Vault: A Successful Love Lost & Found

Summary

The Bert Show – "Vault: A Successful Love Lost & Found"

Episode Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Pionaire Podcasting (Bert & The Bert Show Team: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, et al.)

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Episode Overview

In this heartwarming and humorous episode, the Bert Show revisits one of their classic "Love Lost & Found" stories, following the year-long quest of a listener named Susan to reconnect with George—a man she briefly but memorably met on South Beach, Miami. With the cast rallying behind her, the episode is full of genuine moments, playful banter, and the power of radio in bringing people together.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Backstory: Susan’s Search for George

[01:32 - 03:37]

• Susan's Experience: Susan met George on Labor Day, 2003, on South Beach. Though she doesn't usually feel instant connections, something was different with George.
• Lost Number: After returning home, Susan realizes she lost George's number, prompting her to reach out to the Bert Show for help.
• Radio Investigation: The Bert Show team dedicates time (over an hour of airtime across five days) and behind-the-scenes effort to track down George.

Quote:

Bert: "We spent over an hour of airtime. Five days, endless hours of time behind the scenes trying to find this guy." [01:53]

2. The Hunt for George

[03:09 - 04:53]

• Lead Confusion: Early leads suggest George might be in Arizona rather than Charlotte.
• Tracy the Investigator: Producer Tracy employs the help of George's friends and eventually reaches George late at night Arizona time. George remembers Susan and is disappointed he never heard from her.

Quote:

Tracy: "He remember giving you his phone number and he's very disappointed that he didn't hear from you." [03:58]

3. The Phone Call: Susan Reconnects With George

[06:10 - 16:16]

• Live Call Setup: The show dials George live on air. Both sides are a bit nervous and excited.
• George’s Recap: George recounts their brief Miami meeting and confirms details distinguishing him as “the” George.
• Life Updates: George reveals he’s been traveling solo—six months through Central America, Mexico, and the US, contemplating life between jobs in finance.

Quote:

George: "I've just been traveling for the last six months, having a good time." [08:49]

• Relationship Status Clarified: George is single, never met anyone serious since, and is open to seeing Susan again.
• The Emotional Reunion: Susan explains she lost his number and was inspired by the show’s “Love Lost & Found” segment to try and find him.
• George’s Response: Flattered and interested in catching up, George shows clear affection and humor.

Memorable Moment:

Susan: "I just wanted to tell him that I love him. No. When I got your number on the beach, I thought I saved it in my telephone." [11:44]
George: "And I love you, Jeff." [11:58] (A playful tangent, highlighting the lighthearted vibe.)

4. Making Plans & Playful Banter

[14:08 - 16:16]

• Logistics: With George moving to Los Angeles and Susan in Georgia, Bert offers to contact Delta Airlines to bring George to Atlanta for a weekend.
• Practical Jokes and Future Fantasies: The cast jokes about already planning their wedding, bridesmaids’ dresses, and even a Costa Rican wedding.

Quotes:

Bert: "If we were able to pull a couple of strings with our friends at Delta Airlines and get one of you guys to fly to the other city for a weekend, would you guys be up for that?" [14:28]
Tracy: "Yeah." [14:54]
Santa: "And this time, Susan, don't put in your phone. Write it down." [15:39]
Susan: "If that happens, I'll invite you." [17:24]

5. Reflection and Takeaways

[16:46 - 17:37]

• Susan’s Impression: She’s thrilled, calling George “very down to earth and just a very likable person”—and confirming he's “cute in person.”
• Bert Show Magic: The team reflects on the fun, hope, and optimism brought by the segment.

Quote:

Susan: "I'm a pretty good judge of character. And he just seemed very down to earth and just a very likable person." [16:59]

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• On George’s Excitement and Nerves:

  Santa: "I'm nervous." [06:08]
  Burt: "Boy, you better be a stud after all this time." [06:10]

• On George’s Life Adventure:

  George: "Spent about three months in Central America, a couple of weeks in Mexico and a couple weeks in the Caribbean... visiting some friends and family..." [08:51]

• On Playful Matchmaking:

  Jeff: "Susan Joyce will be face to face whether you like it or not." [14:59]
  Santa: "I've already got you married. And we better be invited." [17:21]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Backstory Recap: [02:11 - 03:37]
• Tracy’s Detective Work: [03:37 - 04:53]
• George Joins Live: [06:10]
• George’s Story & Travel Update: [08:05 - 09:23]
• Susan and George Reconnect: [11:44 - 13:14]
• Plans for Reunion: [14:08 - 15:38]
• Reflections & Show Banter: [16:46 - 17:37]

---

Tone and Style

• Friendly, Fun, Authentic: The Bert Show crew are supportive, teasing, and playful—balancing hope, humor, and sincerity throughout the episode.
• Lighthearted Jokes: Frequent playful the banter about weddings and teasing about missed connections keep the tone light and relatable.
• Community Spirit: Listeners are made to feel part of the story, reinforcing the community the show has built.

