0:00

The moth is brought to you

0:02

by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever

0:04

find yourself playing the budgeting game?

0:07

Well, with the name-your-price tool from

0:09

Progressive, you can find options that

0:11

fit your budget and potentially lower

0:14

your bills. Try it at progressive.com.

0:16

Progressive Casual Insurance Company and affiliates.

0:18

Price and Coverage Match Limited by

0:21

state law. Not available in all

0:23

states. If you love iPhone, you

0:25

love Apple card. It comes with

0:28

the privacy and security you expect

0:30

from Apple. Plus, you'll earn up

0:32

to 3% daily cash back on

0:35

every purchase, which can automatically earn

0:37

interest when you open a high-yield

0:39

savings account through Apple card. Apply

0:42

for Apple card in the Wallet

0:44

app. Subject to credit approval. Savings

0:46

is available to Apple card owners

0:49

subject to eligibility. Apple card and

0:51

savings by Goldman Sachs Bank USA.

0:54

Salt Lake City Branch. Remember FDIC.

0:56

Terms and more at applecard.com. Hey

0:58

moth listeners, it's Leanne. You're about

1:01

to hear a great story, and

1:03

the reason why is because of

1:05

the direct support of listeners like

1:08

you. The moth is a non-profit.

1:10

While donations to partners like public

1:12

radio are important, we rely on

1:15

your generosity to bring stories and

1:17

storytellers all over the world from

1:19

Nebraska to Nairobi. Please consider donating

1:22

today by visiting the moth.org. or

1:24

texting give 24 to 78679. Thanks

1:26

for listening. From PRX, this is

1:29

the moth radio hour. I'm your

1:31

host, Chloe Salmon. To me, the

1:34

most beautiful thing is a simple

1:36

thing. The storyteller extends their hand

1:38

and says, I have something to

1:41

show you. And the listener takes

1:43

their hand and says, thank you,

1:45

I'll come and see. And suddenly

1:48

you can be whole

1:50

new world with

1:53

a generous guide

1:55

by your side. side.

1:57

So in So in

2:00

this episode, four

2:02

stories that take

2:04

place in peculiar,

2:07

mysterious, and wondrous new

2:10

worlds. First up is Amir Bogdachi,

2:12

who gives us who

2:14

gives us behind -the -scenes look at

2:16

what goes into creating a Halloween haunting.

2:18

He He told it at a

2:20

story slam in Ann Arbor where

2:22

we partner with Michigan Michigan Here's Amir,

2:24

live, live at the right,

2:27

I'm here. Okay,

2:30

listen, this is going be educational, OK?

2:33

be educational. Look, I don't know if I don't know

2:35

if you know this, but. are

2:37

the are the future. we have to

2:39

we have to teach them, we owe

2:41

it to them to teach them

2:43

facts, to teach them history. when I Which

2:45

is why when I was invited

2:47

to dress up as a mummy and

2:49

frighten some suburban school kids on

2:52

a on a haunted I put my foot

2:54

down. foot down. I was like, like, one. if

2:56

you consult the ancient Egyptian Egyptian tractors

2:58

is not something a mummy would

3:00

be into. a mummy would the opposite, the into.

3:02

papyri are pretty serene about this. are

3:04

pretty certain know, this. And gives these kids

3:06

a distorted sense of farm life,

3:08

right? And sense of hard

3:10

enough right? young people into agriculture,

3:12

right? Now they're young top of agriculture,

3:14

and droughts, there's the top to

3:16

worry about, beetles and droughts, Pa,

3:18

I'm going into social media,

3:21

right? right? No thanks, don't blame you,

3:23

into I don't blame you. right.

3:25

But my friends said there'd make some

3:27

compensation and... to the job

3:29

I had previously had cooking

3:31

at a was cooking I just

3:33

felt that my I needed something

3:35

a little more needed something a

3:37

right? more impressive, right? They'd be and moaning.

3:40

ride very nice. and moaning. Very nice. So

3:42

I go to my friend's

3:44

house to get the costume

3:46

going. And this costume

3:48

consisted of three things. of three

3:50

things. Some underwear. Some

3:52

bandages. And there was no

3:55

third thing. Just underwear and bandages. for

3:57

a And for a second I thought, you know, should

3:59

I wear a shoe? Should I I have a

4:01

phone? I have a wallet? But But the

4:03

are pretty straight mummies did not have

4:05

those things, did not have just that Right? So

4:07

it's just that. was a was a

4:09

a few nights before before Halloween. And

4:11

I I was driven deep

4:13

into one of those endless

4:16

winding subdivisions and dropped off dropped

4:18

off. And they they told me they

4:20

know they OK, just wait by

4:22

this mailbox And when the tractor comes up,

4:24

comes up, only the kids

4:26

out out and scare them. Like, okay,

4:28

so I'm just waiting just waiting there,

4:30

I'm just trying to act

4:32

casual. but it's just easy, because it's

4:35

not even Halloween yet, right? On On Halloween,

4:37

you can be like, be look, honey,

4:39

there's honey, by our mailbox, hi! But

4:41

it's just a regular Tuesday, a right?

4:43

I'm just trying to blend in to

4:45

blend in, your mail. good. your

4:47

mail, looks good. It's just, it's not. it's

4:50

not, so then I see the I see

4:52

the tractor rumbling up the street street.

4:54

there are the kids the on bales

4:56

of straw on in

4:58

costume straw, and they're in

5:01

costume with and I jump out

5:03

and I start following them and

5:05

I go and nunjucks. And

5:07

I and the kids

5:09

and I start Then I

5:11

them. going to get you, and

5:13

the kids shriek. Okay? And then

5:15

I go, I'm going to eat

5:18

your face. face! And the kids go

5:20

quiet. Like, I crossed

5:22

a the line there even like eat

5:24

your face. Is that Is where

5:26

did that come from? Is that is

5:28

that, where I miss some sort of

5:30

haunted hayride Is that we like brought

5:32

up issues of heightened some sort of haunted

5:34

did that come from in me

5:37

or would Then it happened. brought The

5:39

tractor begins to pick up speed, but this

5:41

one kid, he was a pirate with

5:43

a sword, I just the where get him!

5:45

And the kid jumps off

5:47

the moving tractor! Right? And

5:49

one after the other, the kids are

5:51

jumping off! They're going, let's get let's

5:54

get on, just Into the pavement! the Picking

5:56

themselves up, screaming and chasing after me!

5:58

after me. I just start running! running, right? And

6:00

I mean enough to this point I had been

6:02

trying to walk in a kind of historically

6:04

authentic manner just kind of clump clump clump But

6:06

at this point, you know, of

6:08

be damned. I am booking,

6:10

right? this point, you know, papieri be children, they

6:12

were not sweet kids. Like

6:14

these children were out to kill.

