Funny Together Pod
FTPod is an upbeat, hilarious hangout with host Rhonda Corey and fellow comics sharing funny stories, nostalgic memories, and relatable everyday moments. Packed with laughs and a unpredictable round of "Two Truths and a Lie," it’s your go-to show for good vibes and great banter.
Funny Together Pod
Monopoly By Candlelight And Cookies From Where?
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We trade stories about how we first met and why comics are a little weird in the best way. Then we time-travel through our favorite childhood toys and games, laugh through a dessert round of Two Truths and a Lie, and end with a reminder from Matthew 6 that we don’t have to live in worry.
• meeting at a Christian Comedy Association conference and bonding over breakfast
• favorite childhood toys and games, from Operation to Trouble and Sorry
• Monopoly memories, favorite tokens, missing pieces, and board-flipping moments
• classic toys like Spirograph, Mouse Trap, Etch A Sketch, Slinky, and Silly Putty
• playing school, blackboards, card games, and the odd ways we learned “work ethic”
• Two Truths and a Lie dessert edition, pudding debates, cookies, pretzels, and pumpkin pie opinions
• closing encouragement and Scripture reading from Matthew 6:25-27
"in the show notes, it'll it'll show you how to reach out to Rhonda, Michele and Gordon to follow them on uh, you know, on all the social medias."
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michelevandusen.org
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Welcome And How We Met
SPEAKER_02All right, I can't wait to introduce you to my friends today. First, we have Mr. Gordon Douglas, all the way from Philadelphia. And then, of course, Michelle Van Dusen, all the way from Oklahoma. Oklahoma. And I am from Rhode Island, which I have no accent. So don't get disappointed, people. But we have such a fun show. First, I always I like to start off with um I've known you guys for a while. And I just like to just talk about our origin story, how we met. Um, do you remember the first time we met, Gordon?
SPEAKER_00I believe a hotel lobby down in Texas. I believe you were the newbie at our conference, and we took a group over to a breakfast, whether it was iHop or Bob Evans, and we wanted to give you all the life lessons, everything we had learned in 20 years of comedy, we poured into you in one hour and 20 minutes over pancakes.
SPEAKER_02Close, you're close, you're close. All right, Michelle, do you remember? Do you remember?
SPEAKER_04Yes, I was uh standing um uh in line, and I had a blouse and a pair of jeans. I was at Macy's in the checkout line, and when I oh, that's not it. Oh, I have no idea. I don't remember nothing.
SPEAKER_02Really? You don't remember?
SPEAKER_04I just remember meeting you and um was it with your husband at the time? Like, I mean, yeah, you're still married, but I mean I don't have a different husband just for anyone. I were both our husbands with us when I met you the first time, yes.
SPEAKER_02So I remember distinctly because it was my first CCA, which is the Christian comedy uh association. Um, and we had actually um scheduled to meet earlier. I think I got there the day before, and we met at IHOP. IHOP and we met at IHOP, that was the first place we met, and uh Gordon, you were there, and I you I believe you came in with Brent, and then Michelle, you came in with your husband, um, and I think um Josh Novi was there. He was Novi, yeah, yes, yes, and so I was there with my husband because I dragged him along because I I was scared to go by myself, and um we had IHOP, which uh is one of my least favorite restaurants, but I'm like, these comics like IHOP, I guess. I don't know what it is, but um, and um I remember leaving there and and telling my husband, wow, comics are weird, huh? But I mean, since then we've we've really become like good friends. Um, Gordon, you've you've come down my way many times and and done shows with me here, um, and headline shows when I couldn't headline. I only had a little bit of time. And so you came down and did some shows and stayed at my house and um a few times, several times. And Michelle, Michelle, you have you've become one of my very uh bestest friends. And um we've done shows together, and we and we uh belong to a group that we meet weekly, so um, and we've been doing that for several years now. So um we've had a lot of fun. And you were on my previous show. People don't not everybody knows this, but we had a live stream show during the pandemic, and uh we had um a scorekeeper who was at that point anonymous, and that was Michelle. That was Michelle. Michelle people just loved the scorekeeper. You were just I think it was you and Chewie that were the best parts of the the whole show. Um but that was a lot of fun, and so I'm so excited to be able to um do the funny together pod with my friends. So welcome and thank you for coming. I'm so excited. This is awesome. Um, all right, we're gonna we're gonna get started into our main topic.
