Season 8 Thanksgiving Special: False Safety or Right Where We Left Off (Refresher)

 Season 8 Thanksgiving Special: False Safety or Right Where We Left Off (Refresher)

CHANGE… change, change, change, change, change. Change has been an ongoing insecurity of mine, throughout this whole series, and this season, especially the theme, has reared its ugly head again. Last year in the installment Mitchmas (27) Part 2: The Last Pizza Night, I said that Rich and Barbara Anderson were planning on moving to Wyoming. In the spring of this year, they in fact did move. Last month, Kid moved to Cincinnati, finally fulfilling the insecurities I had about the Andersons moving away that have plagued me for nearly a decade now. Last season, I wrote an installment called October-December, about my mental health declining during those months last year.

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, a week after Kid moved to Cincinnati, Paige and I drove down to celebrate a friendsgiving with Arden, Marshall, Aspen, and Kid. Coincidentally, Rich and Barbara were visiting them too and when we arrived, Barbara‘s sister and brother-in-law were there as well. After Arden gave her aunt and uncle the tour, we visited with them for a while, and they left to go back to Wooster, Rich, Barbara, Arden, Marshall, Aspen, Kid, Paige, and I went out to an orchestra concert.

After the concert, we walked to a restaurant called Albert’s. Our waitress was named Clarissa. She took our orders, watched as we loudly caught up, and got to know us throughout the dinner. When we had finished eating she said, “would you guys like to go onto the roof?” 

We all looked at each other and smiled. Clarissa led us up to the roof, which had already been closed down for the night. That was ideal because, while it was a nice roof, it wasn’t super big. We walked to a table toward the front of the rooftop balcony and Arden suggested, “Mitchie you should sing!” I obliged and everyone joined in as I sang a ton of songs. 

As I said the 2 part season finale last season, was about my mental health declining in the fall of 2024, and me coming to the conclusion that in a professional sense I had learned the wrong lesson from Covid. However, I learned the same wrong lesson from covid in my personal life as well.

As I depicted in my most recent book, The Greattastic Adventures 2: Fractured, in 2016, my neighbor, Greg, told me that the Andersons wouldn’t live next-door forever, and I spent the next three years dreading that moment. When it finally came at the beginning of this series, I was distraught, but by the end of season one I had learned that no matter how far away we lived the girls and I would always pick up right where we left off, when we got back together.

In season two I started to move forward, but then Covid hit, forcing August and Aspen back to Columbus. This created this weird false safety around change because while we were all moving on, we were still sort of trapped in our childhood. Then after three years, August, moved for good, got pregnant with, and married to an abusive man, and I started dating the woman who was destined to become my wife, all within the course of a couple of months. In other words, as we grew up and changed, Covid, created a false sense of security by trapping us in our own childhood, and then we struggled to cope as real adulthood hit. 

As we stood on that roof singing our hearts out I thought back on when Arden surprised everyone for Christmas back in 2019, with my help. In the installment, I wrote about that event, after everyone found out that she was back in town I wrote, “I will always be friends with my “sisters” and they will absolutely come up from time to time, but the last 6 months have basically just been me living in the past. Feeling sorry for myself because all my friends are gone, or are about to leave. I think it's time that I stop doing that, branch out and just live my life-  instead of crying because a chapter has ended. Because even though they're gone, whenever we get back together, we can pick up right where we left off.” And I think that was a lesson I needed to relearn, especially now that they are all officially living life in other cities! 

Hope you all had a Greattastic Thanksgiving, I know this is really late, but umm, there’s been a lot of planning and writing for other things and just other life things happening soo umm yeah… have a Greattastic day… bye!

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 30: A Quick Trip To NYC Part 3: Orlando Treat

 A Quick Trip To NYC Part 3: Orlando Treat

On the morning of Sunday, October 26, Paige and I got up, packed, and got on a subway to get to the bus station. You see, our flight home was actually not out of New York. Our flight was from New Jersey, to Orlando with a connecting flight to Columbus. Travel was clearly not our friend this trip because we got to this bus station which unfortunately had two levels, and we were on the wrong one and we missed the bus by like 30 seconds, so we had to Lyft to New Jersey. As if that wasn’t enough, our first flight was delayed so by the time we landed in Orlando, our connecting flight had already taken off.