---

Summary

This episode delivers a feel-good, modern-day love story, approachable for both regular listeners and newcomers. By blending emotional stakes with genuine laughs, the Bert Show not only delivers on its promise to "make your mornings bearable" but also highlights the lasting power of connection and the magic of second chances.

You’ll walk away smiling, rooting for Susan and George, and maybe a little more hopeful about finding—or refinding—your own far-flung “lost” connections.

Transcript

[A]

Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.

[B]

But first.

[C]

There, the last one.

[B]

Enjoy a coca cola for a pause that refreshes.

[D]

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[E]

Zoe, this thing weighs a ton.

[F]

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[B]

Santa.

[G]

Santa, did you get my letter?

[E]

He's talking to you, britches.

[F]

I'm not.

[D]

Of course he did.

[F]

Right, Santa, you know my elf, Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.

[E]

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[G]

Kimber, the holidays are better.

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[G]

The Birch Show. Susan, good morning. Oh, it's almost over, sister.

[C]

Yeah. This is day five, sister.

[G]

It's almost there. We're almost done.

[B]

She waited over a year. Five days. It was five days after a year.

[G]

Yeah.

[C]

Really?

[B]

Do you hate us?

[C]

No, not at all.

[G]

We have bent over backwards for you, sister.

[C]

I appreciate it. Thank you.

[G]

We spent over an hour of airtime. Five days. Endless hours of time behind the scenes trying to find this guy.

[C]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

[G]

And we're this close right now. This close. All right, Jen, why don't you give us the 32nd version of when Susan called us the very first time? Yeah.

[B]

Okay. I think I can do this in about 30 seconds. Susan went to South Beach, Miami, Labor Day of 2003. And she's kind of a picky girl and doesn't really meet a lot of guys that she likes physically and kind of has, you know, this, you know, connection with them. But she meets this guy George on the beach. They meet and talk for about 10 minutes. She really feels a strong connection with him, so she gets his phone number. So then everybody, you know, finishes their Labor Day weekend, goes back to their respective places and he goes back to Charlotte cuz that's where he worked in finance. And Susan realizes she doesn't have her number. So she gives us kind of a physical description of him that he's got dark hair, I believe that he was tall, really handsome, good looking, that he lived in Charlotte, worked in finance, had gone to Duke University and they kind of connected because he, he had friends that lived in the Virginia Highlands, in Atlanta. They talked about, oh, when I come down, we'll have to get together, yada yada. She doesn't have the number and she's been thinking about this guy for a year straight. How'd I do?

[G]

Pretty good. What I missed, the only thing you missed was we got a couple of leads that told us that George wasn't really in Charlotte, he was in Arizona.

[B]

Exactly. We did hear that from some people here in Atlanta that were listening to the Burt show.

[G]

So we started following those leads and Traci over the weekend really got to be like all private investigator about it. And we thought this thing was gonna wrap up yesterday. And then Tracy walks in here yesterday and told us this.

[A]

I have to thank Jennifer and Judy, who happen to be George's really good friends. So they helped me out a lot. I tried calling George but nobody was answering. And I guess it was because we realized it was probably 4 o' clock in the morning in Arizona at that point in time. But I left a few messages, never got a return call. Finally last night I called and I spoke with George and he does remember Susan.

[G]

There we go. Susan.

[B]

Hey.

[A]

Well, I will tell you, Susan, he remember giving you his phone number and he's very disappointed that he didn't hear from you.

[C]

Oh, that's a good thing.

[A]

Yes, it's a very good thing. I asked him if he would come on with us this morning, 9:30 in the morning because we figured three hours behind. I thought, you know, I know it's a pain to wake up at 6:30, but it's the only time that would kind of work best for both of us. And he tells me, you know what? 9:30 your time. 6:30 my time won't really work for me. How about I just stay up till 3:30 in the morning and talk to you guys Tuesday morning at 6:30 in the morning. But then the other thing is he said that he couldn't come on with us this morning because he had stuff going on this morning. So he'd come on with us tomorrow morning. So then I'm thinking he's either a bit of a partier or he knew he wasn't going to be home this morning to call to be able to have this conversation with another girl.