Childhood Toys Take Center Stage
SPEAKER_02All right, our topic today is toys, toys and games, like our childhood, favorite childhood uh toys and games. And Michelle, I know you you love Michelle loves all kinds of toys, and um, I know that for a fact because you can probably, if you're seeing this, if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see behind you she has toys, like she always has toys, and um what how fun for your granddaughter? That's a blast. But um, all right, Michelle. When you're a child, your childhood, what were some of your favorite toys or games?
SPEAKER_04All right, here's a hint. I am holding a set of tweezers.
SPEAKER_02I know, I know. Tweezers. Do you know, Gordon?
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna guess Operation.
SPEAKER_02Operation.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh, that is correct because I wanted to be a vet, and I thought that's the best way, you know. And then I saw actually how they did it, and so no, I went back to just playing with the toys. So yeah, operation was a great one. Um, I I liked playing that uh thing that you pushed down and it popped up all the the numbers. Sorry, bubble, trouble bubble, or yeah, yeah, trouble bubble, the butt the trouble and then the sorry, like both of those. I was trouble.
SPEAKER_02He's right.
SPEAKER_04Sorry, was just like you move the the little pieces, yeah. Um for a family though, we played Monopoly because we um on the weekends we were always at our weekend home um in out on a lake and so no electricity kind of thing. So we would play board games by candlelight and we would play Monopoly, and we would lose a lot of pieces because when my sister was done playing, so was everyone else because the board would go and all the pieces would fly. So we would get, you know, like I would have like little lures or bobbers for the pieces, or the dog, like we got to, you know, there was a stick outside that's a new piece now. So um I love playing that. So anyway, so that's a couple of games.
SPEAKER_02So when you played Monopoly, what was your favorite? I think everybody had a favorite. Um what would be your favorite piece to play with?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the dog. I was the dog. You were the dog. I was the dog, yep.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we fought over the top hat. Oh, oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02I was the iron, I love to be the iron, not because I like to iron, I never did, um, but I just loved the way like it fit between my fingers. I could just like kind of move it along, you know, like that. And but that's so funny. Do you hey? Can you remember all the pieces? Like, what were the what were some of the pieces? Like when you said dog, I'm like, oh yeah, the dog.
SPEAKER_00What were the pieces of the uh there's a rope and a lead pipe? And uh no, it's wrong game, wrong game.
SPEAKER_04I love clue too. That was always a good one because it was you know, played the detective. Um, hmm. I don't know all the pieces, I don't remember them.
SPEAKER_02I don't remember the pieces. I wish I would have like looked that up prior to yeah. Well, we know three.
SPEAKER_00We know all the streets in that game are named after real streets in Atlantic City. I do know that.
SPEAKER_04Now, I mean it started off Atlantic City, right? But now it's everywhere because like there's Christmas edition, you can make like there's individual cities have Monopoly games, so it you know you can personalize it to wherever you're at. There is a chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate anyway. There's one that's you're just it's chocolate pieces.
SPEAKER_01Come on, you're chocolate from her, yeah.
SPEAKER_03So you're chocolate.
SPEAKER_02No, because I would eat houses, like you eat my house, like oh, really? I'll eat your hotel, I'll do that. And it's so funny that now my brother is like six years older than I am, right? And so when we would play Monopoly, I mean I was little, he just wanted to play a game, and so he would be like, Okay, two pink ones and a green one, you know what I mean? And then I'm not gonna lie, I might have been the person that flipped the board. I flipped the board. Did you have any board flipping going on, Gordon?
