Your Story - Richard Watson

Thursday, March 22 2007 | Send to a friend

Your Story - Richard Watson

Richard Watson

Richard Watson called in to tell us a story from his time serving in Vietnam.  He was a "forward observer" during the war, which meant he was in charge of directing his troops safely from one point to another. One day, he nearly directed his troops right into a bluebird's nest. He still treasures the memory of how he and the troops in the battlefield skirted around the nest.

Close Call

Monday, March 12 2007 | Send to a friend

CLOSE CALL

Susan Barber

Regular listeners to the program will know that Dick often asks for stories from listeners. Susan Barber emailed us with her story: dining in a restaurant 3 years ago, eating pizza with her husband, as she had at the same venue two weeks prior. She began to feel itchy, and her throat got sore.

This was no gentle awakening. It was full-blown anaphylaxis; a scream-in-the-ear assault on my body with a deadly weapon: food.
-Susan Barber

Susan survived her ordeal, but found that many restaurants don't really cater to the 12 million Americans with food allergies.  Susan now travels "self-contained" as she puts it, with her own food. She tells Dick that her sense of smell has intensified now that there are so many food items she can no longer eat. Walking down a street in Manhattan, she says, and catching the scent of restaurants and markets can actually make her feel full!

• Read Susan's original e-mail to us (includes a recipe!)
  
• Learn more about food allergies

Music heard in this story: La Golandrina (Italian Traditional) by Blue Mountains Trio for the album Music for Grand Dining

Your Story - Brush with Fame - Eric Larson

Friday, March 09 2007 | Send to a friend

YOUR STORY - BRUSH WITH FAME - ERIC LARSON

Eric was visiting London in 1991. On the morning he was to return, he got mixed up on the switchover to daylight savings time. As soon as he got to the airport, he butted in to the front of the line. The woman behind him protested. Then it slowly dawned on him that she was the famous anthropologist, Jane Goodall.  That encounter taught Eric something about what success in life really means.

Your Story - Near Miss - Zach Allen

Monday, March 05 2007 | Send to a friend

Your Story - Near Miss - Zach Allen

Zach Allen was featured on the very first Your Story, which we aired almost exactly one year ago. Zach was a lieutenant in the Navy when his story took place. It was early December, 1963. He was aboard a 120 foot minesweeper, leaving Guantanamo Bay for the US when his captain decided to head straight into an incredibly violent storm.  Zach's ship nearly capsized.

I went up on the bridge. The captain lay curled up on the bridge sucking his thumb.  I've never seen anything like it in my life: curled up in fetal position, sucking his thumb.
-Zach Allen

Your Story - Daniel Livingstone

Friday, March 02 2007 | Send to a friend

YOUR STORY - DANIEL LIVINGSTONE

Daniel Livingstone's story could be filed under the 'near miss' category. 

It was November, 1960. He was conducting field research in Africa with his work partner, Joe. They had to row out to the middle of a lake, to take soil samples from the lake bed. It should have been a routine day of work. But a crocodile had other ideas.

Music heard during the story: Ah les crocodiles by Chansons et comptines de notre enfance for the album Chansons et comptines de notre enfance

Your Story - Touched By Kindness - Halima Voyles

Thursday, March 01 2007 | Send to a friend

Your Story - Touched By Kindness - Halima Voyles

Halima Voyles with her daughter

Halima Voyles grew up in Pakistan, the daughter of a diplomat.

Last summer, she went back to one of her family's homes for a visit, and was disappointed in herself when she realized she couldn't remember any of the domestic staff's names.

But she'll never forget one staff member, the household driver, who showed her an incredible act of kindness that Halima continues to find both humbling and exemplary.

This is the shawl Halima was given

Your Story - Linda Powell

Tuesday, February 20 2007 | Send to a friend

Your Story - LINDA POWELL

Linda Powell

Linda Powell wrote to us about a moment which she says changed her life. She was living in a small town in Alaska. She was newly single, living away from her family, her children and her friends. She was about to turn 50 and felt invisible. She got depressed. But when she visited an elderly aunt, she discovered that her ancestors were among the original colonists, that they crossed America in wagon trains and served in two world wars.

It gave me a different perspective because I realized I came from strong stuff.  And I also thought they have come so far, I'm not going to drop the ball.  Obviously, my little problems in life are not nearly as difficult as [what] these other folks went through.
-Linda Powell