233: Lemon was forced to decide

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media

True Crime, Documentary, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sometimes you find yourself in a situation that you didn’t ever expect, and you are faced with a decision that you never thought you’d have to make. Joe was an EMT in New York. He had just finished his evening shift, and he did what he always did after leaving work. He stopped by the local Dunkin’ Donuts for his regular nightly coffee. But this time was a little different – he happened to be carrying his newly acquired carbon monoxide detector with him. When he entered the store, that detector started sounding an alarm. But Joe was skeptical. There was only one employee working at this late hour, and Joe asked her if she felt okay. The donut worker said she felt fine, so Joe thought that the detector might be malfunctioning. And he could have just forgotten about it at that point. But he made the decision to double check. He reset that alarm, and got permission to go back and inspect the area near the ovens. Sure enough, this time the detector confirmed dangerous levels of carbon monoxide – and it was all throughout the store. Joe quickly evacuated the premises and contacted the proper authorities. The decision he made, just on instinct, probably saved the life of that employee. My guest today is Lemon – yes, just like the fruit. And you’ll hear how she got that nickname. Lemon was suddenly and unexpectedly put in a place of making a life-changing decision. And she had to do that while she was at home, and her house was on fire. Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/233 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up. Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sometimes you find yourself in a situation that you didn't ever expect, and you're faced with a decision that you never thought you'd have to make.
0:13.4	Joe was an EMT in New York. He had just finished his evening shift, and he did what he always did after leaving work.
0:21.6	He stopped by the local Dunkin' Donuts for his regular nightly coffee.
0:26.5	But this time was a little different.
0:28.8	He happened to be carrying his newly acquired carbon monoxide detector with him.
0:35.0	When he entered the store, that detector started sounding an alarm.
0:39.3	But Joe was skeptical.
0:41.3	There was only one employee working at this late hour,
0:45.3	and Joe asked her if she felt okay.
0:48.3	The donut worker said she felt fine,
0:50.3	so Joe thought that the detector might be malfunctioning.
0:55.7	And he could have just forgotten about it at that point, but he made the decision to double
1:00.6	check.
1:03.8	He reset that alarm and got permission to go back and inspect the area near the ovens.
1:10.6	Sure enough, this time the detector confirmed dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and it was all throughout the store.
1:18.6	Joe quickly evacuated the premises and contacted the proper authorities.
1:24.6	The decision he made, just on instinct, probably saved the life of that employee.
1:32.3	My guest today is Lemon. Yes, just like the fruit, and you'll hear how she got that nickname.
1:41.3	Lemon was suddenly and unexpectedly put in a place of making a life-changing decision.
1:49.1	And she had to do that while she was at home, and her house was on fire.
2:00.7	Real people in unreal situations.
2:05.6	The eerie silence when I walked in, and he's just staring at me.
	...

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