0:18Hi there. May I speak to Alexander?
0:21Yes. Hi. Is this a Melanie?
0:23It is. I'm sorry. I'm calling from the hospital, and these phones are just miserable,
0:27and I'm sorry if you've got voicemails that are, like, dead silent. I'm sorry.
0:32No, no, no. It actually sounded like you were an airplane.
0:35Oh, no. It's hospital, so I'm in the basement in the operating rooms.
0:39It's kind of my only choice these days.
0:41Is this number okay for you, or do you have a minute?
0:44Yeah, I'm wondering if you and I could talk either this evening.
0:58Of course. You know, whatever I can do, I have to be off the record, unfortunately.
1:05And, you know, I don't know how to best help you and support you.
1:10I'm sure that you have plenty to say about Jim.
1:14But I'll do everything I can to help support you and your story.
1:19I know you need to do your very best to talk about Jim's transition and whatever I can do.
1:26But like I said, it really has to be off the record.
1:29I understand. I understand.
1:31If you want to send me any, just because I'll be in surgeries for a couple hours plus minus,
1:39and then Lord knows because I'm on call, you can send me stuff via e-mail,
1:44except I don't use my AOL very much.
1:47I'm always worried it's going to go out of business, and so I never check it.
1:52But I can give you my gmail.
1:58It's the same first part.
1:59It's just at gmail.com.
2:01And I check that as best.
2:04Yeah, and feel free to e-mail any time, and just know I'm in the OR.
2:08I mean, the other thing I have is a pager.
2:10I know that's kind of 1980s, but you can, you know, happy to give you that, too.
2:16And so if you can think of any questions, and if you have, you know, situations that you're thinking about
2:24or others that I may be able to provide some background or off-the-record comments
2:30or link you with people who may know things better than me, I'm happy to try.
2:39Well, I really appreciate that.
2:40It took so long to get back to me.
2:43The e-mails that you sent, hilarious.
2:47My university e-mails go to the patient coordinator.
2:50And so, like on Thursday, she's like, oh, you have a couple of e-mails from someone at Yahoo.
2:55And I said, oh, my God, thank you for telling me a week later.
3:03I just, I'm kind of not in the, you know, real world these days.
3:08Don't mean to any delays.
3:09I'm sure you're working against some kind of deadline.
3:11But later this evening is fine, or you can e-mail me, and I'll try my best to be back, you know, between cases as best I can.
3:21Oh, that's very, I really appreciate that.
3:24Like I said, it's going to make me, it's just going to make the story about much more.
3:30What you don't mind is I'll text you back all for that at a time.
3:51I can do, if it helps you, the hospital, it's, I mean, I just have to call the operator or whatever.
3:56But I can get a recorded line and then just send you the, they can, it's a file, and then they send it to me.
4:03And I can e-mail it to you if you want to do that.
4:06It's like a phone call recording, but if that's helpful.
4:10Yeah, that'll, you know, that'll work.
4:16Because all of our hospital phones, best I understand, I mean, all the ones down here in the operating room,
4:20because frequently we have to talk to families and things.
4:24And so I can easily have a recorded, they don't listen or anything.
4:27They just, it's a recorded line, and then they send me a file, and I can do whatever I want with it.
4:32So happy to try that if you want, if that makes it a little easier for you.
4:36Yeah, I think, I think, you know, yeah, let me think about that.
4:41I have no, no issue with it.
4:42It may, it may be superfluous.
4:45I think, I think that, I think that would be good.
4:49Let me, let me let you get back to work.
4:52It sounds like you, you have, you have some, uh...
4:55Yeah, at nine, I've got to start, but...
4:59Yeah, I mean, I, good Lord, I don't even know what that man's up to,
5:21and I can't even guess what you have for all of the things he's done since I've not, you know, been involved in the bank.
5:27But I know from the two or three years that I was there, you know, wasn't easy, for sure, wasn't easy on me.
5:33But, um, however I can help, I, you know, I appreciate the factual nature of things,
5:38and I know when you're a reporter, you've got to make sure you have all the facts.
5:42But I, I do know there are a number of people out there that, um, are good at factual and high integrity
5:49that may be able to also help you.
5:51So, um, my, just tell me, repeat my email back to me.
5:56That way I know I don't want to, I don't want to get, uh, wires crossed.
6:01Just, it's... like my name with an...
6:04...for email, maybe I would even do both, and thank you again.
6:11I very much appreciate, um, you're getting back to me.
6:14Yeah, of course. All of my, anything that I would call you from here in Seattle would be a 206 area code,
6:20and if it's 744, which it probably will be, it means I'm just at some stupid hospital station phone,
6:26so, um, wandering around.
6:29I don't want to take up too much of your time, but really do...
6:31...fully appreciate you getting back to me.