SPEAKER_00And you're on we had a younger brother who who was spoiled rotten. So yeah, if he didn't get his way or wasn't winning, yeah, no, rarely did we ever finish a game. I don't remember. We didn't get the win a whole lot.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00Long before they had diagnosed ADD that we had speed monopoly, like we just started giving everybody properties, we ducked deal everybody a property or two in the beginning, everybody got hotels, anything that took longer than 20, 30 minutes. That that game wasn't gonna happen anyway.
SPEAKER_04Well, I like just being the dog and or the horse. There was also that horse rider. Um, because I was a horrible monopoly player, I always lost, so I got to just spend more time playing with the dog than I actually played the game. So um, there's that. I just remember playing it. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02I looked it up. There's there was a battleship, a cannon, an iron, a shoe, a thimble. I liked the thimble and a top hat. Um so you guys must have had um oh the wheelbarrow.
SPEAKER_04There was a wheelbarrow.
SPEAKER_02Some yeah, there was a horse. It's this one's like I don't know. Yeah, there was a bottle dog, a thimble, a top hat, a wheelbarrow, a cannon. Do you remember a cannon? No, I don't remember that. This must have been. I wonder when it came out. Oh, wait, 1935. Ooh, wow, 1935. Um and there was a lantern and a purse and a rocking horse swapped out. Yeah, wow. So I guess that game goes way back. Uh that's incredible.
Spirograph, Mouse Trap, And Imagination
SPEAKER_02What about you, Gordon? What were your favorites?
SPEAKER_00Well, toys versus games. I mean, when I was toys, the the big game coming out, my brother and I was spirographed, getting a spirograph. And we just spent hours drawing circles and patterns and putting these little pins into a little thing and trying to keep it steady. It never seemed to work like it did on TV. Trying to set that up. We had the game mouse trap. That was as fun setting up and trying to get that little mouse around, and then you finally hit the thing, and a ball would come down a S-shaped thing, and then hit something else, and then flip a man over, and eventually that little cage would come all the way down and trap the mouse. I don't remember too much about that, but my mom was always like, just get outside and play, just get outside and play. So so what you bet you said a stick, you know, a stick could be almost anything, you know.
SPEAKER_02That's true. Yeah, that's true. We we had to use our imaginations. Um, can you imagine a child today like sitting down doing a spirograph for for a half an hour? I'm like, I don't think so. Like that would that would be like a two-minute kind of a task for somebody today.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, where's the button? Where's the button?
SPEAKER_04I know the one that you shake. That was always fun too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, etch a sketch.
SPEAKER_04You just yeah, etch a sketch.
SPEAKER_02Oh, etch a sketch.
SPEAKER_00Y'all for four years I never did anything but steps.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's hard. That was really hard. Etch a sketch was really hard. You have to be really coordinated and have um have a uh have an imagination, and that's I mean, my goodness. So, okay, so did you have a slinky? Did you have a slinky?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, yes, always got twisted up somehow. I think there was a fight between brothers, it never seemed to last, they were sharp too.
SPEAKER_02They didn't last, and they never went down the stairs like they said they were going to.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, they went down the stairs pretty good, but you just had to like just chuck it, and they were the ball, and you weren't supposed to throw the um, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I don't think you're supposed to throw I had an accordion, that's what it was.
SPEAKER_04It wasn't a slinky.
SPEAKER_02Remember I silly putty?
SPEAKER_00Oh and then you shouldn't make the cartoons, you can make cartoons all that was the coolest thing ever. Early mimeograph machine.
SPEAKER_02Until you until you uh washed it in the washing machine, and your mother was like, You're never ever going to have silly putty ever again. And that was that was a person.
SPEAKER_04Recreating silly putty with with uh bubble yum, bubblegum, you know, because it was fat and it was pink, it was the same. So if you chew it just enough, right? And then you can get it out, you kind of stretch it and you stick it to that that Sunday cartoon yellow, you know, the colored print, and then you go to peel it off. Silly putty, you see the picture, the bubble yum, you got the paper, too.
