"A Reason to Smile"

 “You won me over with your way of kissing and the way you hold me when we dance. You’re not a fantastic dancer, but you hold me fantastically…” –Hunny, to Elliot, her husband of 60+ years.

This is just a delightful episode of the StoryCorps podcast. Really hit the spot at the end of the day. 

Ruth

24 July 2017: "I used to wonder what on earth I was going to do with my 262 plots my mother left me. I didn't have to wonder long." --Ruth Coker Burks, in the short film you can watch here.

I first heard about Burks in this StoryCorps piece. She's a remarkable woman and a model for us all.

"The Human Voice"

30 May 2017: "So I say 'Sir or Madam' to the baby, 'What is your opinion of the human species?' Well what does a baby do? Baby starts giggling! I say, 'Thank God for the sound of a human voice!'" --Studs Terkel in a StoryCorps interview.

"Tough Mother"

12 May 2017: "We never say we love you. We expect you to see it through our actions. But I'm learning. When I go away from this life, I want you to remember my love for you. That's all." --a mother on StoryCorps. This one (like so many episodes) got to me--tears in the kitchen as I listened.

Plan Be

8 April 2017: "Everything that we had planned last year and having to cancel so much--it became like Plan B, right? And then I realized one day, 'Oh, it's actually the word BE. It's Plan Be. Just be.' And somehow...that just helped."

This insight from Rosenthal, shared during a StoryCorps interview with her daughter, just floored me. What a beautiful and poignant insight, especially moving because she is talking about the return of her cancer, a cancer that recently took her life. What an amazing woman. Listen to the entire interview here and follow the links in the article, too.

Ten Years of Storycorps Griot

4 March 2017: "I think I take you for a bunch of reasons. One is so that you can see what it looks like when people come together. But also that you understand that it's not just about people that are familiar to you but it's about everybody....If you decide to be a cab driver, then you've got to be the most impactful cab driver that you can possibly be." --Albert Sykes, to his son Aidan Sykes, after Aidan asked "Why do you take me to so many protests?"

This Storycorps interview had me laughing, smiling, and tearing up while I listened to it on my walk today. It is part of a larger episode celebrating ten years of Storycorps' collaboration with Griot. Give the whole thing a listen. It's so worth it.

Albert & Aiden Sykes from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

"We came through."

22 January 2017: "You know, if you bend your back, people will ride your back. But if you stand up straight, people can’t ride your back. So that’s what we did. We just stood up straight and said, I am a man." --Taylor Rogers, an African-American sanitation worker on the 1968 strike in Memphis. Here him and his co-worker, Elmore Nickleberry, tell their story on this week's StoryCorps podcast.

"The Other Side"

7 November 2016: On the eve of tomorrow's election, I was so glad to listen to the latest StoryCorps podcast today. Featuring an honest and moving discussion between a father and daughter who disagree on all things political, it is well worth listening to. It gives me hope, if not for my interaction with some of my own family, at least for others and their families.

15 years...

11 September 2016: Words fail on days like today, but groups like StoryCorps do so much to help us remember the people who died and survived that day. Those stories are, indeed, good things that come out of darkness and evil. Even just scrolling down the list brings tears to my eyes. It's too much. And not enough. Father Michael Duffy's remembrance of Father Mychal Judge always stands out to me, as does Bill Cosgrove's story.

Yeah, I know...another podcast recommendation...

27 June 2016: Monday's good thing? It's gotta be this episode of the StoryCorps podcast. It made me cry, made me think, and made me smile.

Ten years...

I won't even try to write anything. I'll just link to this video courtesy of StoryCorps.

StoryCorps

Things have been busy (I know, I know, get a new tune, Heidi...) and sad and stressful around here the past couple of weeks. Nothing I can go into any details on, but needless to say, it's been tough. But you know what always makes me feel better--even as it makes me cry? The StoryCorps podcast. Ordinary people telling their stories to each other. It's just wonderful. This morning I actually re-listened to one of them (I've linked to it below) and it was just as good the second time. Check it out. You won't be disappointed. And maybe make a small donation to their fund?

Sharon DeLevie and her mother Joan