Our Stories

Here is another post from the United Way blog!

I love the stories from StoryCorps. Here are some of my favorites that I didn't have space for in my other post:

Watch the animation of this conversation here.




Watch the animation of this conversation here.







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I love these stories. I could listen to them all day.

Our Neighbors, Ourselves

Hi guys.

I've been listening to this cd in the car as I drive about.

Another D.I. find. Which is great, because apparently, they don't make this cd anymore.

It has stories by some of my favorites (Sarah Vowel!), with a good mix of funny and serious. First though, I have to say. I love Ira Glass; he's great. But when he narrates his own pieces? ...not my cup of tea. Just saying. I prefer him as in interviewer/moderator/host.

Than I came to this story.

The Test - Scott Carrier

You see, Scott is from Salt Lake City.

Here is a picture of him:

He just released a new book a couple months ago. I'm adding it to my Christmas wish list.

You can find out more about the book here.

Scott and I are similar. 

We are both Avenues dwellers.

We make sudden decisions in regards to our living space.

We are interested in interviewing people.

     Me as a former anthropology student / census enumerator / spanish speaker.

     Him as an anthropology documentar / government interviewer / radio personality.

In this story, he interviews Medicaid recipients with schizophrenia. 

It just about broke my heart. 

These are our people, you see.

They are our friends, family, neighbors.

They are our brothers; we are their keepers.

Literally.

Some of these things these people shared, I have heard my brother Christian say.

Christian has autism and obsessive compulsive disorder. He recognizes that he is different. He's created his own world for himself. I watch as he tries to draw us into his world and interests, while at the same time, struggles to understand the boundaries and expectations of the "real" world. 

Christian is also dependent on Medicaid.

Luckily for Christian, he also has a family that will always be there to support him. 

So many others do not have that luxury. 

You can see why this story broke my heart a little bit.

Anyway. 

I listened to this story in the car. I got home, but stayed sitting, in the cold, to hear the end. Oh yeah, and as Ira often says "This story mentions sex. Not in any graphic way, but it's existence. So if there are kids in the room, you might want to know that."

For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.

The above post title is what Hemingway considered to be his best short story. Quite concise. And sad. I guess. Depending on how you look at it.

I started looking for more short stories on the internet, and found these:

"Goose Egg" by Jim Phelps
The townsfolk kept glaring angrily at Jack as they discussed what to do with 1200 pounds of rotting giant.

"Persepctive" by Vijayendra Mohanty
He bested the heroes, killed the defenders, overtook the world. Then he killed the narrator and he was the villain no more.

"The Boatman" by Chris Worth
"I can't see," complained the man.
"That's because of the pennies on your eyes," said the boatman.

I really like this super short story by Augusto Monterroso. Carlos Fuentes described him like this: "Imagine Borges' fantastical bestiary having tea with Alice. Imagine Jonathan Swift and James Thurber exchangning note. Imagine a frog from Calaveras County who seriously read Mark Twain. Meet Monterroso." AWESOME. Sounds like a good guy.
Here is his story, entitled, "El Dinosaurio":

"Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí."

This one is known as the world's shortest horror story. Frederic Brown's "Knock":

      "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..."

But I don't think you can find a more succinct and touching story than the shortest/longest story of all:

Jesus wept.

- John 11:35

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AXOLOTL

We read this for my Spanish literature class last week. I like it. "But don't take my word for it!" Read it, it's short:



You may be wondering what these creatures are. Well, they are the coolest things ever. I totally understand the narrators motivation to stare at them all day.



And here is a baby one!



I love them, and I want one. Imagine waking up every morning and seeing this:



Can't imagine anything better.



I am an axolotl.

P.S. I just realized that googlebooks cuts out two pages of the story. "To find out more, visit your local library!" Or, if you would like to read the missing parts, feel free to find me and borrow my copy. But it is in espanol. "See you next time!"