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[0:01] Brad Forenza: Hi, I'm series creator Brad Forenza and you're listening to Around the Sun.

[0:08] François Clemmons: I'm François Clemmons.

[0:10] Robert Funaro: I'm Robert Funaro.

[0:11] Judy Gold: I'm Judy Gold.

[0:12] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: I'm Wilson Jermaine Heredia.

[0:13] Terry Hu: I'm Terry Hu.

[0:14] Cady McClain: I'm Cady McClain.

[0:15] Jai Rodriguez: I'm Jai Rodriguez.

[0:17] Brad Forenza: This is our season finale, Blue Squares.

[0:24] Brad Forenza: Everywhere you are is everywhere you'll find them. Keep your heart open.

[0:33] Brad Forenza: Well, here we are. This is what everyone wanted, isn't it? A small spectacle on the top of Beebe's Mountain. Not a snowy owl or a tufted titmouse in sight. I think I see a cardinal in the trees. There are cardinals all over this mountain. You can see them any old day.

[0:52] Robert Funaro: Uncle Spike. And this isn't even the tippy top. You know that, right? This is a farce. Father Finnegan has a cold intolerance. This is as high as I go. This is no black diamond. This is a blue square at best. Beebe would never want this. Consider it a metaphor. The blue square and all.

[1:15] Judy Gold: Fine. Let's get this show on the road so all the kinfolk can go back down the mountain to their precious lives. And maybe I can try finding myself again. Is there anything left to be found?

[1:27] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Wait a minute, Spike. I thought it would be nice if we each said a few words about Beebe before our final goodbyes.

[1:35] Robert Funaro: Are you kidding me? You haven't been here in forever.

[1:40] Judy Gold: Father, would you mind terribly if the family said a few words?

[1:45] François Clemmons: Not terribly. So long as you make it a quickie.

[1:49] Judy Gold: Sure thing. So, who would like to honor Beebe with their voice?

[1:57] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: You mean like sing or something?

[2:00] Judy Gold: No, I mean say something nice about the woman she was and the life that she lived.

[2:09] François Clemmons: No one?

[2:11] Judy Gold: You said yourself she was kind of reclusive, Grace.

[2:14] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Still, no one has anything to say about Beebe?

[2:20] Cady McClain: I could try if it helps break the ice.

[2:23] Judy Gold: Never mind. I just thought it would be a nice way to personalize the moment.

[2:28] Cady McClain: Well, I really didn't know Beebe. But I remember her from when she called the warming hut looking for your dad. Beebe was always very, I don't know, concerned, wasn't she?

[2:42] François Clemmons: Runs in the family.

[2:43] Cady McClain: Right. And I know that Beebe held the same level of concern for everyone here. And I know you'll carry her concern forward for the rest of your lives.

[2:57] Judy Gold: Well, thank you, Max. That was beautiful. When you say concern, do you mean anxious?

[3:06] François Clemmons: I'll. Anxiety is about trying to exert control in our circles of existence, right? We not do this here. But what happens when our circles of existence exceed our circles of influence? When we trick ourselves into thinking that we can actually affect something that we have absolutely no jurisdiction over?

[3:23] Cady McClain: I just thought Beebe would get to meet our baby. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered to Beebe, but it mattered to me.

[3:30] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Hey, I thought having a truck would protect us from the elements, but it didn't. But if we hadn't hit that icy patch and veered off the road, you'd be in Miami by now.

[3:40] Cady McClain: Right. But the universe wanted me here. With you. We can't control the universe. Only our response to it. Miami's overrated anyway.

[3:54] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: So we'll try again next year. And with a little luck and newfound perspective, maybe it'll work out differently.

[4:05] Cady McClain: I hope so. Hey look, another cardinal. It's funny the things we plan for and the things we hope to expect. At every turn, the universe shows us why expecting is usually a really bad idea. And still we do it. Often with the best of intentions. But I would never want anyone I love to be anything other than what they are. Neither would Beebe. Do you understand that, Jay?

[4:39] Judy Gold: I was corresponding a lot with Beebe last winter after we got home from the mountain. She knew her body was breaking down and she knew that mine was changing. And we were both doing a lot of reflection. She said the best way we could grow as a family after she died was to support each other more in our own individual journeys.

[5:00] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Beebe said all that?

[5:03] Cady McClain: She did.

[5:05] François Clemmons: Hmm. She's come a long way.

[5:09] Judy Gold: So have you, Mom. I love you, Jay.

[5:13] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Uncle Spike? Did you want to say anything about Beebe?

[5:16] Robert Funaro: Who? Me?

[5:19] Wilson Jermaine Heredia: You lived with her, Uncle Spike. You should say something.

[5:22] Robert Funaro: You bet I lived with her, day and night, tending to her every waking need. And the second I make a plan to go on a nice ecological pilgrimage, or sit down long enough to finally watch It's a Wonderful Life, she has the nerve to drop dead on me? Now I'll never know how it ends.

[5:42] Judy Gold: Wait a second. You've never seen It's a Wonderful Life?

[5:45] Robert Funaro: And you interlopers, with your Christmas trees and your non-perishables and— How have you never seen It's a Wonderful Life?

[5:53] Judy Gold: Because I'm a very busy person up here. That's how.

[5:56] François Clemmons: They've seen it in Tokyo. And the day I was supposed to get a little respite and be one with nature, you all cut me down. No appreciation. No gratitude. Just a swift kick in the pants. Have a blessed day.

[6:11] Cady McClain: But you don't do it for gratitude, Spike. You do it because you want to. Otherwise, you resent all the great things you did for Beebe.

[6:19] Robert Funaro: Wrong. Beebe gave me purpose here on our mountain. Yes, I said our mountain. Oh, I know it all comes off like a great big punchline, but without me up here, you wouldn't be living your best lives off the mountain, and you know it.

[6:39] Judy Gold: But nothing is ever as perfect as it seems. And no man is a failure who has friends. But now it's time to leave the nest, Spike.

[6:46] Robert Funaro: But how? What do I do when you all leave again and I have nothing to look forward to? I missed my bus, remember? What do I do now?

[7:02] Cady McClain: You evolve, Spike. You adapt. You grow. And you evolve.

[7:10] Robert Funaro: You think it's that simple, huh? You adapt, you grow, you evolve.

[7:16] Cady McClain: Sure, it is. Just like everything else on Beebe's mountain. You adapt, you grow, and you evolve.

[7:27] François Clemmons: Can we get on with this, folks? It's absolutely desperate up here.

[7:32] Judy Gold: We're ready, Father Finnegan.

[7:34] François Clemmons: Yea, God. An Irish blessing for our friend Beebe. May the road rise up to meet you, and may the wind always be at your back.

[7:46] Cady McClain: You adapt, you grow, and you evolve. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields.

[7:57] Judy Gold: You adapt, you grow, and you evolve. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

[8:08] François Clemmons: Thank you, Beebe. Just around the sun, a new leaf, a pensive wind. Look for them. They're there. Should all acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

[8:29] Brad Forenza: Thank you for listening to season three of Around the Sun, an episodic audio drama written and directed by Brad Forenza. For full credits and more content, please visit AroundTheSunPodcast.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and subscribe today.

[8:58] Brad Forenza: Thank you.