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The universe has good news for the lost, lonely, and heart sick. Sugar is here, the both

of us, speaking straight into your ears. I'm Cheryl Strayed.

I'm Steve Almond. This is Deer Sugar Radio.

Hi, Steve. Hi, Cheryl. I want to tell you a story. I hope it will become relevant

why I'm telling you a story. It's 1986. I am 19 years old. I had a beautiful, I will

characterize it as a beautiful diaphanus mullet. I had a mullet too. I was 17.

Okay, good. We're mulleting together. I'm happy to be in my hometown. I've gotten

an internship at the hometown newspaper in the sports department. Are you at all familiar

with what it's like to be in a sports department? I am not. It's like basically a frat, but

mostly filled with people who are never quite good enough to make the varsity.

Insular, masculine. Absolutely. I have some sexism raging. Maybe not even recognized term.

I'm a low man on the totem pole, so I'm constantly being mocked and bullied. I finally

got my big break. The sports editor said to me, all right, Almond, nobody else wants

to do this. Do you want to go interview Billie Jean King? Wow.

I'm informed that because it's an afternoon paper, there's nobody there at night other than

night editor Michelle. When I told people that I was going to be doing this story because

...