SPEAKER_02It was oh bonus, yeah. Yeah, oh my gosh. Um,
Dolls, Card Games, And Playing School
SPEAKER_02I had you guys, I had a Mrs. Beasley doll. Do you remember Family Affair at all? I'm telling you, I'm talking about my age now. Buffy and Jody, sure, and uh Mr. French, and um, I mean, I'm sure I watched reruns because I'm not that old, but anyway, um, I had my grandmother got me a Mrs. Beasley doll, and she was the hottest item around, and I actually left her outside and someone stole her.
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_02Is that a sad story?
SPEAKER_04I know that is a sad story. If anyone's listening right now and you come across one of those dolls, you're more than welcome to send it to Rhonda Corey.
SPEAKER_02Well, like um, we used to uh like you pull the string and it would talk. I mean, like that was a big deal. I mean, we didn't have, you know, when things talked back then, that was huge. Um, so like a pull string. Um my favorite games, um I like we did we played sorry a lot. I actually played cards a lot. Yeah, you know, with I when I was young, I don't know how I learned how to play this, but I guess I was smarter when I was younger. Um, but I learned how to play Canasda.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_02I know I don't know how to play it now, but we played Canasda back in the day. Um, so we played that. You know, we played a lot of card games. Um it's so different today, you know, it's the games today versus the games that we had and what we played with, and and we played outside a lot. We did play, but one of the big things that um that I loved was to play school, probably because I was the boss, and I wanted a blackboard so badly, and I finally got one one Christmas. Um and uh that was that was just everything to me, right? I don't know. Do you remember like as a kid writing on a blackboard?
SPEAKER_00Sure, sure. We we we had one in our basement where we played a lot in the winter, and there was a game called Go to the Head of the Class. And uh you're reminding me of my older sister who always had to be the teacher. It's like somehow it was never fun. Maybe that's why I didn't like school. Which is why I'm in comedy today.
SPEAKER_04Right, it was the homework that they kept assigning. I mean, your big sister. I'm sorry, homework should not include me doing your laundry. That was not a good game.
SPEAKER_02I used to take my allowance money and I would buy like little workbooks for my students.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, wow, I know, like I'm a real teacher.
SPEAKER_02I was I was serious about it, and and look at today, here I am following my dreams of comedy. So, um, yeah, so anyway, but that's
Allowances, Worms, And Work Ethic
SPEAKER_02that's okay.
SPEAKER_00I'm just shocked you got an allowance. Allowance, wait, my parents were depressionary. You should be paying us to live in this house. What do you mean you want an allowance?
SPEAKER_04We did have to pay to live in that house.
SPEAKER_02Did you get an allowance, Michelle? Did you get an allowance or like I might have?
SPEAKER_04It wasn't very much. I got paid to uh I got like a nickel for every worm I would put on my mom's fishing hook, and then I would get a dime for every fish that I took off because she didn't want to touch anything, but she didn't want to throw the line out there. Wow, and she conveniently would just leave it in the water and not catch anything, and she's like, Oh no, I'm sure my bait's fine, so I really didn't make any money.
unknownThat's so funny.
SPEAKER_02That is funny and gross because yeah, although when I was a kid, I I would like touch worms and stuff like that, um, and tadpoles and those kinds of things, yeah.
SPEAKER_04So my dad, he they wanted to instill in us a work ethic, and so we had to get jobs when you know from young on, you know, we had to work for if you don't work, you don't eat kind of a deal. And because we went fishing every weekend, uh, my dad thought it'd be a great idea if we became entrepreneurs and actually became worm worm farmers. So he got a tub, we bought worms from Jimmy Carter. Uh I guess his brother and him had a worm business or whatever. And so we got 200 red wigglers and um put them in the little thing. Did you know that worms crawl away?
SPEAKER_01Escape, escape.
SPEAKER_04They do, they do. So, you know, you're supposed to, you know, contain them like in a bathtub or something versus have them. I was out in the backyard.
