[SOUND OF A BUTTON BEING PRESSED, BEEP SOUND]

Louise Buck: Hi, my name is Louise Buck and I live in San Diego. And I’m a great grandmother. I just had to call in and tell you how much I liked this season, and I loved it. I love StoryCorps. I look forward to it. [MUSIC FADES IN] I think it’s something that holds everybody in the country together and God knows we need it. So thanks, and have a great weekend. Bye.

Jasmyn Morris (JM): Hey listeners. We’re hard at work on new stories right now, but this week we have a little surprise for you.

This past season….at the end of every episode… we asked you a question… and invited you to share your answers by calling 702-706-TALK. And wow, a lot of you called in.

So this week, we’re going to step outside the booth and hand the mic to you… our listeners.

I’m Jasmyn Morris… and this is the StoryCorps Podcast from NPR. 

[MUSIC END]

Now, let me just hit play here on our voicemail… 

[CLICK]

Max Jungreis (MJ): You’ve reached the voicemail for The StoryCorps Podcast. We’re so glad you called! Our most recent episode was about Nick Tucci, who as a little boy in 1964 ran away to the New York World’s fair and lived there for eleven days. We asked you: What’s a family legend you thought was too good to be true?

[BEEP]

Tyler Johnson: Hi, my name is Tyler Johnson, and I am from Tucson, Arizona. My great-grandmother and great-grandfather, they were ranchers in Southern New Mexico and they lived there their entire lives out near the town of Las Cruces. They told us that in 1945, they had got in the family car and driven to a town near the border of Arizona, and they had to stop for the night. They couldn’t get a hotel, so they slept in their car on the side of the road. 

Early the next morning, they were awoken by a bright flash. And that bright flash turned out to be the Trinity test, the first atomic bomb ever tested at White Sands. And they just happened to witness it in their car.

To this day, I don’t know if it was true or not, but my great-grandparents were very wonderful people and they experienced a lot in their lives, so I wouldn’t put it past them to have witnessed the very first atomic bomb. Thank you StoryCorps for all you do. And I wish you a good day.

[BEEP]

Jennifer Fenton: My name is Jennifer Fenton. I’m calling from Westerville, Ohio. My dad was a really interesting character and had a lot of tall tales.

One story, that was my ultimate favorite, is that he got a job as an ironworker. And I guess back in the day, that was an incredibly well-paying job, but he was in high school, and rather than quit the job, he decided to pay some 21-year-old that he had met at a bar to go playing the part of my father at the school. 

And so I guess this was going well for the school year. Until one day, the adult was caught cheating on a test and was pulled into the principal’s office. And when my dad’s dad came in to pick him up and see what was going on, my grandfather was like, “That’s not my son.” Um (laughs) and, uh, that’s the story of how my dad got a GED rather than a high school diploma. And how much of it’s true. I would really love to know. I feel like it could be 50-50, to be honest with you,

[MUSIC FADE IN]

MJ: Another episode this season was about Howie Gordon, a retired pornstar talking to his son Bobby about how his greatest role was as a father. And after that episode, we asked: What was your birds and the bees talk like?

[BEEP]

Anita Mitchell: Hi, my name is Anita Mitchell. I’m from Westfield, Massachusetts. When I was, I don’t know, maybe 12 or 14, my father called me in the living room and handed me two books. They were from his time in the Army, and they were entitled, Father Talks to Son. Well the books were filled with horrific pictures of various venereal diseases. Needless to say, I did not ask any questions afterwards. It’s a wonder I ever had sex and had children because I was so mortified by the pictures in the book.

Nonetheless, I did grow up to be pretty open about sex and my son always says that if any of his friends at school had questions about different sex related issues. He’d say just ask me a question and I’ll go home and ask my mom because she’ll be sure to give me the answer.

[BEEP]

Molly Clark:  Hi StoryCorps, my name is Molly Clark. I am calling from Houghton Lake, Michigan.

