue eyed blond haired boy in the football jersey singing your heart out before the whole world. As long as there's Disney and America and the endless wars, your glory will always shine bright in our land of the free and the brave.

[D]

That's it for Love and radio. Or I should say, that's it for Fearful Symmetry, which is a new podcast from my friend Bob Paris who wrote and performed all the pieces you heard in this episode with a little bit of help from Deke. You can listen to Fearful Symmetry wherever you get your podcasts [e-mail] this episode featured musical contributions from PC3 gumbo and Damiano Baldoni. Check the show notes for links. Love and Radio is a labor of love radio and made possible thanks to our supporters on Patreon, with extra special thanks to Ali Mothra Perry, Casey Pamela Anderson, Chakrit Footeidon, Sudhajan, Bam Bam Dan Palmino, Jacqueline Potato Leak, Jason V for Vendetta Joe Paulmieri, Mark Dunksa, Son Sam Huffman Huffman Sandru Neck actually has to read this Schroeder and Chris who thinks he's too fancy to tell me how to pronounce his last name. If you want to join the group of wonderful human beings who make love and radio happen, you can help keep the show going by becoming a member [e-mail] Member, I'm Nicholas Sardine. Punch Punch. Vander Kolk. Thanks for listening.

[C]

Sam.