[C]

Or maybe it's Columbus Day and he didn't want to wake up because he didn't have to go to work.

[B]

There you go.

[G]

That must be.

[A]

No, because. No, because he's willing to come on with us at 3:30 in the morning tomorrow, which is not Columbus Day, so he would have to be going to work.

[G]

So that was yesterday on the show. And that leads us to right here.

[B]

Where's Judge?

[G]

Where's who?

[B]

Judge Judgy.

[G]

Oh, Judgy. Okay, Judge. All right, Susan, you ready to do this?

[C]

I'm ready. All right.

[G]

You've been thinking about it for five days. Have you been doing that thing where you, like, look in the mirror and you start, you know, like, pretending you're on the phone with them? No. Like.

[C]

Okay, well, my first word's gonna be practice.

[G]

Yeah. Practiced in the mirror or anything.

[C]

I haven't practiced.

[G]

Okay.

[B]

Hello, George. Hello, George. Hello.

[C]

Hello, George?

[G]

Hello, George? Hello? All right, here we go. Tracy just called him, like, 15 minutes ago and he was up and ready to go.

[B]

Thank you, jeff. I'm nervous.

[G]

Boy, you better be a stud after all this time. Hello, George.

[F]

This is George.

[G]

Hi, George. George, you complete me. George, we're on the radio right now in Atlanta. I'm Burt and this is Q100. And this is Jen Hobby and Melissa Carter and Jeff Dollar.

[B]

Hey.

[G]

Hello.

[F]

Great.

[G]

Hey, and we have Susan on the phone with you.

[C]

Hey, George.

[F]

Susan, how are you? Good.

[C]

How are you?

[F]

Good, good.

[C]

Sorry.

[F]

Little early in the morning out here. I'm actually on the west coast right now, but was happy to get up to talk to you.

[C]

Oh, good.

[G]

We've got a lot of ground to cover with you, my friend.

[F]

All right, all right, all right.

[G]

Let's start from the very beginning. You do remember Susan, correct?

[F]

I do.

[G]

All right. Just to confirm that you are the. George, go ahead and relay the time that you talked to Susan on the beach just so she can confirm that that's exactly what happened and then we can move on.

[F]

Okay. I guess it was Labor Day, weekend of 03, so a little over a year ago now, and we met in the afternoon and actually kind of met on two different occasions. We just met on the beach, talked for a while, and then she kind of found me later and asked me for my phone number and I gave it to Her. She put it in the phone and that's kind of the last we've talked.

[G]

That sound about, right, Susan?

[C]

Yes, that's it.

[G]

Okay. So this is our George?

[C]

Yeah, that's him.

[G]

This is our George. Okay. Good God almighty.

[B]

At this point, would you say hi.

[G]

To anyone and say confirm that anyone named George was the George?

[C]

No, I wouldn't do that.

[G]

So, George, the only thing we really had to work on here was that you were living in Charlotte and yet you went to Duke and you're in finance. What brought you out to Arizona?

[F]

Well, actually, I've been in Charlotte for about the last four years working for big company that's headquartered there, but has offices all around the country. And I just about springtime, I decided I was ready for a change. So I told my boss there that I wanted to move out west and I really wanted to take some time off before starting my new job. So I was able to kind of negotiate a deal where I got a six month leave of absence to just do some things I wanted to do this summer and then have a job waiting for me actually in Los Angeles beginning to start in November, End of April, I actually sold my condo in Charlotte and I've just been traveling for the last six months, having a good time.

[B]

Nice.

[G]

You're just traveling around the country?

[F]

No, actually I've spent most of my time. I spent about three months in Central America, a couple of weeks in Mexico, and a couple weeks in the Caribbean. And the rest of the time I've drove my car across the country and visited some friends and family and spent some time in some cities that wanted to spend some time in here in the US as well.

[B]

How did you negotiate that deal? No kidding, you negotiate mine. Sorry, Bert, I won't be around for six months.

[G]

So go ahead. I'm sorry.

