The GI Joe Incident: Why I Thought I Ran Away… and the Truth I Didn’t See

20/11/2025 8 min
The GI Joe Incident: Why I Thought I Ran Away… and the Truth I Didn’t See

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Episode Synopsis

Aaron tells the story of the day he tried—truly tried—to run away at age five, fueled by righteous anger over a forbidden episode of GI Joe and a backpack full of peanut-butter crackers. What begins as a funny childhood rebellion slowly reveals a deeper truth about grief, confusion, and a kid trying to make sense of a family unraveling. This is a story about the moment you realize running away isn’t the answer—and why coming home matters more than you knew.

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The Team:

Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato

Senior Audio Engineer:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ken Wendt ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional vocals: Cori Calafato

Artist in Residence: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pete Whitehead ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke

Additional Soundscape Design:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Isaac Gehring & Story Sounds Media LLC ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Special Thanks:
Shannon Baker

Rob Montague Jr

Kyle McCarthy

Dania Khalife

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