“So in other words,” Pop-pop said, once Paige and I finished telling the story, “you tried to save $5.00, on a flight to New York and got stranded here.”

We laughed at his oversimplification of the story, and then Paige explained, “well actually we have another connecting flight in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow.”

Before we made it back to Sara’s house, we decided to go to dinner. We ended up at a local restaurant called F & D Italian Kitchen, which we went to when Paige and I made our last solo trip to Orlando (Final Family Introductions). As we walked in, I looked at the table that we sat at last year and realized how much has changed since then. After dinner, we went to Sara’s house and met her dog Jasper. Sara showed us to our room and after that we all spent the night watching a movie.

Now I am aware that not much happened in this installment, but I still wanted to write it. Firstly because I have been flying to Florida on my own since 2019, but usually I have access to the entire city. Despite this, and the fact that we spent most of our time at Sara’s house, this epilogue to our trip to New York was still very entertaining for us.

On top of that, Paige and I had to leave my family vacation from Florida last summer early so I could go back to work (Plane Old Friends/The Other Side Of Fear). As we got ready for bed I thought about how slightly disappointed we were about having to leave and how stressed out we had been about travel specifically during the NYC trip. The extra time in Orlando showed me that seemingly unnecessary stress is just life’s way of balancing things out.

Have A Greattastic Day and be Safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 29: A Quick Trip To NYC Part 2: A Day In The City

 A Quick Trip To NYC Part 2: A Day In The City

The morning after the show, Paige and I got up at 8:00 a.m. After getting ready, we went downstairs and had an impromptu breakfast with Jill and her family. By the time we got out of their house, it was 9:30. 

 Our first stop was Times Square, which, honestly, was kinda a bust. After that we made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge and on the other side we got pizza at Grimaldi’s which was really good. After we finished most of our pizza, we left and headed to a pier.

From this pier we took a ferry to Governors Island. Governors Island is located in New York Harbor, just South of Manhattan. When we had been making plans for the day with Jill before the Cousin Simple show, she gave us a bit of history about it, and for this installment, I did a little bit of research just so I could understand the setting. Most of what I learned is not super relevant to this installment. Obviously there were some Native Americans who lived there initially, the Dutch and the English settled there in the 1600s, and the island had prominent roles in the Revolutionary War, and both World War I and II. In 2003, the government sold the island to New York for public use.

Jill described it as a year round fairground. They have events all the time. On that day, there was a pumpkin patch event, (though it was more tailored for kids than we initially believed). What was really cool about Governors Island was… it was like it was time locked. Like yes, there were smart phones, and people walking around in modern clothes, but the island itself felt very old world. 

Now what I have not been good at in this installment is keeping track of what time we did everything and that is by design. From Jill‘s house on we were on the move the whole time, even if we were just sitting around waiting for the subway, and it was really hard to keep track. By the time we were rushed off the island it was somehow already 6:00 p.m. 

We made it back to Jill‘s house by 7:00 and we played a game of Uno with her, her husband and her kids shortly after we arrived. The funniest part of the night was one of the kids kept calling Paige “young lady,” with way too much confidence.

I went into this quick trip to New York City knowing that we weren’t going to see everything. While the day flew by, we still did a lot of stuff,  considering that we were only in New York for a little bit under 48 hours. Still, I can’t wait to go back and see more! 

To Be Continued… 

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 28: A Quick Trip To NYC Part 1: Mr. Disney

 A Quick Trip To NYC Part 1: Mr. Disney

On Sunday, October 26, 2025, in Orlando, my grandpa, Pop-pop, was doing some work at his partner Sara‘s house, at around 5:00 pm. To his surprise, his phone started ringing. “Hey, Pop-pop,” I said, “Paige and I missed our connecting flight. Can you pick us up?” 40 minutes later, we were in Sara’s car on our way back to her house.

“So,” Pop-pop asked, “what happened?”

“Well,” I replied, “it all started with a Cousin Simple show.” 

Cousin Simple had a show in New York City on Friday, the 24th. Usually, we wouldn’t go to an out of state show, but Paige has a cousin who lives there, so we decided to make a weekend trip out of it. We flew Spirit to save money. On our way to NYC, we went from Columbus to Fort Lauderdale to New York. We landed in Fort Lauderdale at 7:40 am, as our next flight was boarding.  We ran all the way through the airport to our gate, only to realize that it had changed to the gate right next to the one we had landed at. 