[F]

No, it's so it's definitely been a fun six months. And the last couple weeks I've actually sort of settled down and started also looking at some things outside of my, my current company just to test the waters and see what my other options were. And that's what's brought me to Phoenix. I actually had an interview out here yesterday morning and I'm still out here visiting some family and friends here in Phoenix. So that's why Tracy from the show called me this week and asked to be on if I could be on yesterday morning. But it didn't really work out well considering I had an interview going on.

[B]

So you had to sleep so you could get up for an interview?

[G]

We had it totally Pegged wrong, man. After Tracy told us about you saying that, you know what? I'd just rather stay up. We had you pegged as this party animal, and you were gonna be out all night and you didn't wanna go to sleep or you were whoring around or whatever.

[F]

Not that we were talking about when she. When she brought up the time for today. I had thought that since after my interview yesterday, I have some friends here in Phoenix, and I thought we were gonna go out pretty big last night. I was like, well, I have a big night on Monday. Maybe it'd be easier to just stay up and call in versus get up super early on Tuesday. So it was part of the case. But the reason why I missed why I couldn't call in yesterday was I had something solid going on.

[G]

Very good.

[C]

You're perfect.

[G]

Your story checked out. Susan, you've made a wise choice.

[C]

I knew it.

[B]

Well, now here's the question, because you haven't. I mean, obviously, if you've been traveling around, we're all curious. Are you traveling with someone? Are you traveling alone, kind of discovering yourself in all these places around the world?

[F]

No, I've been traveling alone. A few buddies meet me at different points in my travels in Central America, mostly just to. To surf and have a good time, but. Oh, yeah, but no, no, no. Women. Definitely singles at this point, still.

[G]

Okay, so you didn't leave anybody back in Charlotte either?

[F]

Nothing serious.

[G]

Okay, very good.

[B]

I think if Susan doesn't marry you, Bert will, right?

[G]

I'm saying all the right things. I want to surf with you. Costa Rica too, bro. Susan, let's turn it over to you. At this point, you must have a couple of questions, at least for George.

[C]

Not just. Not really questions. I guess I just wanted to tell him that I love him. No, When I got your number on the beach, I thought I saved it in my telephone.

[F]

And I love you, Jeff.

[C]

And I didn't because I went to call you back later, a couple days later, and your phone number wasn't there. So I always hear the segment on key 100 where they do love lost and found. So it kind of kept coming back to my mind, oh, I need to find George. I need to find George. So that's kind of what brought me here right now.

[F]

I'm definitely flattered, and I'm glad that we were able to hook up again. I have to. You know, I was. You know, I wondered what happened down south beach when I never heard from you. But I quit trying to figure out how girls think a long time ago. And. And there's definitely plenty of things going on in south beach to keep me busy while I was down there. So I just figured, oh, well. Well, maybe I'll hear from her down the road.

[C]

Yeah, Well, I knew you all were staying when I talked to you on the beach, staying in Fort Lauderdale that last night.

[F]

Right.

[C]

So. But I just figured I would give you a call when we got back because you had mentioned coming into Atlanta often on social visits to visit friends. So I just was kind of thinking, well, I'll call him later, and maybe when he's in Atlanta, we can meet out for drinks or something.

[F]

Right, right.

[G]

You did feel some kind of connection there because you said you were bummed the next day or the next week or whatever when you didn't get a call from her.

[F]

Right, Right. Yeah. Well, I mean, she's a. She's a cute girl and looked great in her bikini, and I was hoping that we have an opportunity to spend some more time together down there.

[G]

Yeah, I mean, you guys were only with each other for 10 minutes, so, I mean, there's not much to go on except someone looking hot in a bikini. There's no harm here.

[F]

Right? Right. And we said at the time I was still living in Charlotte, and when I lived in Charlotte, I used to. It was a lot easier to make the trip down to Atlanta. Sometimes I'd come from work, but before work, and stay for the weekend. But even when I didn't have a good friend. Their name's Scott Hargrove. He drives a delivery truck for Coca Cola and knows a lot of people in Atlanta. Just met a lot of friends through him over the years, and we come down every two or three months. But now that I'm going to be living on the west coast, it's going to be a little more difficult trip to make.

[G]

So you don't have any plans in the near future to come to Atlanta?

[F]

Not specifically. I'm going to be starting work, it sounds like probably November 1st. I do have some time, but hadn't had anything set up yet.

[B]

Susan, any plans to go out west?

[C]

I don't have any, no.

[G]

If. If we were able to pull a couple of strings with our friends at Delta Airlines and get one of you guys to fly to the other city for a weekend, would you guys be up for that?