6:17

they were not sweet just running. children were out

6:19

to stumbling through so I'm and running, like,

6:21

through some little swampy bits in

6:23

a cul -de -sac. and

6:25

finally I escape at are

6:27

tearing, swampy and it in me. I

6:30

I have no idea where I am,

6:32

right? I've got no phone, no wallet. And

6:34

then, then up the street, this this door

6:36

opens, front door opens, I see some

6:38

kids and I just hurl myself at

6:40

them and I just hurl myself out

6:42

and go, hey, hey, stay away

6:45

from me! And the kids are

6:47

like, Mommy! And Let me, I'm

6:49

come eat your face, me, I'm it's

6:51

not good. to eat your face. It's I

6:53

can't ask for help in

6:55

this costume, like I've got a

6:57

change, like, I which immediately a

6:59

really important question. question,

7:01

of these things as a parent

7:03

are you more afraid of? afraid A mummy

7:06

through the streets at night, at

7:08

or a half naked middle aged

7:10

weirdo just jamming his underpants. And

7:12

to be be honest, know,

7:14

toss toss up. The papari not you

7:16

know, conclusive here. I went with with

7:19

just keeping the bandages. finally, I,

7:21

after wandering, I I I limped I found the

7:23

jeep with my friend. and... They

7:25

was parked with all these other these other and

7:27

the headlights were on and the were on, the

7:29

flashlights were out, did you hear what happened? hear what

7:31

of the kids jumped off the jumped they

7:33

just ran off. We don't even know

7:36

where some of them are. of them are. What could have

7:38

made that happen? And I was like,

7:40

I have no idea. I'm going to tell is awful.

7:42

do. I'm going to get in the you what I'm gonna

7:44

do. I'm gonna get in the car

7:46

right now and I'm just going to go. I'm just going

7:48

to go. I'm just going to here is basically done go.

7:51

I'm just going to go. And a a few days later

7:53

got the compensation, and it it turned out to be

7:55

a gift certificate for, I'm

7:57

not making this up, not making this up,

7:59

for chilies. Which? Which is

8:01

pretty scary, right?

8:04

Thanks. That was Amir Bekkachi.

8:06

Amir is a Michigan-based manager

8:08

for grassroots That

8:11

was Amir A Amir

8:13

is a Michigan -based manager for

8:15

grassroots political campaigns. should A

8:17

believer that to like

8:19

medical doctoring, should be available to

8:21

everyone. way He helps listeners talk their

8:23

way out of tricky situations on

8:25

his podcast, pickles with Amir Bagdachi. Amir

8:28

says that he's let himself be

8:31

talked into wearing costumes for even

8:33

more events over the years, though

8:35

he has also doubled down on

8:37

taking the roles just a bit

8:39

too he has also He's not always down

8:41

on taking the see some photos

8:43

of a Halloween costumes over the

8:45

years, So head over to

8:47

themoth .org. back. To see

8:50

some photos of Amir's

8:52

Halloween Our next storyteller

8:54

comes to us from the professional

8:56

side of the stethoscope and the medical

8:58

world beyond it. beyond Michael Maynard

9:00

told his story at a main

9:02

stage in Johannesburg, South Africa. Here's

9:05

Michael. Here's Michael. I

9:07

had just finished my medical

9:09

school and I was excited.

9:11

I was had just finished my medical school and

9:13

I was excited. I was

9:15

passionate about sexual was health rights. the

9:17

next was eager to take the next step. which

9:20

was maternal mortality. the area In

9:23

the the area with the

9:25

highest maternal mortality is Northeastern. It's

9:27

in in the northeastern

9:29

part part a town called have

9:31

They have 641 maternal deaths per

9:33

100,000 live parts. In In

9:35

perspective, SDG The SDG

9:38

target is That's almost nine

9:40

That's almost nine times

9:42

more. a difference and I I wanted

9:44

to make a difference. it. I told my and I felt

9:46

I could do it. to do my told my

9:48

friends I want to do my internship They all tried

9:50

to dissuade me. to dissuade me. it's

9:52

not safe though the to see if those are

9:54

teres that that act there. I was like, 10

9:56

years ago, it's been been tip

9:58

since. Did you tell told me a... hardship

10:00

area. You'll struggle. struggle,

10:03

a hardship allowance, a more money

10:05

for me. allowance, more money for me. One

10:07

friend told me, if the

10:09

government decides to pay you

10:11

more money, to pay more money, you'll walk

10:13

for it I wasn't dissuaded and

10:15

I followed my passion. passion.

10:17

I went to to Garissa. I I

10:19

alighted the bus and was met

10:21

with scorching heat. I was

10:23

sweating all over. over. It It

10:26

was sandy and desert -like. I

10:29

went to the restaurant, had a

10:31

good meal, I enjoyed the cuisine.

10:33

had a drink, had and I

10:35

talked to the people around. the Lovely,

10:37

I love the culture, the tried

10:39

at home. right But I was nervous

10:41

about nervous about My first day I

10:43

got in, in the the medical officer

10:45

was was overseeing me, welcomed me

10:47

so warmly with open arms. He He

10:49

took me around for the the war

10:51

showed me each patient one by

10:54

one. He explained everything, and

10:56

and whenever I never knew a question, he

10:58

patiently explained it. explained it.

11:01

I felt felt excited. At 11

11:03

a.m. he a .m. In he left. 3

11:06

p.m. the afternoon, nurse, p .m. the

11:08

the nurse, going the doctor tells me he

11:10

has She tells me as has

11:12

been working as the only doctor

11:14

for three months in this

11:16

department. in Monday to Sunday, 8

11:18

a .m. to 8 a .m. a.m. My arrival

11:20

signified his chance to rest. to

11:22

rest. Later that that night I called

11:24

for a consult and he

11:27

told me, me, you've been to

11:29

school been to been to school. I

11:31

believe in to school. I a

11:33

way. you, just you'll find a way. The next

11:35

two weeks, next two weeks 20

11:37

was a day on hours a

11:39

day on him by baptism

11:41

by most of my time in I

11:43

spent most of my time in hospital with

11:45

interacted with In particular, those In

11:48

particular there was a cleaning

11:50

lady named She was She was

11:52

always nice, she we and we

11:54

always made chit-shot. I went

11:56

to my next rotation, is is

11:58

department. department. birth was a

12:00

a communal event. were

12:03

beside the bed. So when when you're trying

12:05

to get intravenous access, pricking and missing

12:07

the vein, and they're all looking at you

12:09

with bad eyes all looking at you with bad doctor

12:11

even go to school? did this don't even go to

12:13

school? Our Kenya Medical gives you a logbook that

12:15

you need to fill in three months.

12:17

need I saw so many emergencies, I three

12:20

I saw so two weeks. I filled

12:22

it, two weeks. Yeah. So at this point,

12:24

my mana, I had I had taken

12:26

it aside. I I just wanted to

12:28

clear the the words. Just at the.

12:30

The at the charts, diagnosis, they give back, go

12:32

home, go home. go home, go home. After

12:34

After my internship, I was

12:36

absorbed to the hospital the I

12:38

was a medical officer in the

12:40

maternity department. in the Our consultant

12:42

told me my responsibilities had increased.

