223: Ross was shot while sleeping

223: Ross was shot while sleeping

Author: Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media. July 18, 2025 Duration: 1:37:08
In an ideal world, children should be able to trust their parents. After all, it’s the grown-ups in the family who are responsible for the kids. No child should ever have to worry about safety when mom and dad are around for protection - in an ideal world.   That’s the world Ross thought he was living in when he was 8 years old, with his older brother Ryan, who was 10. They were happy kids with no reason to be afraid. Until one night at their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, when his mother told his father she wanted a divorce. That’s when something snapped in Ross’s dad’s mind, and he got a gun, and forever changed the history of their family.   This is a Flashback episode. Ross was 21 when we first had this conversation, and he’s permanently blind. At the time, he was training to swim in the Summer 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.   Now he’s 27, and I spoke with him again recently, so you’ll be able to learn what’s happened in his life since he originally appeared on the podcast, and what his plans are for the future. Ross is a pretty amazing young man and I think you’ll enjoy this episode.   If you’d like to contact Ross: Instagram: @RossMinorOfficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlindRossMinor Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/rossminor   Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/223   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   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a moment in many lives when everything changes in an instant-a sudden encounter, a split-second decision, a catastrophic event. What Was That Like-True Stories. Real People. is built entirely around those moments. Host Scott Johnson, alongside Meredith Hackwith Edwards, steps back to let people narrate their own extraordinary experiences in their own words. This isn’t a narrated documentary or a dramatized re-enactment; it’s raw, first-person testimony. You’ll hear the intricate details of surviving a grizzly bear attack, the chilling silence after an engine fails mid-flight, or the profound disorientation of being caught in a public tragedy. Each conversation delves deep, not just into the event itself, but into the emotional and psychological journey that followed. The focus is on the human spirit’s resilience, exploring how individuals process trauma, find courage they never knew they had, and ultimately rebuild. This podcast sits at a compelling intersection of personal journal, societal study, and true human drama, offering an intimate window into realities most of us can scarcely imagine. By listening, you’re granted a privileged seat at a kitchen table conversation where someone is finally ready to share the full, unvarnished truth of what they endured and how it shaped them.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.
Podcast Episodes
213: Gwen's grandma fired one shot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:03
When you hear the word “grandparents”, what comes into your mind? For me, it’s someone who loves their grandchildren unconditionally. And they just want to GIVE all the time. There’s some truth to the phrase “If Mom and…
TQ35: What's the most difficult thing you've ever had to tell someone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:48
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What's the most difficult thing you'…
212: Steve's wife forgot it all [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:04
If you’re a parent, you know that the birth of your first child is an incredible experience. For Steve and Camre, it didn’t happen at all the way they expected it to. Steve got the call at work that Camre was at the hosp…
211: Leilani fell off an elephant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:12
Asian elephants are incredibly huge animals. An adult elephant can be roughly 9 to 11 feet tall. Just standing next to one is pretty intimidating. But imagine being on top of one of them. It would be like if you had an a…
TQ34: What made your neighbor so terrible? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:35
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What made your neighbor so terrible?…
STAS 2: Floyd Collins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:34
Floyd loved exploring the caves of Kentucky, but one day things didn’t go as planned. 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…
210: Tiffany had a fake landlord [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:06
The thing about living in an apartment or renting a room is… you have to deal with other people. Depending on how the building is laid out, it’s almost like living with strangers. If your next door neighbor accidentally…
209: Kevin did CPR on the golf course [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
Imagine you’re out in public, just going about your day. Let’s say you’re in the grocery store. And as you’re pushing your shopping cart down the aisle, you notice a tall man, maybe 10 feet ahead of you, looking at the i…
208: Carly saved her neighbor's life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:10
I’ve had more than 200 people come on this podcast and share a story of something crazy that they’ve been through. If nothing else, I’ve learned one thing. Life can change in an instant. For Dan, he’s just enjoying the o…