So I am a family nurse practitioner, which is ironic for how simple my birds and the bees talk went. Uh, when I was in high school, my mom came to me and said, “You know, Molly, the women in our family, including you, have really good plumbing. So if you have sex and don’t use a condom or use birth control, you will get pregnant.” And that was about the extent of it. Um, but thanks for, uh, having this line open for us listeners to share. Cheers, guys. 

MJ: Our episode ”Nothing Left to Say” told the story of Jackie Miller, who decided to end her life on her own terms. So we asked: What’s the hardest thing you had to do for someone you loved?

[BEEP]

Georgia Lipari: Hi there. My name is Georgia Lippari. 

My grandma died and it was a very slow, but very beautiful death. She was surrounded by all six of her children, one of them being my mom. Losing her was very difficult, but the hardest part was watching my mom go through it. You have to watch your parents turn into a child. Suddenly they’re not your mom anymore. You can’t do anything but love and support throughout that grief. I think that’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do for a loved one.

Thank you StoryCorps for everything that you are and do.

[MUSIC]

MJ: In “Peter and the Wolf,” we told you about a man who was incredibly close… with a wolf. We wanted to know, who was your Peter? The animal you were closest to?

[BEEP]

Jorge Abreu: My name is Jorge Abreu and I’m calling from Little Bern, Georgia, near Atlanta. I just heard the podcast about Peter the Wolf. It made me think of, uh, my dog  Lupita. Lupita was a blue heeler, an Australian cattle dog. My wife and, uh, I rescued her from a family that was on the way to take her to the pound.

She was just a great presence in our lives. She was just everybody’s friend. Lupita lived 11 years, and I  just enjoyed her so much. Thank you. I sure enjoy your podcast. 

[BEEP]

Tyler Andrew Brazier: My name is Tyler Andrew Brasier. I’m calling from jail in Kent, Washington. And my Peter the Wolf was the family sheltie that was my best friend when I was recovering after getting attacked, homeless on the street. Thank you. Have a great day and I love your guys’ stories. 

Phone Line: The caller has hung up.

[BEEP]

Luann Parmalee: My name is Luann Parmalee. I’m calling from West Palm Beach, Florida.

I had a Peter, but he was named Rebel. He was my horse. And this was in the 70s. I grew up in a household that wasn’t very happy. We lived out in the country, and I took care of all the horses. We did not have much money. That made things worse at home, and my parents did not know how to express love. And some may say there was abuse there.

And I always wanted a horse. I was about 13 when I got Rebel. I spent a lot of time with him. I rode him through the trails. I got away from the house where, like I said, there…it was not a happy place. But Rebel was my saving grace.

Uh, I had Rebel about three years and I turned 16. All of a sudden my dad said, “Saddle him up. We’re giving him away.” I’m like, “What?” And, nothing was said, no explanation. And I had to ride him several miles to a meeting place to give him up. And I was just heartbroken. And I’m getting teary eyed now thinking about it. I think it scarred me for life. Um…

I figured out later in life that he owed a bill to my doctor he couldn’t pay, so he traded the horse. But he didn’t give away his horse.

[MUSIC FADES IN]

As I got older, I would drive through town looking for him. And I would see a horse off in the distance, but I wasn’t sure it was Rebel. And, you know, I didn’t know what to do.

I hope that Rebel had a long life and died being loved. But to this day, you know, I keep thinking–and it sounds silly–I wonder if I’ll ever see him in heaven.

[SOUND OF PHONE HANGING UP]

JM: That’s all for this special episode. 

Thanks to everyone who called in. We got so many voicemails that we couldn’t share them all in one episode. But we do listen to every message… and we appreciate each one.

So please keep them coming. Leave a voicemail for us anytime at 702-706-TALK. 

And what’s a conversation you wish you could have with someone? What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you? Or just… is there anything you really want to tell us?

That number again is 702-706-TALK.

This episode was produced by Max Jungreis. Jud Esty-Kendall is our Senior Producer. Our Technical Director is Jarrett Floyd. Amy Drozdowska is our Executive Producer. The art for this season was created by Liz McCarty. I’m Jasmyn Morris. Thanks so much for listening.