12:44

told me He told me everything

12:46

good that happens in the world

12:48

is my doing, me everything bad,

12:50

that my fault, pressure.

12:53

bad, my One weekend One was

12:56

left alone to do a 72

12:58

a shift. shift. My colleagues and Lakes and had traveled for

13:00

a a conference, and so they so they left the

13:02

department in my hands. the end of the shift, I was so

13:04

At the end of the shift, in bed. I

13:07

I was so the and went and collapsed in

13:09

bed. I get another call from the then get a

13:11

call from the hospital. tells me, my call we have an emergency

13:13

hung up I'm not on call, call the doctor who's supposed to

13:15

call from the me he's not of the

13:17

He'll be late. He's in a bus. He's tells me, bus.

13:19

He's in a bus. He's in a bus. have an

13:21

emergency in a I say in a not on

13:23

in a bus. He's the doctor in a supposed

13:25

to cover. He's in a bus. She tells me

13:27

in not He's yet, He's in he'll be in

13:29

a he's in a bus. He's in a bus

13:31

Please come, run, please, please, thank you I I

13:33

can even argue. So I'm angry, cranky, I walk to

13:35

the ward I walk to the ward when

13:37

I get in and when I get in

13:39

there, a huge there's a huge commotion. on

13:42

one is on one side arguing with relatives

13:44

on the other side. the I just want to

13:46

tell everyone to shut up. tell So

13:49

I walk towards them and towards

13:51

them, and as I'm the floor is

13:53

wet. that I look down, I look

13:55

down, off blood. blood. I look

13:57

towards it and I see a trail

13:59

towards the pet. snap into action. I

14:01

go there. These are very

14:03

sick patient. She's a pregnant

14:05

lady whose deathly pale is

14:07

being transfused two units of

14:09

blood at the same time,

14:11

one on each arm. I

14:13

take my speculum and examine.

14:16

I have never seen that

14:18

much blood from a pregnant

14:20

woman. I immediately

14:22

say we have to go to

14:24

theater and tell the nurses to give

14:26

me the forms for consent and

14:28

a theater list. As soon as her

14:30

mother heard the words section, the

14:32

patient's mother said, what do you want

14:34

to do to my daughter? You

14:37

want to take her there to butcher

14:39

her? I

14:41

was tired so ignored her and

14:43

focused on the patient. I told

14:45

her her condition is placenta preview.

14:47

So that means her placenta was

14:49

between the head and the cervix,

14:51

and she was in active labor.

14:53

So with each contraction, the head

14:56

of the child will push against

14:58

the placenta, causing more bleeding. And

15:00

if it will never stop, her uterus

15:02

could rupture it both die. I told

15:04

them we had to go to theater

15:06

and we needed consent. At

15:09

this point, the patient

15:11

weekly raised her hand and

15:13

grabbed my lab coat.

15:15

She said, doctor operation, no,

15:18

no, no. At

15:20

this point, I was stunned. I looked

15:22

to the mother for help. Maybe they

15:25

never understood. I told the mother, no

15:27

matter how hard she pushes, that baby

15:29

isn't coming. out and both

15:31

the patient and her child will

15:33

die. The mother looked me straight

15:35

in the eye and told me,

15:37

then we'll dig two graves and

15:40

buy it. I

15:43

was shocked. How can a

15:45

mother say these things to her

15:47

child? At

15:49

this point, I was just so frustrated.

15:51

I felt so hopeless. I took

15:53

off my gloves, threw them on the

15:55

floor, and just stoned out. By

15:57

the time I was at the door,

15:59

all the energy sipped out of me. out

16:01

of me. Found myself sitting against the wall,

16:03

the thinking about how bad a shift

16:06

I had. shift I I was in

16:08

the hospital for three days, for three days.

16:10

really sick patient, a really and the only

16:12

thing that was my part was my part

16:14

getting consent taking the patient to patient

16:16

The nurses had done the rest, are done

16:18

but I couldn't do anything, my

16:20

hands were anything. My Patient autonomy, Patient you

16:23

have the right to accept the refuse, and

16:25

I can only respect it. I

16:27

can only I felt so sad. so

16:29

sad. just waiting see the patient die. die. I

16:31

was on I was on the brink

16:33

of tears when I I tap. This was Zara,

16:35

This was Zara, the cleaning lady

16:38

always was always my friend. at me

16:40

She looked at me and said, crying?

16:42

Who are you crying? eyes and say, oh,

16:44

my eyes and said, I not crying.

16:46

situation to her. She told me that the situation

16:48

to her. was She told me that

16:50

three years ago she was in

16:52

a similar situation. go for a But

16:54

she declined to go shocked Zara, you are in

16:56

I was shocked. Zara, are in a

16:58

a hospital. You see patients go to to

17:00

the world and home and and sound

17:02

and sound. you refuse? refuse? She told me

17:04

that in her culture culture was

17:06

a point of pride of woman over

17:08

give birth to as many children

17:10

and to give birth naturally birth she

17:12

meant she meant She said

17:14

there's no point living in

17:17

a world where you're ostracized

17:19

by your loved ones. However, after

17:21

However after someone talking to

17:23

her that her that her body

17:25

is different from others and

17:27

she only needs a sea section. she

17:29

accepted. I was just confused and she she could

17:31

read it on my face. my face.

17:33

She asked asked Michael, do you you want

17:35

my help in talking to them? to

17:37

I thought it was a lost

17:39

cause a lost you want. whatever She

17:41

went went as opposed to my approach

17:43

to my said hi to all the

17:45

relatives all the patient. She

17:48

talked to them softly and

17:50

listened to them without interrupting

17:52

they were protesting. as

17:55

She then talked more

17:57

and opened her her shot.

17:59

She showed her this. car she had and

18:01

everyone's face softened. face softened.

18:03

said a prayer together a she came

18:05

back. and she came back. I

18:07

was told me you can

18:09

go sign your consent can

18:11

to sign your They've accepted and

18:14

take this point They've accepted. At

18:16

this point it was a... So at

18:18

this point this point, burden of

18:20

my a heavy burden could

18:22

shoulders. I could finally rushed the

18:25

We rushed the patient to theater we we

18:27

had surgery. It It was successful. So,

18:30

four days later, in the

18:32

next war drowned. With the

18:34

consultant, I see days later,

18:36

in the next ward round, her

18:38

the consultant, I see the patient,

18:40

we're about there, settling her child, both

18:42

healthy, and we're about to discharge

18:44

her. I did something

18:47

I never did previously. and went to

18:49

our chat with her. went to our chat with

18:51

her. excited she was me

18:53

how excited she was to see

18:55

me that that we took good

18:57

care of her plus Zara's compassion. and

19:00

willingness to listen. listen. I I asked

19:02

her why she was against the CS, the

19:04

Syrian section, and she said, and she

19:06

rumors that when you go to that when

19:08

you go to out your they take out

19:10

your uterus. get a Once you get

19:12

a you can't give you again again or marginally as she

19:14

as she said. dispelled the myths the myths

19:16

and we had a good conversation

19:18

about reproductive health. health.

