http://storycorps.org/listen/reginald-mason/
Reginald Mason tells the story of his life growing up with no father, where his mother was left to raise him, feed him, and prepare him for a world that would not do him any favors, alone. Sometimes, that meant that luxuries like lights and heat and new clothes had to be sacrificed. He points out that she was very strict, and did not even say 'I love you' until he was 35 years old, but also recognizes that it was what she needed to do to prepare him for the real world.
Possible questions:
What was your home like growing up in your home?
What was your mother's approach to raising you alone?
Did other children at school ever say anything about your situation?
What was the hardest part of growing up?
How was your relationship with your mother different in later years?
1. The story begins with Mr. Mason establishing what it was like in his home growing up. He says, "I remember many months with no lights."
2. Detailing his fathers death, he explains that his mother took upon herself the responsibility of making him a man, as well as keeping a roof over his head.This explains why she was so strict as a parent, and did not even tell him she loved him until he was 35.
3. Reginald tells of other children picking on him and joking about his misfortune, showing that even in a low-income community, he and his mother were considered poor. If their situation didn't sink in when he said they had to go several months without lights, it certainly did here.
4. He talks about watching his mother struggle to make ends meet, doing jobs that were slowly destroying her body, and recalls his desire to lighten the load by making 'fast money' hustling, and how his mother would have been outraged if she'd seen him in that line of work. This shows that, despite her tough approach, she's still a dedicated mother who would never let her son take the wrong path in life.
5. Reginald tells a story of several years later, when he visited his mother in a nursing home and told her that he had gotten a promotion at work and she smiled and said, "It was all worth it." This shows that through all the tough times, all she had on her mind was giving him a better life. When she acted strict or harsh, it was only to give him a chance at a better life than she had, and that is all any parent ever wants for their child.
http://storycorps.org/listen/harvey-hilbert/
Harvey Hillbert recalls an experience he had during the Vietnam War, in which he was wounded and faced certain death. He describes in gruesome detail the sounds of a man dying slowly somewhere in the jungle as he struggles to stay awake with a bullet in his head.
Hillbert's story makes apparent the horrors of war, the ugly truth of what it's like to take a life, and to see lives taken around you, and what effect it leaves on a veteran. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in a relatively peaceful part of the world. It makes me see what a tremendous debt I and every other man and woman owe to those who have endured the true hardships of war.
Possible questions:
Which memory of your time in the war has stuck with you the most?
Could you tell who was running towards you?
Were you fully conscious after being shot?
What was it like to try and remain calm with such an injury?
What was your most endearing memory of that day?
1. The use of military terminology makes the story seem more grounded, more deeply in his perspective.
2. Describing the man he saw go out into the jungle for the listing post and how familiar he was establishes the person more effectively than simply saying, "Another soldier went out into the jungle."
3. The long sigh just as he begins to delve into the attack builds a dramatic pause and allows the listener to build up an idea in their minds of the severity of what they are about to be told.
4. Hillbert claims that he couldn't tell which side was coming at him in that moment, all he knew was that there were men with rifles and machine gun fire coming his way. This gives the listener a glimpse into the confusion and shock that accompanies such an event, especially when it first begins.
5. When Hillbert fired at the oncoming troops, he said that a man fell to the ground, screaming in pain, and he recognized him as someone he had met. The slight quiver in his voice once again increases the intensity of the story.
6. He details the experience of lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head, listening as the man he shot screams in agony. He says that despite all the years that have past, he can still recall the young man's face, the color of his skin, and his cries. The last line leaves an appropriate impact: "There's a legacy of war that lasts forever."
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