Episode 102: Jalapeno Poppers and All the Other Small Things

Russell's friends and family try to help him and keep him from seeking revenge. Russell gives them a chance - but will he find love again or is vengeance his only answer?

This episode starring:
Josh Callahan, Gillian Bellinger, Jamison Scala, Michael Klimkowski, Piper Gillen, Nick Casalini, Muriel Montgomery, and Peter Hoffman Kimball

Email us at Terry@DontMatterMedia.com

Theme Music by Shawn Korkie
Cover Art by Roppuri

A Don't Matter Media Production

www.RussellGetsRevenge.com
facebook.com/RussellGetsRevenge
twitter: @getsrevenge
instagram: @russellgetsrevenge

Transcript

TERRY Hello again. My name is Terry Van der Horst and this is
Russell Gets Revenge. The audio record of my friend, Russell
Mannheim and his quest for vengeance.
[THEME MUSIC]
TERRY Russell Gets Revenge. An eight episode series about justice,
revenge, and jalapeno poppers. Written and created by Peter
Hoffman Kimball. Produced by Josh Callahan and Peter
Hoffman Kimball. As a content warning, this series does deal
with issues of death, grief, and violence.
[THEME MUSIC]
RUSSELL Look, it was not a foregone conclusion that I was going to
seek vengeance. I mean, I would have loved to just go back to
life as normal.
TERRY And a lot of people close to you thought that would have been
a better idea.
SHARON Frankly, I find this whole enterprise problematic and troubling.
TERRY This is Sharon, Carrie's sister. She's a therapeutic audiologist
in Durham, North Carolina.
SHARON I loved Carrie and it tears me apart to know that she's gone.
And it tears me apart doubly to know how tragic and
unnecessary her death was.
TERRY Right.
SHARON And I wasn't even there. So, yeah, believe me, I understand
that this must be incredibly hard for Russell to deal with. And
I'm not going to tell him how to grieve.
TERRY But just not like this.
SHARON There are so many forms that grief can take. I just don't think
that murderous rage is one that should be encouraged and
cultivated.
TERRY I don't know if it's fair to call it a "murderous rage". He feels
like she was denied justice and he owes her that. Or the
closest thing to it.
SHARON Ok, sure.
TERRY It's very deliberate and thought out.
SHARON So, yes, murderous rage isn't the best phrase. Granted. But
that's all the more to my point. I don't think this is coming from
a place of love for her. It's his own macho fantasy of the
avenging husband. He's playing the cowboy in the white hat.
That's what this is.
TERRY But isn't wanting to avenge her a way of honoring her?
SHARON It doesn't really have anything to do with her. Either A. He
thinks this is a fun excuse to pretend he's Bruce Willis or Liam
Neeson or whoever and just play out this revenge storyline in
which he gets to be the hero. Essentially Carrie's death was
just the inciting incident for his avenging angel fantasy camp.
TERRY I don't think that's fair at all.
SHARON Or B. He is doing this out of grief and this deep feeling of
loss. He's lost the thing he loves most in this world.
TERRY Right.
SHARON But that's just it, it's the "thing" he loves most. It's not really
engaging with the idea of Carrie as a person, it's treating her
2.
like a piece of property that one man took from another man.
He's only really engaging with that other man. Not with Carrie.
TERRY Wow. Uh, ok. That is quite a damning attack on a grieving
widower.
SHARON But I'm not here to attack him. I mean, like I said, people
grieve in different ways and I know that he really did love her. I
saw them together. I've spoken with him. Before and after her
death. I know he loved her.
TERRY Ok. So this isn't just about some macho fantasy.
SHARON He is going to grieve how he's going to grieve. Just like I have
been grieving. Just like I have spent nights crying myself to
sleep and missing her and hours scrolling through old pictures
of us. I don't blame him for having a different response than
me.
TERRY Good.
SHARON But I do blame you, Terry.
TERRY Oh, great.
SHARON You're encouraging him, you're glorifying this. It isn't a good
example for society and it's not good for him.
TERRY Ah. Ok.
SHARON If he's going to go looking for revenge, then so be it. But I
don't know why you need to document it.
TERRY Well he asked me to.
SHARON And you're being a good friend by doing what he asked.
TERRY Yes. Absolutely.
SHARON And also by talking to as many people as possible, editing it
down, trying to craft it into as entertaining a show as possible.
TERRY Well, uh...
SHARON I just disagree with this whole enterprise.
TERRY So not everyone was supportive of Russell's search for
vengeance. But let's move on.
RUSSELL Look, when I came back from Germany, we had a funeral,
there was lots of crying, lots of sympathy. And it meant a lot.
But also, like, it kind of didn't.
KEVIN I didn't know what to say to him. I mean, how can you?
TERRY IN THE STUDIO.
TERRY This is Russell's brother, Kevin. He's an economic consultant
in Arlington, Virginia.
KEVIN I flew out to Germany to help him get things settled, get back
to the States. And it's like, you're trying to be helpful but you're
also just so sad yourself.
RUSSELL I really appreciated him coming out.
KEVIN I just remember standing there with him, trying to support him,
but not knowing what to do. What are you supposed to say?
Right? So you hug him and you cry and you say, "I'm sorry. I'm
so sorry." What else can you say?
RUSSELL Literally anything else. Please. Seriously. Anything else.
TERRY Why?
RUSSELL It's just literally the worst thing. And everyone does it! "I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry." But it's like, you get someone crying,
saying "I'm sorry" and then I have to be, like, consoling them.
All, "It's ok. It's alright." Letting them cry into my shoulder, me
patting them on the back, saying it's alright. Me comforting
them! I don't want to be saying, "It's alright"!
DAVID ZANDY I didn't ever want to talk about the whole thing. You know? It's
a tragedy? Let's get his mind off it.
TERRY This is David Zand, a high school friend of Russell's. Formerly
a Sunoco station attendant. Currently in between jobs.
DAVID ZANDY I try to bring in some levity. You know, get him to smile. Tell
some jokes, look for a silver lining. But, man, is it hard to get
a guy to laugh when his wife has just been murdered.
TERRY I can imagine.
DAVID ZANDY I mean, I was bringing out my top stuff. Polish jokes, Chinese
stuff. I mean, like, sexy double entendre puns. I mean, my top
stuff. And I got nothing. No laughs. Like, come on, man! I'm
dying here.
4.
TERRY That sounds terrible for you.
KEVIN I tried to lighten things up too. I mean actually,
you know,
Russell and I used to joke, like, you better hope she doesn't
die before you because going to be dating up a storm in
heaven. And he'd be like, that's not how heaven works. She'd
just be up there waiting for him. And I was like, yeah, she
might wait for you but don't think she's not gonna be getting
some booty calls in while she does. I mean, it's heaven. Cary
Grant's up there. Steve McQueen. Lee Marvin.
(laughs)
She's got a lot of options.
RUSSELL Yeah, I never liked that joke. Even less so after her death.
KEVIN It's not like I said that to him, after her death. I don't want you to
get the wrong impression. I would never joke about that now.
Not now that I
mean how could I have known this would
happen? Women are supposed to live longer than men.
That's just a statistical fact.
RUSSELL Yeah, no, Kevin was a good support. I mean, he was there for
me, you know someone for me to talk to. And he did his best
to cheer me up.
KEVIN We'd go out to the movies. Go to dinner. And I remember, I
remember the night that I really thought things were getting
better.
TERRY What happened that night?
KEVIN I pick him up from work, we went out to dinner, and we're
actually having a good time. Laughing, talking about all the
normal things guys talk about, you know, baseball, cars, the
Tonys. And then, we're looking at the menu and the waiter
comes over and Russell says, "How about some jalapeno
poppers?"
TERRY Jalapeno poppers?
KEVIN Jalapeno poppers. I mean, if you're still buried in grief. All
hopeless and despairing, you don't order jalapeno poppers.
You just don't.
TERRY And so that was the turning point?
KEVIN Well I thought so.
RUSSELL No. That was not a turning point. That was a plate of jalapeno
poppers. I mean, even at your very lowest you can still
appreciate a nice plate of jalapoppers
before your entree.
They're delicious. But they don't fix everything.