19:20

Reflecting that situation, it

19:22

was at our at our effort nurses or

19:24

saved that life. saved that life. It It

19:27

was her her compassion, her

19:29

love. her how willingness to

19:31

listen and communicate. and

19:34

and having lost my bedside man

19:36

at the time, I

19:38

decided to regain my

19:40

human approach in medicine, the

19:42

time, I decided to loving my

19:45

caring for my approach you.

19:47

medicine, listening, empathizing,

19:50

loving, and caring

19:53

for my That

19:56

was Michael Naina. you. He's a

19:58

a Kenyan medical doctor committed to

20:00

and reproductive health rights and

20:02

justice, especially in marginalized

20:04

areas. He currently works

20:06

in the in the Accident at Kenyatta

20:08

National Hospital in Nairobi. National When

20:10

I asked Michael about his

20:12

favorite part of the job, he

20:14

said, of the my mind about

20:16

what the hell is going on

20:18

with the patient with the patient finding

20:21

the courage to perform

20:23

difficult interventions difficult and having

20:25

my efforts pay off. pay off.

20:28

Although Michael no longer works

20:30

works in the story, he does go

20:32

back regularly to visit does go of

20:34

course, to catch up with visit, and

20:36

of course, to catch up with

20:38

Zara. After the break, a young

20:41

the break, a young woman the

20:43

for the spotlight and her

20:45

church's puppeteering troupe troop. moth

20:47

radio hour continues. hour

20:49

continues. The

21:19

Mauth Radio Hour is produced by

21:21

Atlantic Public Media in Woods

21:24

Hole, Hole, and presented by by

21:26

PRX. What does the future What does

21:28

the future hold for business? can

21:30

someone invent a crystal ball?

21:33

Until then, over 40 ,000 businesses

21:35

have future their their business

21:37

with Suite by Oracle, The the number

21:39

one ERP, bringing accounting, financial management,

21:41

inventory, and HR HR one

21:44

platform. With real -time insights

21:46

and forecasting, you're able to

21:48

peer into the future and

21:50

seize new opportunities. seize Download the

21:52

CFO's guide to AI and

21:54

machine learning for free at

21:56

netsuite.com slash moth. That's netsuite.com

21:58

slash moth. moth. omgyes.com

22:01

is the.com is the binge

22:03

watch for more intimacy.

22:05

with It's a of short hundreds

22:07

of short videos sharing

22:09

new findings from the largest

22:11

ever study into sexual pleasure,

22:13

done in partnership with

22:15

IU and Yale and Yale researchers. When

22:17

you see such open, evidence

22:19

-based, honest portrayals of what

22:22

feels good and why. why,

22:24

It becomes so obvious that's how

22:26

it should be. should be. I've I've

22:28

spent a lot of time

22:30

on and the and the techniques

22:32

are beautifully organized and presented

22:34

with women of diverse ages

22:36

sharing their experiences, no

22:38

blushing, no no shame. Just

22:40

enthusiasm and honesty that makes you

22:42

smile and want to learn more.

22:44

It's a It's a one -time payment

22:46

for permanent access, not a subscription.

22:49

Like an Like an intimacy treasure

22:51

map, couples can explore forever. So

22:53

treat yourself or give it

22:55

as a gift it as a gift.com. That's

22:58

-G This com.

23:01

moth radio hour is

23:03

the I'm from Salmon. I'm

23:05

I come across I come

23:07

across someone who has a niche

23:09

skill or background, I I become

23:11

the world's nosiest woman and

23:14

ask them lots of questions. of

23:16

I want to know everything. everything.

23:18

Our next storyteller gives us a

23:20

peek beyond a literal curtain a

23:22

a stage that I at

23:24

least didn't even know existed. didn't

23:27

Strange told this in Santa Barbara

23:29

where we partner with told this in

23:31

Santa live at the we partner with

23:33

KCRW. Here's Catherine, live at

23:35

the I was I years

23:37

old, the thing I wanted

23:40

most in the world the

23:42

to join to join Missoula premier

23:44

Christian puppet team. team.

23:50

The first puppet patrol,

23:52

puppet patrol! Or 1P3 you're a

23:54

fan. a fan. All of the

23:56

of the coolest kids from

23:58

church church of part of 1P3.

24:00

know, Jenna with a bouncy hair, Marlena,

24:02

smelled like cigarettes, and

24:05

Todd who was a boy. was

24:07

a boy. But the puppet team director the team

24:09

director said I wasn't old

24:11

enough was no there was no fooling

24:13

her she was my was my mom.

24:15

while I waited for mom to while I

24:17

waited for mom to drive me

24:20

home, I would watch one They

24:22

would march They would march their

24:24

puppets through the stage to a

24:26

cassette tape which said, which can

24:28

do all things things. Christ to

24:30

strengthen. me. strengthens me. They were so

24:32

were so cool. like

24:35

They would perform like

24:37

about about stuff how awesome

24:39

awesome it is to

24:41

obey your parents. or classic songs

24:43

songs hot, get hot,

24:45

stay hot, be on

24:47

fire for Jesus. Jesus or it

24:49

was the 90s, it was the

24:51

the it was the heyday of Christian

24:53

puppetry. I

24:59

my my to let me join join one

25:01

P3 early, but she but she said I

25:03

would not be getting any special treatment.

25:05

I would have to wait until

25:07

I until I just like everybody else. else.

25:10

But in the meantime, I I could work on

25:12

building up my shoulder muscles by seeing how

25:14

long I could hold a can of soup

25:16

above my head. soup above my head. The

25:18

night night before puppet performances,

25:20

mom would stay up late to

25:22

drink wine and make props. props.

25:24

I helped her, her... She she

25:26

would tell me stories about when

25:28

she was a teenager on

25:31

a Christian puppet team. on a Christian puppet

25:33

team. my mom told me that

25:35

being a Christian puppeteer was

25:37

cool. I believed her. And I

25:39

believed her, about it, she got this look when

25:41

she talked about it, she got

25:43

this look on her face, like,

25:45

days of those were the best days

25:47

of my life. kind of makes sense, And

25:49

I think this kind of makes

25:51

sense, parents mom's parents were like

25:54

really strict, kind of fundamentalist and I

25:56

think for my mom, doing puppets

25:58

in the church basement was basic. her only

26:00

freedom and she loved it okay

26:02

she got to make friends she

26:04

got to show off how funny

26:06

she was and I I just

26:08

wanted to be a part of

26:10

that all right I wanted to

26:12

be the one to make my

26:15

mom laugh or make her feel

26:17

proud because sometimes I could feel

26:19

kind of invisible around my mom

26:21

like she would get really sad

26:23

and her sadness got so big

26:25

it just seemed like it pushed

26:27

everything and everyone else to the

26:29

edges including me But Puppettine made

26:31

her happy, and so I just

26:33

knew that this was going to

26:35

be my chance to shine and

26:37

for her to really see me.

