Rambling House
Elena Collins was a classmate and friend of S.M. and mine, and for a very brief time, a coworker of mine at Kroger. We reconnected at Thread of Hope last October, and I found out that she’s been following me since I started the podcast, because her niece was diagnosed with Autism in November 2019. This was depicted in the installment Elena. The day after Thread of Hope, Paige and I went to a Cousin Simple show in New York, spent the day after the show exploring the city, and then got trapped in Orlando because we missed our connecting flight (A Quick Trip To NYC Parts 1, 2, and 3).
On Monday, October 27, 2025, as I drove into work late after getting home from Florida, Elana texted me to ask if we could meet up for coffee, as we had discussed at Thread of Hope. On Wednesday, the 29th, at 4:00, we met at Crimson Cup and talked about life. Specifically, a major loss that she went through recently, and the events of my weekend in New York. As a result of this series and her knowledge of both Box Seats and Cousin Simple, she told me to let her know next time they had a show.
On Friday, February 20th, 2026, my parents, Ryan, Elana, Paige, and I walked into a bar called Rambling House, where Box Seats was opening for another band. They started at 9:00, and they played 3 new songs! At the end of the show, I asked Elena how she liked it.
“It was awesome,” she replied, “now I just need to see Cousin Simple!”
“Actually,” I said, “they are playing a show in Dayton next week!”
“Sweet!” Elana said. Then after a pause, she asked, “Do you think you get a ticket for me and my sister Jenna? With the anniversary coming up… I think it would be good for her to get out of town.”