NICK Ever since Russell got back from Germany and
especially
after the funeral we've
just been so broken up about
everything.
MURIEL We felt responsible in some way.
TERRY This is Nick and Muriel, Russell and Carrie's good friends
who had first recommended vacationing in Germany.
NICK And then, a few months ago, we'd heard a rumor that he was
flirting with this idea of getting vengeance.
MURIEL But we knew that wasn't the right way to go.
NICK Not if you don't have to.
MURIEL Exactly. You don't get revenge on someone unless you really,
really have to.
NICK Anyway, we thought maybe he needed some help moving on.
Like, finding someone new.
MURIEL Not as a replacement but NICK
Obviously.
MURIEL But his life wasn't over.
NICK He's still got his hair.
MURIEL And we knew a great girl. Great girl. Jocelyn.
RUSSELL I mean, I was up for it. I guess. I didn't really think it would
amount to much. But why not. I'll go on a date. Go out to
dinner. Right? And they told me a little about her, showed me
a picture.
MURIEL She's a stunner.
NICK Absolutely. A 10.
MURIEL In DC.
NICK Right, in Washington, DC. A 7 in LA.
MURIEL Sure, in LA. But we live in DC. And she's like a 9 when it
comes to intelligence.
NICK A DC 9. Which would be an LA 14.
MURIEL I mean, she went to Middlebury!