[F]

I would definitely be up for it. I. Like I said, I'm not gonna be working here for about the next three weeks, and that would be a good opportunity for me to get out there. Both the sea season and Introduce her to some of my friends. Out.

[G]

Yeah.

[B]

Because after all this, you're gonna see each other again, damn it. Yeah. Susan and George will be face to face, whether you like it or not.

[G]

So true.

[B]

Aren't you guys hearing the OC Theme, California Cheeseball? I'm totally hearing it in my head right now. Your soundtrack.

[G]

I'm sorry, Susan, because Susan's from Georgia and they met in Charlotte, and he's in Arizona, but he's going to California.

[C]

Be in California.

[G]

Hey, Susan, would it be cool if after the show I called our at Delta Airlines and see if we could get George back in Atlanta for a weekend?

[C]

That would be great. That would be great.

[G]

Okay, well, at this point, should we just put you guys both on hold and exchange phone numbers, and then we'll talk after the show and see if we can make that weekend happen.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And this time, Susan, don't put it in your phone. Write it down.

[C]

I will. I'll write it down. Or at least I'll call him. So. I have it in my log.

[G]

Write it down.

[B]

Write it down. Four different places.

[C]

I might lose it if I.

[G]

Is there anything here? I'm forgetting to ask these guys. We good?

[B]

No, because we're just gonna. They're gonna see each other again. I mean, we're gonna make this happen. We're gonna figure out a way.

[G]

If we have to drive her out there ourselves, we will see each other again. All right.

[B]

Awesome. And kudos to producer Tracy for doing.

[G]

All the legwork and finding job. Tracy, really nice trap. Okay, George, hold on one second. Don't go anywhere, okay? I'm gonna put you on hold, okay?

[F]

Yeah, I just want to say hi to all my friends in Atlanta and. Go Blue Devils.

[G]

Oh, man, you lost me with the whole Blue Devil's Duke thing. No, we can't send you back to Atlanta now. It's Georgia Tech country. Hold on. Okay.

[F]

Okay.

[G]

Hey, Susan.

[B]

Yeah? Big die hard Georgia fan.

[G]

Yeah.

[B]

Over there.

[E]

What's that?

[G]

Well, I mean, I'm just.

[B]

He's a little bitter right now, so. See, I told you it wouldn't take him long to go over to.

[G]

I'm gonna jump on anybody's bandwagon. Clemson this weekend wins. I'm on point proven. Hey, Susan.

[C]

Yes?

[G]

So, what do you think?

[C]

I think it's great. I can't believe you all found him.

[B]

He sounds cool. Like traveling across the country in his car and going to South America and he surfs and he's taking time off to find himself. Man, that's cool.

[C]

That's Kind of what I gathered. Even though I spoke with him a short time, I'm a pretty good judge of character. And he just seemed very down to earth and just a very likable person.

[B]

Had a cute voice.

[C]

Yeah. And he's cute in person.

[G]

Right on. All right, Good job.

[B]

If this works out in some sort of romanticized way in my mind like.

[G]

It is right now, here comes a woman's way of thinking right here. Married already?

[B]

I've already got you married. And we better be invited.

[C]

Definitely. If that happens, I'll invite you.

[B]

Jen's picked out your cake and she knows what color scheme you should have at your wedding. We'll go shopping for bridesmaids dress girl.

[C]

I'm going to the beach for my wedding.

[B]

Okay, perfect. I plan to beach wedding.

[G]

I Costa Rica. Here we go. All right, Susan, hold on one sec. Okay. All right, cool. The Bird Show New products to launch. New people to develop. New goals to crush. Workday Go is designed for small and mid sized businesses. By bringing HR and finance together on one AI platform, you'll have everything you need to think big, go big and grow big. And activation is fast. It takes just 30 to 60 business days to get you up and running. Simplify your SMB on an AI platform, you'll never outgrow. Workday Go guys.

[D]

Thanks for helping me carry my Christmas tree, Zoe.

[E]

This thing weighs a ton.

[F]

Drew Ski, lift with your legs, man.

[B]

Santa.

[G]

Santa, did you get my letter?

[E]

He's talking to you, Bridges.

[F]

I'm not.

[D]

Of course he did.

[F]

Right, Santa, you know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.

[E]

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[D]

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[F]

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[D]

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[E]

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[G]

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[E]

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[H]

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