Miraculously, we made it to New York, and after a brief lunch, we made it to her cousin’s house. Her cousin, who I will call Jill, showed us to our room, helped us make a rough plan for the next day, and then she went to get her kids from school, and Paige and I chilled until it was time for the show.

The show was at a bar called Pianos, which was about 30 minutes away by subway. We got through the turnstile before being informed that all of the subways were down… because, of course, they were. 

We ended up Lyfting to Pianos, which, I mean… driving in NYC… it wasn’t the best… the bar was pretty small and I wasn’t really sure where they were going to play. But the venue itself was actually upstairs, and it was huge! There wasn’t a stage, so the band was on the same level as the audience, which was super engaging. The most exciting part of the show was when they announced that the next song on their EP, Mr. Disney, would be coming out on Friday, November 7th. Which for those of you who are following me live was yesterday.

This was really exciting because the entire EP was recorded during the gap between last season and this one, and it has been in the proverbial vault all year. While I have heard most of them (my favorite ones haven’t been released), I hadn’t heard Mr. Disney. I’m excited that we are now halfway through the EP, and they will all be available soon!

To Be Continued… 

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 27: Elana

 Elana

On Thursday, October 23rd, 2025, I ate dinner, got dressed up, drove to Luke and Josh’s house to drop off Paige and my parking pass and extra key, and drove to the Exchange at Bridge Park for the 11th annual Thread Of Hope (TOH) benefiting Sam’s Fans. As you might recall, TOH is a fashion show. When I walked in, I was slightly overwhelmed.

See, when I first joined Sam's Fans, almost 10 years ago now, I knew pretty much everyone at the events. Over the last few years, however, the trend has been that there are more people that I don’t know at events as the organization grows. Though, to be fair, I haven’t volunteered as much in the last two years, which I need to start doing again, but my point is,  S.M.'s family and friends are always busy, and other than talking to each of them individually for a bit, I don’t really know anyone else.

At TOH, this year, I ran into two people. The first was one of Paige’s cousins' girlfriends, who I’m going to call Kristen. “Hey,” We both said, hugging each other. “What are you doing here?” she continued. After I explained the connection, she told me that a friend of hers worked for Thread (the store that puts on the show). After talking to her for a few minutes, I went and mingled with S.M.’s family and friends until the live action started. The auction raised $1 million!!! After the auction, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Hi Mitchell,” Elana said when I turned.

“Oh my gosh,” I replied, “Hi!”

Elana was in S.M. and my class at OLP and was a great friend to both of us. Her older half sister, Natalie, set me up with my first girlfriend, and her baby sister, Jenna, went to high school with Paige. The last time I saw Elana was when I started working at Kroger (she quit a few months after I started).

We started to talk, and she caught me up on what she has been doing since we stopped working together. She decided to go to college in 2021, after initially believing that it was not for her, and she’s been dating a guy since 2022. When I went to tell her about how I have been, she replied, “Oh, I know everything! I’ve been following you since you started your podcast. My niece was diagnosed with autism in November of 2019.”

After the fashion show ended, we mingled with everyone for a little bit longer, and then I told Elana, “I have an early flight in the morning, so I gotta go, but we should get coffee soon.”

“I would love that!” She replied. 

If I haven’t made this abundantly clear in both this series and Once in a Lifetime: A Song For Sam, I loved S.M. and I miss her every day. Sam's Fans was a major part of my healing process because it was a way for me to channel my grief as a result of her death. S.M.’s Dad has been quoted as saying, “As Sam's Fans grew, so did her spirit.” And he’s not wrong. The work that S.M.’s family and friends do is work that she would have done had she survived Fanconi Anemia, and being part of that makes me feel close to her. But even separate from Sam's Fans itself, reconnecting with Elena is something that makes me feel close to S.M. because I know S.M. loved both of us, and I believe that she is happy that we have reconnected!

Have A Greattastic Day And Be Safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 26.5: As Seen From Afar

 As Seen From Afar

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Paige and I arrived at Wolf Park at 7:30 am for the annual Sam's Fans 5k. I have helped with the 5K every year since I joined the organization (though I did run it the year I dramatically joined). This was the first year, however, since I joined that I (we) ran it.