TERRY So, Russell, was there a lot of anxiety around going on your
first date after Carrie?
RUSSELL Yeah, for sure. But at the same time, you know, I didn't think of
it as some momentous thing. It's not like this was "my quest
for love" or something. It just seemed like a fun thing to try out.
TERRY A nice dinner with a smart, attractive woman.
RUSSELL Very impressive woman. Super bright. Went to one of the
best colleges in Vermont. Studied Russian.
TERRY So how did it go?
RUSSELL It was great. Fantastic. I mean, the prep for the date. Getting
ready for it. It really woke me up. I mean, for the first time I
wasn't thinking about what happened with Carrie. I was
thinking about, oh I've gained a lot of weight and I haven't
really been taking care of myself and, oh I don't know what I'm
going to say. It was depressing and scary but it was also kind
of invigorating.
TERRY How much weight had you gained?
RUSSELL Uh, oh, well, uh, is that part of this?
TERRY You brought it up.
RUSSELL Yeah, huh. Well, like, more than ten, less than a hundred. Let's
say that. And move on.
TERRY So Russell and Jocelyn went out on their date. His friends'
attempt to set him up on the path to love.
KEVIN Or at least distract him from the need to kill a guy.
TERRY That, again, is Kevin, Russell's brother.
KEVIN When I heard he was going on a date, I was definitely pulling
for him. But it was stressful. Like, usually when you go out with
a woman, a man's life isn't quite literally on the line.
TERRY You thought if this went well it might change his mind about
seeking revenge?
KEVIN The love of a good woman can change a man's mind. And
even if she's not that great and even if it's not love, still, I
mean, at least distract him a little. I mean getting laid never
hurt anyone, right?
TERRY Well...
KEVIN I mean, except for the disease and the unintended
pregnancies, and questions of consensuality, and infidelity,
and... yeah, but I mean, in this case I think it would have
worked out.
TERRY But how did the date go? That's really the question. And for
that, I have here with me, Jocelyn Belacourt.
JOCELYN Yes, hi.
TERRY Thanks for speaking to me. So how did the date itself go?
JOCELYN It started fine. He was nice and pleasant. We had some small
talk, got seated for dinner, he asked how I liked the current
weather. And then I asked him what kind of music he liked.
KEVIN She asked him what kind of music he liked.
RUSSELL She asked me what kind of music I liked.
JOCELYN I'd been prepped on what had happened to his wife. So I
thought I'd keep it light. I thought we were just chit chatting. But
I didn't expect...
RUSSELL (puzzled at himself)
I just talked about Blink 182 for fortyfive
whole minutes.
TERRY Blink 182. The late 90s pop punk band.
RUSSELL Yes. That Blink 182. For fortyfive
minutes. Fortyfive.
And I
don't know why... I don't... I guess I was trying so hard not to
talk about Carrie and death and murder and revenge. And
so... I mean, I only stopped because the restaurant was
closing.
JOCELYN Fortyfive
minutes. Just nonstop, a discourse, a lecture on the
early days, "Dammit", "What's My Age Again", Tom's
obsession with aliens, how Mark and Tom were always selfconscious
about what a better musician Travis was than
them. He kept mentioning this Spin Magazine interview...
RUSSELL They're all asked the hardest thing about being in the band.
You know, this Spin Magazine interview. And Travis, the
drummer, Travis says being on the road so much, you know,
band life, and both Tom and Mark say, both of them say,
"Going out on stage every night, knowing you're not as good a
musician as your bandmate. As good a musician as Travis."
Something about that just always struck me.
KEVIN I don't know what's wrong with him. That guy... I mean, I do, his
wife was murdered. But still, come on, dude.
RUSSELL I don't know what it was. Why I kept talking about Blink 182.
For so long. I mean, I think it started just trying to avoid talking
about anything too serious.
TERRY And no one's ever accused Blink 182 of being too serious.
RUSSELL Well some critics did bring that up in the Miss You era, that
they had taken too serious a turn andbut
that's not what you
mean.
TERRY Yeah, definitely not.
RUSSELL But, then, I think I just got to thinking about poor Mark and
Tom, out there on stage every night knowing that they were
missing something. That no matter how hard they tried and no
matter how much they wanted to just go out there and play
and live their lives, there was still something missing,
something absent that made all the difference... In their case,
the absence of skilled musicianship.
TERRY Right.
RUSSELL And in my case, you know, no matter how much I try to just go
on and live my life... Even if there are fun things to do,
interesting people to meet, there's still something missing that
can't be ignored.
TERRY And so the only option is to face that head on.
RUSSELL I knew after that dinner, that I was never going to be able to
live my life if I didn't get vengeance first.
TERRY Right.
RUSSELL The only way I can move on is by righting this wrong. By
making that man pay for what he did. And that's what I swear
I'm going to do.
JOCELYN And, I guess, for me, that dinner convinced me that maybe I
should go back to Tinder. I mean, it's definitely not great but
when your friends hook you up with a widower still in love with
his dead wife, actively hunting down the man who killed her,
and I
have to say weirdly
obsessed with late 90s pop punk,
it's like, how could Tinder possibly be worse?
TERRY So on that note, we'll finish for this week. But join us next week
when Russell dives in to the hunt for the man who murdered
his wife.