26:39

So, when I turned 10 and

26:41

I got to join 1P3 as

26:44

a junior member, I was stoked.

26:46

Plus, every August we would drive

26:48

for two days straight to the

26:50

International Festival of Christian Puppetry and

26:52

Ventriloquism, aka I fest in Kankakee,

26:54

Illinois. And there we could take

26:56

workshops from Christian puppetry celebrities like

26:58

Todd Liebermanow. And watch performances from

27:00

the nation's top Christian puppet teams.

27:02

I bought a cute green alien

27:04

puppet made by David Panabeker. So

27:06

Kermit Love, among many other things,

27:08

is the creator of Big Bird,

27:10

guys. Yes, okay. Anyway, I named

27:12

my puppet, Deedle. The finale of

27:15

every I-fest was a performance by

27:17

the puppetry dream team, okay? These

27:19

are the top 15 teenage Christian

27:21

puppeteers of the United States and

27:23

Canada. You had to audition via

27:25

videotape, and once you were selected,

27:27

you had only one week to

27:29

create an entire 45-minute puppet show

27:31

from scratch. I imagined one day

27:33

I would be up on that

27:35

stage as a member of the

27:37

puppetry dream team. It would

27:39

would be like

27:41

the end of

27:44

one of those

27:46

sports movies from

27:48

the from the 80s where

27:50

cheering and my

27:52

mom stands up

27:54

and she's like,

27:56

that's up girl. like, that's

27:58

my girl. But for now I

28:00

was still for now

28:02

I was still

28:04

just team member. team

28:06

member. that we master the

28:08

five insisted that

28:10

we master the

28:13

five basic skills

28:15

of puppetry before

28:17

getting promoted, you

28:19

know, entrances and exits, height and positioning,

28:21

eye eye contact, believable movement and lip

28:23

and lip and I just wasn't there

28:25

yet. there yet. I I was back to practicing

28:27

with a can of soup. of soup. One

28:29

P3 booked a booked a series of shows at

28:31

local nursing homes, and these were really

28:34

depressing and nobody wanted to do them, but

28:36

mom would not cancel. cancel. So one day day

28:38

we have a gig and zero puppeteers have signed up

28:40

up. And mom looks at looks at me and she's like,

28:42

all right, we're going to make this happen, you

28:44

and me. me. And I'm terrified, terrified because

28:46

I'm about to go from can of

28:48

soup to performing an entire show? thought that

28:50

just maybe I I also thought that just

28:52

maybe I could pull this off and

28:54

then wouldn't my mom and Todd and

28:56

Jenna be super impressed. Super impressed. The show starts

28:58

off OK. And then we get to get

29:01

to Abbott and On First. Who's On

29:03

First. This skit is eight minutes, which

29:05

is a very long time to

29:07

hold your arm in the air.

29:09

arm in the air. I'm using this puppet.

29:11

It kind of looks like an

29:13

orange looks version of Dick muppet version of

29:15

Dick Van Dyke. Really big head, big padded big This

29:17

makes This makes him extremely heavy. So

29:19

So about a minute into the

29:21

skit, my arm starts to sink.

29:23

to sink. And mom nudges my elbow

29:25

and she says, get up there. says,

29:27

get up then And start to go

29:29

numb and I can barely get

29:32

that puppet's mouth to open and

29:34

close. that Mom is glaring at my

29:36

frozen, sinking puppet. at my frozen

29:38

teeth, she says, Through going. teeth she says,

29:40

keep I look at her I

29:42

I say, her and I can't and

29:45

I start to cry. to cry.

29:47

And this just makes her

29:49

angrier. She She starts kicking the

29:51

bottom of my shoe in time

29:53

to the lip sync, I

29:55

am screwing up. I am screwing up.

29:57

In In this moment. if

29:59

you. like my mom cares more about

30:02

the performance than she does about

30:04

me. This is not the first

30:06

time I've had this feeling. It

30:08

is the first time puppets have

30:10

been involved because our lives often

30:12

felt kind of like a performance

30:14

like to our church community we

30:17

were the saintly family but behind

30:19

closed doors mom was trying to

30:21

outrun her depression with puppets and

30:23

white wine well I looked on

30:25

helplessly. We were both struggling and

30:27

we could never talk about it.

30:30

In the stage that day, all I

30:32

could do was keep going, so I

30:34

blinked back my tears. I finished the

30:37

skit. I finished the show. On the

30:39

drive home, mom won't even look at

30:41

me. But the next day, she promoted

30:43

me to senior puppet team member. And

30:46

I didn't know if that was her

30:48

way of trying to apologize or if

30:50

I was being rewarded for pushing through

30:52

the pain. All that I knew was

30:54

that I could not bear to fail

30:57

her again. So I decided I was

30:59

gonna stop complaining and I was gonna

31:01

work harder. In seventh grade, I figured

31:03

out that being a Christian puppeteer is

31:06

not cool. But I couldn't quit, I

31:08

couldn't let down my mom or my

31:10

team. So I just started keeping that

31:12

part of my life a secret from

31:14

my school friends. I worked very hard

31:17

and I got very good at two

31:19

things, puppetry and lying. And by the

31:21

time I was a senior in high

31:23

school, I was the star of 1P3.

31:26

When mom suggested that I audition for

31:28

the puppetry dream him at Ifest, I

31:30

knew it was an honor, but one

31:32

I wasn't sure I wanted. Still, I

31:34

sent in my audition tape, and when

31:37

we found out I made the team

31:39

mom seem pleased. But when I got

31:41

to my first day of puppetry dream

31:43

team rehearsals, I realized I had made

31:46

a huge mistake. All of the other

31:48

teenagers are ecstatic! Like Like they

31:50

wait to put

31:52

on the official the

31:54

polo shirt. They never

31:57

take their puppets

31:59

off puppets off. And I I

32:01

figured they were

32:03

faking it right So I

32:06

I try to

32:08

get them to admit

32:10

like to Come on. come

32:12

on. Christian puppetry is basically the most

32:14

embarrassing hobby imaginable, right? hobby imaginable, right? they

32:16

just looked at me like they

32:18

didn't know what I was talking about.

32:20

they didn't know And I thought

32:22

talking about. And they want to be

32:25

here. be here. They're not just

32:27

counting the days the they can leave for college

32:29

and then never ever ever do another puppet

32:31

show again for the rest of their lives.

32:33

puppet show again for the rest of their lives. Our

32:35

puppetry was about a group

32:37

of sentient school supplies that sentient

32:39

preached the gospel and performed

32:41

thematically relevant Christian pop songs.

32:44

thematically relevant Christian had a

32:46

minor role as a

32:48

pencil. a pencil. Having alienated

32:50

the rest of the teens, I did what

32:52

I always do. I stopped complaining, I worked hard,

32:54

and the show went. I worked hard,

32:56

I guess. show And as the final

32:58

puppet the the stage and a

33:00

thousand people, the including my mom, rose

33:02

to give us a standing ovation,

33:05

I expect it to feel proud.

33:07

ovation, I And I didn't. proud.

33:09

And I didn't. Because person I'm on I'm

33:11

this wasn't the real me. This was

33:13

the person I thought my mom wanted

33:15

me to be. me to be. And

33:17

a standing ovation is nice, is nice,

33:19

but... It It can't compare to being

33:21

loved and accepted for who you

33:23

really are. weeks after I fest, it was

33:25

time for few weeks after IFest, it was

33:27

time for me to leave for college. And

33:29

as I'm trying to cram like everything I

33:31

own into a duffel bag, walks my mom walks

33:33

into my room the alien puppet that I had the alien

33:35

puppet that I had bought at IFest and

33:37

performed with hundreds of times. I need Because she

33:40

thinks I need to pack him so I

33:42

can take him to Seattle where I will

33:44

continue being a Christian puppeteer maybe even start

33:46

my own Christian puppet team. puppet team. and

33:48

I I look at her and I can see

33:50

what this means to her. and I think, I

33:52

I could probably I could probably

33:54

hide him under the bed in my dorm room and

33:56

I'll just tell her what she wants to hear. she wants to

33:59

hear. But don't... want to

34:01

pretend anymore. So I look

34:03

at her and I say,

34:05

Mom, I'm not taking any

34:07

puppets to college. I quit

34:09

1P3 and she just says,

34:11

you'll change your mind and

34:13

that's it. The next day

34:15

I wake up in my

34:17

dorm room and it's like

34:19

the beginning of my new

34:21

life. I can go anywhere.

34:23

I can do anything. And

34:25

if what I want is

34:27

to go to a party

34:29

and drink a mike's hard

34:31

lemonade and then sleep through

34:33

church, nobody's gonna stop me.

34:35

Two months after I arrive,

34:37

I receive my first and

34:39

last care package. Inside is

34:41

a jar of peanut butter,

34:43

a box of granola bars,

34:45

and deetle the puppet. And

34:47

I'm angry because it feels

34:49

like my mom is trying

34:51

to force me to be

34:53

a person. I don't want

34:55

to be anymore. But I

34:57

also know that this is

34:59

her way of connecting with

35:01

me. It's not what I

35:03

need, but it's what she

35:05

can do. For my mom,

35:07

the curtains of the puppet

35:09

stage gave her safety so

35:11

she could reveal her true

35:13

self. But for me, those

35:15

curtains were like a cage.

35:17

And I knew that I

35:19

had a choice to make.

35:21

I could spend the rest

35:23

of my life chasing my

35:25

mom's approval, or I could

35:27

go my own way. And

35:29

that was really scary. But

35:31

you know what? I had

35:33

already done a lot of

35:35

scary things. I had mastered

35:37

the five basics of puppetry.

35:39

I had performed for thousands

35:41

of people. I could hold

35:43

a soup can above my

35:45

head for... indefinitely at this

35:47

point. If I could work

35:49

that hard for something I

35:51

didn't even really want, imagine

35:53

what I could do with

35:55

a dream. Thank you.

35:57

That was Catherine Strange.

35:59

She's a a

36:01

writer, activist. mom living

36:03

in Seattle. If you'd like you'd

36:06

like to hear more from

36:08

her, can you can subscribe to

36:10

her weekly tongue-in-cheek newsletter, newsletter, Here Take

36:12

on After, after, on When

36:14

I Catherine if she had a a

36:16

tip for any unnamed moth radio

36:19

hour producers who who are to give

36:21

it a go, it a go, she said

36:23

that a key to realistic puppetry

36:25

is to move your fingers when

36:27

you open and close the the mouth.

36:29

mouth. Instead, keep your fingers still

36:32

and move your thumb up and

36:34

down. your thumb forth with that

36:36

knowledge, Go forth with that

36:38

knowledge, future You can

36:40

find photos of Catherine and the

36:42

rest of photos of Catherine and

36:44

the rest of 1B3

36:46

at the moth.org. In

36:48

a moment, a chef

36:51

sharpens her a moment,

36:53

a chef sharpens her skills

36:55

in kitchens from Portland to

36:57

Vietnam when the Moth Radio

36:59

Hour the Moss

37:02

Radio

37:05

Hour

37:07

continues.

37:31

The moth radio hour is produced

37:33

by Atlantic Public Media

37:35

Media Hole, Hole, Massachusetts and

37:37

by PRX. With big wireless

37:39

With big wireless providers, see what you

37:41

see is never what you get. Somewhere

37:43

between the store and your first

37:45

month's bill, the price you thought you

37:48

were paying magically skyrockets. With With Mint Mobile,

37:50

you'll never have to worry about

37:52

gotchas ever again. When Mint Mobile says

37:54

$15 a month when you a

37:56

three month plan, they mean it. Which

37:58

I appreciate. I know I'm... not alone

38:00

and feeling like I sometimes

38:02

need an advanced degree to

38:05

read my cell phone bill.

38:07

Sometimes it's like they make

38:09

it confusing on purpose. Mint

38:11

boble to the rescue. What's

38:14

easier to understand than $15

38:16

a month when you purchase

38:18

a three-month plan. Dig overprice

38:20

wireless with Mint Mobile's deal

38:23

and get three months of

38:25

premium wireless service for 15

38:27

bucks a month. To get

38:29

this new customer offer and

38:31

your new three month premium

38:34

wireless plan for just 15

38:36

bucks a month, go to

38:38

Mint mobil.com/moth. Cut your wireless

38:40

bill to $15 a month

38:43

at mintmobile.com/moth. $45 up-front payment

38:45

required equivalent to $15 a

38:47

month. New customers on first

38:49

three-month plan only. Beeds slower

38:52

above 40 gigabytes on unlimited

38:54

plan. Additional taxes fees and

38:56

restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile

38:58

for details. In this episode,

39:00

we've been listening to stories

39:03

that give us windows into

39:05

unexpected worlds. Our final story

39:07

comes to us from Jenny

39:09

Wynn. She told it at

39:12

the Herbst Theater in San

39:14

Francisco. Here's Jenny, live at

39:16

the mall. I was born

39:18

and raised in Portland, Oregon.

39:21

First generation Vietnamese American. And

39:23

an only child. Growing

39:26

up, my parents always told me

39:28

that assimilation fitting in were the

39:31

key to achieving the American dream.

39:33

After all of these years, I'm

39:35

not entirely sure any of that

39:38

is true. Starting at a very

39:40

young age, I fell in love

39:43

with sports. Vietnamese girls don't play

39:45

basketball, they said. Then at the

39:47

age of 17, I came out

39:50

to my family as a lesbian.

39:52

Jenny, you've always been a tomboy.

39:54

It's just a phase. said, then

39:57

my first year away at college,

39:59

I was so disillusioned by the

40:02

food that was served in the

40:04

dorms that I phoned home and

40:06

asked mom for some of the

40:09

recipes that she made when I

40:11

was growing up. By the end

40:13

of my first year away at

40:16

college, I phoned home again, except

40:18

this time it was to tell

40:21

them that their daughter no longer

40:23

wanted to be a doctor. I

40:25

wanted to be a chef. They

40:29

weren't disappointed. They were horrified. This

40:31

was when my dad gave me

40:34

the best advice. He said, why

40:36

don't you find the worst job

40:38

you can think of in your

40:41

field? Do it for a year,

40:43

and if you still want that

40:46

to be your life, then go

40:48

for it. So that's what I

40:50

did. About a week later, I

40:53

got my very first kitchen job

40:55

at the local Red Robin. It

40:57

was called the Fryer Boy position.

41:00

That's not its technical name, but

41:02

that's what we all called it.

41:05

It was dirty, filthy, stinky, thankless

41:07

work. And I was hooked. So

41:09

I moved back to Portland and

41:12

enrolled into culinary school at the

41:14

age of 22. While doing that

41:17

full-time, I also worked a couple

41:19

part-time jobs in downtown Portland at

41:21

some fine dining restaurants. One of

41:24

which was this hip little Italian

41:26

joint my first day the owner

41:29

of the restaurant He invited me

41:31

into his office and offered me

41:33

a line of coke On day

41:36

two I must have did something

41:38

to really piss the chef off,

41:41

but he threw a pan right

41:43

at my face. I ducked and

41:45

it hit the stainless steel wall

41:48

beside me And

41:50

by day three, I was

41:52

about to learn my very

41:54

first kitchen life lesson. Chef

41:56

had put his rib eye

41:58

up in the window and...

42:00

And I realized that I

42:02

had missed time to the

42:04

fried onion garnish to go

42:06

on top of it. I

42:08

felt the skin on my

42:10

left forearm, bubble, and burn.

42:12

Chef had thrown a pan

42:14

of hot oil at me

42:16

this time, except I didn't

42:18

see it coming. And he

42:20

got me. The woman who

42:22

was training me at the

42:24

time, she must have registered

42:26

my blinding rage before I

42:28

did, because she took my

42:30

shoulders and she squared them

42:32

up to hers. And inches

42:34

from my face whisper yelled

42:36

this wisdom. Don't you fucking

42:38

cry? If you cry, they

42:40

win. You don't want them

42:42

to win, do you? Do

42:44

you? I sucked the hot

42:46

wet tears back into my

42:48

face and I dropped a

42:50

metal cage around all of

42:52

my soft parts right then.

42:54

I wanted to win. And

42:56

I wasn't going to let

42:58

that asshole or anyone else

43:00

stop me. Now, this was

43:02

right around the time I

43:04

was reading Kitchen Confidential and

43:06

watching just about every gritty

43:08

TV drama movie there was

43:11

about chef life. And it

43:13

turns out that at its

43:15

core, all of it is

43:17

pretty accurate. But I was

43:19

in love. I was living

43:21

this fiery life. I felt

43:23

like I was living the

43:25

dream, working as a line

43:27

cook in downtown. Sure, it

43:29

meant starting off every day

43:31

with a quadshot latte just

43:33

so I could get ant.

43:35

And then about halfway through

43:37

my shift until I was

43:39

mopping the floor and locking

43:41

the doors. It was drink

43:43

after shot, after drink, after

43:45

drink. And I drank even

43:47

more when I wasn't working.

43:49

One morning, I woke up

43:51

on the guest bedroom floor,

43:53

and my girlfriend, she gave

43:55

me an ultimatum. She said

43:57

Either the job

43:59

goes I do.

44:01

I do. I was

44:03

an She said I was

44:05

an alcoholic. a workaholic. But I

44:07

didn't really I didn't really

44:09

see it that way. I in love with

44:12

with cooking. The tickets rolling

44:14

rolling in. my Me and

44:16

my boys in the trenches

44:18

fighting through fire, fire, hot oil. blood,

44:20

sweat, a sweat, tiny 100

44:23

tiny battles every night.

44:25

And when war the war

44:27

finally subsided, I just wanted

44:29

to keep that high and

44:31

adrenaline high an being on fire,

44:33

of being under fire, burning. fire,

44:35

burning, even if that meant

44:37

lighting myself on fire. on fire.

44:40

I did I did leave,

44:42

but I But I kept on cooking

44:44

and I kept up with kept up with

44:46

the lifestyle at every new restaurant and

44:49

I I kept on burning. I was

44:51

faced with so many was

44:53

faced with so many challenges and I

44:55

met them all head and I defeated

44:57

them. them. Sometimes it meant working five

44:59

people's jobs at once, sometimes

45:02

it meant choosing lust

45:04

over love. over love. I felt

45:06

felt like battle after battle

45:08

within those four stainless steel walls.

45:10

It protected me. It gave

45:12

me meaning through duty. me meaning

45:14

through if if sum of my

45:16

actions equaled what it meant to

45:18

be a chef. be a chef. A a

45:21

lone wolf. driven by driven by

45:23

fire. and living life on the

45:25

fly. And living life on the fly.

45:27

the fly. Hell,

45:31

I I even fired this girl one

45:33

time just for touching my chef's knife. just

45:35

for touching my journey was complete.

45:37

was I had become the become

45:39

the asshole. So after about 10 after about

45:41

ten years of working in

45:43

kitchens, I finally earned my

45:45

stripes as an executive chef.

45:48

an The title afforded

45:50

me many luxuries

45:52

afforded me many luxuries, like a

45:54

401k, pretty paid time

45:56

off. and paid time off. In in

45:58

the winter of 2015. 2015, And I

46:00

took the longest vacation I

46:02

had ever taken since I

46:05

started working. I decided to

46:07

go to Vietnam with my

46:09

parents. It was my first

46:11

time going, and their second

46:13

time back since fleeing in

46:15

75. My favorite part about

46:17

being in Vietnam were the

46:19

markets, the food markets, the

46:22

floating markets, an entirety of

46:24

its culture laid out, a

46:26

feast for the senses. spices

46:28

every shade of the sunset,

46:30

herbs and vegetables, every hue

46:32

of the forest, friends, families,

46:34

strangers, everyone coming out to

46:37

meet, to mingle, to drink,

46:39

to laugh, and of course,

46:41

to eat. On our very

46:43

last night in Vietnam, we

46:45

met a woman who invited

46:47

us back to her family

46:49

home in Saigon for dinner.

46:51

She said she lived with

46:54

23 people. from her grandpa

46:56

to her nieces and nephews.

46:58

From the moment we stepped

47:00

foot into her family's home,

47:02

we were so warmly welcome.

47:04

It was like a familial

47:06

embrace, like a family reunion,

47:08

except these were all people

47:11

we'd never met before. I

47:13

remember as we made our

47:15

way up to the fourth

47:17

floor of this family's home,

47:19

there on the ground was

47:21

a bamboo mat. And on

47:23

the bamboo mat. lay 30

47:26

to 40 dishes from grilled

47:28

eggplant with mam and mint

47:30

to fried whole fish, from

47:32

pickled dikon to crushed tie

47:34

red chilies. The entire room

47:36

was damp with the smell

47:38

of a thousand ingredients brought

47:40

together just for us. The

47:43

din of children's laughter, the

47:45

men boasting. the women exchanging

47:47

recipes and compliments, everybody handing

47:49

dishes back and forth, back

47:51

and forth. It was all

47:53

so overwhelming and so chaotic,

47:55

but in its own way.

47:57

a type of

48:00

magic. This feeling

48:02

was feeling was so different from

48:04

the fiery life I I was

48:06

living back home. home. To

48:08

me this me, this felt as if

48:11

I was stepping to the edge

48:13

of a river for the very

48:15

first time. first time. And I I started

48:17

to wonder wonder I could just

48:19

step a little further in. little further

48:21

in, if could fill me up could fill

48:24

me up. I sat sat on

48:26

the floor cross -legged and I

48:28

feasted. Family poured

48:30

in and out of the out sitting

48:32

on couches, on the couches, on the

48:34

some even in the stairwell. Everybody

48:36

balancing bowls of rice

48:38

in their laps. balancing bowls of

48:41

rice in their was, a stranger

48:43

in somebody's home. in somebody's

48:45

yet a home away from home. away from

48:48

home, a wash a culture and I

48:50

I just my my entire body

48:52

to become a sponge so that

48:54

I could soak it all in.

48:56

all in. you. Coming

48:58

back home, I I knew I needed to

49:01

make some changes. Vietnam, it In Vietnam, it

49:03

felt as if people spilled their emotions

49:05

out onto the street. And the

49:07

community, they it it up and they shared

49:09

it around. And And that made it feel like

49:11

no one was ever really alone. when I got

49:13

back, I didn't when I got back,

49:15

I didn't want to feel

49:17

alone to feel alone anymore either. But I didn't know

49:19

what that meant and I didn't know how to get there.

49:21

But I didn't know what that but I put

49:24

in my notice. to get there. After

49:26

15 years years of busting my

49:28

ass working in kitchens, I

49:30

quit my job. job. And then

49:32

I then I picked up the phone. I I

49:35

called friends, family. to

49:38

talk started to talk to

49:40

strangers. Slowly I Slowly, I lifted

49:42

that cage from around my

49:45

soft parts. parts, and found that

49:47

by being open and vulnerable, my

49:50

heart actually grew bigger

49:52

and stronger. And

49:55

with it. this this sense

49:57

of a community formed. formed.

50:00

I wanted to hold on

50:03

to this feeling, on so

50:05

I decided to build

50:07

a place to grow it.

50:09

to build a place In April

50:11

of last year, I opened

50:14

a sports bar, unlike

50:16

any other, called a sports bar, unlike

50:18

any other, called The Sports Bra. It's a place

50:20

where It's a place where

50:22

people can come to

50:24

gather, celebrate, and

50:27

watch women's sports. women

50:29

sports. And

50:33

when I I walk through

50:35

the Sports Bra, I get

50:37

the same feeling I

50:39

got when I walked the

50:41

markets in Vietnam. A sing song

50:43

of laughter, of laughter, sharing sharing

50:45

stories, and safety and company,

50:48

united by a by a common thread. I

50:50

was developing the When I was developing

50:52

the menu for the Bra, it I

50:54

knew I wanted it to feel

50:57

familiar, but I also knew I

50:59

wanted to pay homage to everything

51:01

that came before. before. At

51:03

the top of the menu, you'll

51:06

find you'll ribs. baby back ribs. Now this

51:08

is exactly the the mom sent to

51:10

me when I was away at

51:12

college, I home. at college, my favorite

51:14

dish that she makes. In

51:16

Vietnamese, it's called Vietnamese

51:19

it's called It turns out

51:21

that my burning desire wasn't

51:23

to be dangerously independent. It

51:25

was to be a part of

51:28

something bigger, to be a part of

51:30

a community. I

51:33

found that by stepping out

51:35

of the fire fire into the

51:37

water, the it it put out

51:39

the parts of my life

51:41

that were consuming me. my life

51:43

that were And at the Sports

51:45

me. And I see water everywhere.

51:48

water And it fills me

51:50

up. me And there's plenty to

51:52

share. to Thank

51:54

you. you. Jenny

52:03

Wynne is the the founder and CEO

52:05

of the bra, which, which, now as you

52:07

now know, is the world's first

52:09

sports bar entirely dedicated to women's

52:11

sports. sports. Born Born and raised in

52:13

Portland, Oregon, she worked as a

52:15

cook, a then as an executive

52:17

chef, putting in over 15 years

52:19

in kitchens before opening the bra

52:21

in 2022. bra in 2022. If you're in Portland,

52:24

check it out. it out. had the

52:26

ribs she mentions at the end

52:28

of her story end of her story, and wow.

52:30

Sometimes I dream of them. I asked her if

52:32

I asked her if there's any

52:34

advice she'd give to young chefs.

52:36

said she'd She said learn tell them

52:38

to learn as much as you

52:40

can from the good and the

52:42

bad, from the people you aspire

52:44

to be, all the way to

52:46

the people you despise, that that there

52:48

are lessons in every moment that

52:50

will teach you who you are

52:52

and who you aren't. who you aren't. To

52:54

see some photos of Jenny, see some photos

52:57

of bra, and sports bra and that

52:59

life -changing trip to Vietnam, head

53:01

over to the .org. That's it

53:03

for this episode. That's it

53:05

for this episode. Remember,

53:07

be behind every curtain can

53:09

be something wondrous, and every nook

53:11

and niche something unexpected. Thank you

53:13

to our Thank you to our

53:16

storytellers for sharing with us and to

53:18

you for listening. I hope I hope you'll

53:20

join us next time. time. This

53:39

episode of the Ma Th radio

53:41

produced by me, by me, Jay and

53:44

Chloe who also hosted and directed

53:46

the stories in the show. in

53:48

the show. Co-producer is Vicky associate

53:51

producer rest of

53:53

the of the team

53:55

includes team includes Sarah Haberman, Christina

53:57

Genes, Jennifer. Jackson, Meg Bowles,

53:59

Kate Hellers, Marina Cluche, Leanne Gully,

54:01

Suzanne Rust, Brandon Grant,

54:03

Sarah Jane Johnson, and Aldi

54:06

Kaza. The moth The

54:08

Moth Global Community

54:10

Program is generously

54:12

supported by the the

54:14

Foundation. More stories

54:16

are true as as and

54:18

affirmed by the storytellers. Our

54:20

theme music is by The

54:22

Drift, by The music in this

54:25

hour from in this hour from Tom Waits, Eric

54:27

Nigel Kennedy, and Duke Duke Levine.

54:29

We receive funding from Endowment for

54:31

the Arts, for the Arts. The

54:33

moth is produced by

54:36

Atlantic by Media Public Hole, Woods

54:38

Hole, presented by presented by For

54:40

more about our podcast, for

54:42

information on pitching us your own

54:44

story, which we always hope

54:46

you'll do, and everything else, go

54:48

to our website else go to our website,

54:50

the moth.org.