We walked up to the registration table. As soon as we got in line, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw my friend and former classmate Anna and her fiancé, let’s call him Shaun, who I had not met before. The race started at 8:00, and in that 30-minute time period, we talked to Anna and Shaun as well as S.M.’s friends and family. Even though it was good to see everyone, there was one person from my past who was there that, at the time, I didn’t know had seen me from afar. 

Season 8 Goals And Dreams Blog 26: Friends Of Noah

 Friends Of Noah

One day in 2018, a year before I met him, Noah was getting off the bus after work. As he walked to his apartment building, he heard someone walking up behind him. It was a man who just happened to live in the same building, and he introduced himself as Owen Blake. I have met Owen Blake a handful of times, but I didn’t know until this last summer that this meeting marked Noah‘s first adult friendship. 

From there, Noah’s friend group expanded. As I said, I met him in 2019. In 2021, Noah started hearing about another blind athlete, who we will call Emilia. Emilia and Noah heard about each other’s fame in their respective sport, but each believed that the other did not know who they were. It was not until 2023 that they officially became friends. Over the last year, Noah has also become friends with three other women, Luna, Leah, and Leah's sister Nora.

Noah’s 33rd birthday was on Wednesday, October 1st, 2025. On Saturday, October 4th, at around 4:30, Paige and I drove to a music store, got Noah guitar strings and picks, went back to the apartment to finish getting ready, and then at 6:15 we left to pick up pizza at Adriatico’s on campus. Then we drove to Luna's house. Owen Blake, Leah and Nora, and obviously Luna, were already celebrating with Noah when we arrived at 7:00, but Emilia and her fiancé, Jake, were driving from Pittsburgh. 

We spent the first hour eating pizza and getting to know each other. The theme of the party (admittedly more for everyone else as opposed to Noah) was Spider-Man. Luna had gotten a ton of Spider-Man stickers, got a Spider-Man cookie cake, and even had made the invitation Spider-Man themed. That theme is very relevant, but we’ll get back to that in a second. 

When Emilia and Jake finally arrived, we all began to talk about how Noah met everybody. After this, Luna informed us, “So before you all got here, Noah sucked some helium and sang a song.”

I replied, half jokingly, “You let him do that before we got here?”

This led to us all taking turns, breathing in helium from balloons. It was something that none of us had done since we were little kids, mostly because it is actually really bad for you if you do it too much, but there were a couple of funny moments. Noah’s was one of the funniest, but it's really hard to describe because, generally speaking, he's just a funny person so pitching his voice up just makes him almost unbearably funny. My voice is already high, so it was really funny when I took my turn because my voice was almost too high-pitched for any of us to hear. But the best had to be Owen Blake's.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I have only referred to Owen Blake by his full name. While it is a pseudonym, I chose a full name because Noah only calls him by his full name, and honestly, it fits because he is a full name kind of guy. He has this very chill, suave vibe about him. As he stood up to fill up his balloon, we all waited with bated breath. He put the balloon to his lips, took a breath in, and then, almost oblivious to the tension that had built in the room, Owen Blake said, in his normal voice, “I don't think I did that right!”

After that, but before we were able to have the cake, Leah and Nora had to go home. Before they were able to say their goodbyes, Luna suggested that Noah give a speech, and I started chanting, “Speech, speech, speech,” and the others followed. I like to think that I am a pretty good public speaker, but Noah's words were so pure that I am not even going to try to quote them; it would not mean the same thing coming from me. I will, however, paraphrase them. Noah said in a way more elegant way that he is the person that he is because of us, and that he couldn't imagine his life without us.

There was a lot more personality and comedy in the way he said it that would not make sense in this installment if I tried to put it in. But in the moment as we all laughed and smiled as Noah professed his appreciation for us, I started to reflect. Other than Owen Blake, I have not met any of Noah's friends before. However, if there's one thing that Noah does chronically, it's talk about his friends. The fact that the theme of the birthday party was a Marvel character was very fitting because, based on Noah's stories, we all already knew each other, and everyone finally being together basically had the same vibe as an Avengers movie. We all got to see each other grow individually (Noah's stories), and we finally got to interact in a big crossover (the party). 

It is general human nature to judge the other people in the lives of the people you love. It doesn't matter how good of people they actually are, you are going to make harsh judgments because they are close to someone you care about, especially at first.  I think that it is a testament to how great a person Noah is that there wasn't a single second where I doubted any of his friends.

Have A Greattastic Day and Be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri