Often, a StoryCorps interview is just a starting point for other conversations. Forty minutes in the MobileBooth has a tendency to get the conversational juices flowing. Luckily, on September 6th, our Opening Day in Tacoma, WA at the Museum of Glass with our local radio station partner Northwest Public Radio, there were waterside surroundings, hor d’oeuvres, and people on hand to swap tales–inside and outside of the MobileBooth.

Opening Day in Tacoma at the Museum of Glass

Inside the Booth, Jack Creighton shared stories with Jimmy Collins of his years as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA). He recalls meeting with one soldier at Walter Reed Hospital. The young man was slated to lose his right leg, but, he said to Jack, “My left leg is gonna be ok.” Jack reflects, “He said that with maturity that just overwhelmed me. It was not ‘woe is me’–it was a very positive response, and really emotionally triggered me.”

Jack Creighton and Jimmy Collins after their interview.

After the interview, Jack sat at a table outside the MobileBooth exchanging stories and eating cupcakes with Kathleen “Kit” Merriwether and Lynn Olson. The talk ranged from Kit’s discussion of the recent death of a youth in the community, Billy, who would bring extra food and supplies to school for the kids who didn’t have enough, to Lynn’s tale of her grandparents’ journey from North Dakota, to Jack meeting and marrying his wife Jan.

Continuing the conversation outside MobileBooth West

Naturally, we want them all in the MobileBooth. But unexpected conversations like that are largely what StoryCorps tries to remind people are still possible, and a heck of a lot of fun when you take the time to have them. We’ll be here in Tacoma recording conversations inside the MobileBooth (and hopefully sparking them outside) until September 30th. Stay tuned to Tacoma stories here! Tacoma, thanks for the time.