SPEAKER_02Okay, I was when you just said bathtub, that was scary a little bit. Like, I'm like, wait, what?
SPEAKER_01We wouldn't have been going over to Michelle's house, is what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_04No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00It was it was a tub every Saturday night. Come on, yeah, get the worms out.
SPEAKER_04It was a tub that he buried and kept it up out of the ground a little bit. Anyway, the point was my dad set up this whole business plan for me to become the worm farmer, and uh I wanted nothing to do with it. I was into horses at that point, so I was always at the barn. Anyway, uh, we just had bait for months after that because I failed as a worm farmer. I'm just gonna put it out there.
SPEAKER_02I failed everybody else.
SPEAKER_04I had no hook.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. That's funny. All right, uh, I think we talked a lot about games, and you know, uh I know me. I I like to play games, I've always played games, and so we're gonna go get ready to play our game.
Two Truths And A Lie Desserts
SPEAKER_02All right, uh, I we've been playing two truths and a lie, and uh today is uh going to be the dessert edition. Isn't that sweet? That's crazy. Um, anyway, so okay, this is what we're gonna do. Are you guys ready? We're gonna two desserts that you absolutely love, and one dessert that you do not like at all. Um, and so we have to guess out of the three of those, which one is the lie? All right, you guys ready? I think I think we should start with uh Michelle.
SPEAKER_04Oh, okay, yeah. Start with the fat girl. Okay, I see where this is going. Uh, she must like desserts. Clearly, she's really into this game. Um, you know, it's kind of a hard game to do because you said two I love, one I hate. Well, look at the weight. Um, but I narrowed it down. I am gonna go with the pudding category. Okay. So I love tapioca pudding, I love rice pudding, and I love chocolate pudding. But one of those is not true. Which one?
SPEAKER_02Tapioca and rice are kind of the same in one way. Rice pudding is either. Um, all right, I'm going with the pudding that you do not like is rice pudding.
SPEAKER_00Interesting. And I would go a step further just basing it on my girls who don't like the texture of tapioca. Too close to fish eyes and jelly.
SPEAKER_02Ruin the tapioca for me.
SPEAKER_00There you go.
SPEAKER_02I don't know. Why'd you have to say that? That's awful. All right. All right. Um, so all right, we had we had chocolate pudding, we had rice pudding, and we had tapioca pudding. And which one of those? I know it can't be chocolate. So um, that's it.
SPEAKER_04You're right, Rhonda. It can't be chocolate. It was rice pudding. I don't like rice pudding. I mean, shouldn't the rice be cooked or something? I don't know. It's too crunchy. I can't no. No, I can't, I can't do it. That and bread pudding. Anyway, so there you go.
SPEAKER_02Oh, interesting. All right, I won. We won. All right, let's see. All right, Gordon, you want to go up?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Well, being a South Philly guy, I don't know if it counts as dessert, but we like to end the night with a South Philly pretzel, but not just your normal mustard. There's a special spicy mustard you get down on 2nd Street. That's one of my favorite treats. My wife makes this really chewy oatmeal cookie. And I really my favorite pie would be lemon meringue. I just love a tangy thing with all that white fluffy stuff on top.
SPEAKER_04That's too many details.
SPEAKER_02Uh I'm going with lemon meringue pie. Um, because how could you not like a pretzel? And how do you think pretzel's a dessert? But I don't know. I guess if you I mean it can be for me. I love I love pretzels. Um what do you think, Michelle?
SPEAKER_04I I'm gonna go with the chewy cookie because I think he likes crunchy cookies better.
SPEAKER_02Oh, but his wife makes it, and that's I know, I know.
SPEAKER_04That's why I'm like, hmm.
SPEAKER_00So that yeah, well, that was a lie from the pit of hell because my wife didn't make it, but I do hate soft, chewy cookies. They've gotta crunch. Cookies have to crunch. I like that. So the cookie is but yeah, lemon meringue is my my favorite pie by far. And I do love I do love those Philly soft pretzels.
SPEAKER_02I am just baffled right now that you lied about your wife, and I'm very disappointed in your lies. Um, and I'm very disappointed that I didn't catch on to it. So all right, are you ready?
SPEAKER_00Go for it.
SPEAKER_02All right, okay. Desserts, uh desserts that I love. Um I love a chocolate chip cookie, and it can be chewy uh recorded. Sorry. And so I love a chocolate chip cookie. Um love um a chocolate cookie clair because I like the cream in the middle and I like the different like the I like the pastry and um and then on Thanksgiving, I want a nice piece of pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream on top. Alright, there you go. What were those three again? So we have a chocolate chip cookie for TR Chewy, we have a chocolate eclair, and we have pumpkin pie with homemade cream on top.
SPEAKER_04Ooh, this is a tough one. I want to go with the eclair because I don't think you like eclairs, but that pumpkin pie, man, that's a tough one because I know you make cookies, so um, I never got to eat any, but I know you make them.
SPEAKER_02Uh that's a lie. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is a lie.
SPEAKER_04Well, you mailed them, they never made it.
SPEAKER_02When you were here, I had cookies for you.
SPEAKER_04I know, I know. Okay, so I'm gonna say the lie happens to be. Um, I'm gonna go with the pie, actually. I'm gonna go with the pie. Pumpkin pie is the lie because it rhymes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it would be hard to get a winner then because I know you love all things chocolate, and despite the domestic goddess that you are, the idea of homemade anything with whipped creamy, and uh I just the the pie the pumpkin just doesn't seem to do it for me. So I would I was gonna go with the pumpkin pie as well.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so um, of course, we know I I mean the I gave it to you with the chocolate chip cookie. I mean, you know I love chocolate chip cookies. Um uh pumpkin pie. Um, I do love homemade um whipped cream, so I don't know why you're messing with that. And as far as cream goes in a in a clair, I love it. So you both are right with the pumpkin pie. I think it's gross. I hate pumpkin pie. I'm not a big pie person just to begin with, so and uh the pumpkin part does not help me at all, but I love desserts. I love desserts. I wish I didn't love them as much, and I do love chocolate. I'm a big chocolate person. Um, what about you,
Chocolate Debates And Food Quirks
SPEAKER_02Gordon? Do you like chocolate or well?
SPEAKER_00Sadly, I was born with a milk allergy, so I miss out on the blessing of chocolate and being breastfed. So I've missed out on two of life's greatest blessings.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_04You can have dark chocolate, but you don't have to have milk chocolate. Just putting that out there, Gordon. You can even have vegan chocolate.
SPEAKER_00Who's kept the secret from me for all these years?
SPEAKER_04What is dark chocolate tastes like dirt, so just gonna, or the cacao powder, just you know, as is. Um yeah, chocolate is good. I like vanilla though.
SPEAKER_02You like so if you have ice cream, you're gonna pick you're gonna pick vanilla over chocolate.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I have vanilla in my freezer right now. Yep. Wow, that's sick. Because you could mix vanilla with anything, you could mix it with orange sherbet and make like a dreamsicle. You could mix it with uh hot fudge topping or caramel topping or um cherries or strawberries, like you can just mix it with everything.
SPEAKER_02So you have a point there. You have a point there, all
Final Thoughts And Matthew 6
SPEAKER_02right, guys. Do you believe it? This is how fast it went. Our time's up. I know, already. Can you believe it? Um, but in the show notes, it'll it'll show you how to reach out to Michelle and Gordon to follow them on uh, you know, on all the social medias. And um, I'm gonna end with one of my most favorite verses. Um, it is Matthew 6, 25. Um, I'm gonna read it so I don't mess it up. And that is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food and your body more than clothing? I love that. I have to go to the 27 because this is my favorite. Look at the birds, look at them, Michelle. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly father feeds them. And aren't you more valuable to him than they are? And you know what? You guys are so valuable to me, and I can't thank you enough for being here today.