After An Accident, Father And Daughter Reflect On What It Takes To Live Again
In 1990, Les Harris was just beginning his career in construction. A father of two young children, he looked forward to working to buy a house and take care of his family. Everything changed on October 5th of that year when a work site accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Les Harris with his son Troy and daughter Angie Presley in Republic, MO in 1987. Courtesy of Les Harris.
As Les learned to live without the use of his legs, he also learned the importance of having a never quit attitude. For the past 32 years, Angie and Les have even celebrated October 5th as his “life day.”
“Everybody that meets you walks away feeling better, smiling, laughing. You have a positive perspective. And I know that I got that from you. I see the difference you’ve made in people’s lives,” Angie told her father. They came to StoryCorps to reflect on how that perspective has carried them both through over the decades since the accident.
Top Photo: Les Harris and Angie Presly at their StoryCorps interview in Springfield, MO on April 22, 2022. By Sarah Padgett for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired March 31, 2023 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Facebook Post That Led To A Kidney Donation: “You messaged me. And you didn’t know me”
It was 2014, when Kim Pratt was suddenly rushed to the ER. She remembers feeling too weak to stand and was soon diagnosed with septic phenomena. Doctor’s told Kim’s family it was unlikely she would live another 48 hours, and they placed her in a medically induced coma.
But Kim survived and woke up two weeks later.
“The room was full of medical people, and they were discussing how Mrs. Pratt had her dialysis treatment today for five hours. And I was saying to myself, ‘What is dialysis and who are these people?’” she remembers.
That was the moment when Kim first learned her kidneys were failing, and she would need to spend the next five years on dialysis. A long and arduous process, she received three treatments per week, leaving little time for anything else. “When I became sick, everything stopped. I was pretty much a full time dialysis patient,” she said.
All the while she held out hope that she’d find a willing donor.
Middle Photo: The bumper sticker and flier Kim created in 2018 to help her find a potential kidney donor. Courtesy of Kim Pratt.
“It’s an interesting thing when you find yourself needing an organ,” said Kim. “It’s not something you can go rent or buy. You have to rely on the unconditional kindness of another human being.”
Kim came to StoryCorps with her friend, CJ Johnston, to remember what happened next.
Top Photo: Kim Pratt and CJ Johnston at their StoryCorps interview in West Warwick, RI on April 8, 2022. By Eleanor Vassili for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired March 24th, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
It Took 47 Years for These High School Sweethearts to Find Each Other Again
Jimmy Neeley first met his high school sweetheart, Becky, in Spanish class at their high school in Longview, Texas. The year was 1969 and Becky was a sophomore while Jimmy was in his last year of school and getting ready to enlist in the Navy.
Middle photo: High school senior year portraits of Jimmy Neeley in 1969 and Becky Neeley in 1971.
When Becky turned 15, Jimmy took her on her first date and when he shipped off they wrote letters. Jimmy knew he was in love and even bought an engagement ring, but Becky had reservations.
“My mom did not want me to be involved with anyone in the military during the time of Vietnam, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” she remembers.
Becky declined Jimmy’s proposal and later sent him a “dear John” letter, breaking it off between the two of them. From there, their lives went in different directions. It took 47 years for them to be reunited.
Top Photo: Jimmy and Becky Neeley at their wedding in Rockwall, Texas, on Valentine’s Day of 2020.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired March 17, 2023 , on NPR’s Morning Edition.
One Veteran Shares Lessons Learned From War And His Return Home
In 1942, Nazim Abdul Karriem was drafted into WWII at the age of 18. Like many young men at the time he had a deep sense of obligation and commitment to fight for his nation.
As a Black man, he was put into a segregated unit that was deployed to Europe. Nazim spent four years in the field, ultimately surviving the battles of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge.
Sheikh Nazim Abdul Karriem with his wife, Virginia A Karriem, soon after the war ended. Courtesy of Dr. Vardana Karriem.
Nazim was shipped back to the United States in 1946. But what he found upon returning was not what he expected for a decorated veteran. He came to StoryCorps, at the age of 96 to talk about these experiences and the path he began when he came home.
Top Photo: Sheikh Nazim Abdul Karriem at his StoryCorps interview in Washington, D.C. on April 24, 2017. By Olivia Cueva for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired February 25, 2023 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
She Was One of the First Black Teachers at Her School, but, “There’s no color when you’re learning to read.”
Eunice Wiley was brought on as one of the first Black teachers at a predominantly white Florida elementary school in 1970. From the start, it was clear her job would be an uphill battle.
Her room had no supplies. The principal didn’t want her to be there. And her class of 20 white first graders had spent little time around Black people.
But she persevered, starting a career in education that lasted until she retired as a principal in 2005.
Wiley came to StoryCorps in 2017 with her friend and fellow teacher, Martha Bireda, to remember how these experiences came to define her as a teacher.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired February 24, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top Photo: Eunice Wiley and Martha Bireda at their StoryCorps interview in Punta Gorda, Florida on January 23, 2017. By Vero Ordaz for StoryCorps.
‘Honey, You Got A Terrific Nose;’ Two Siblings Reflect On Their Father’s Legacy
David Hedison grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, as the son of Armenian immigrants. In 2005 he recorded a conversation with his youngest daughter, Serena, at the flagship StoryCorps booth at Grand Central Terminal. There, he spoke candidly for the first time about how he got cosmetic surgery — a nose job — as a young man in order to achieve his dream of becoming an actor. He went on to have a prolific career as a television, film, and stage actor. Most notably, he starred in the American sci-fi television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea from the 1960s and was cast in two James Bond movies (Live and Let Die, 1973 and License to Kill, 1989).
David Hedison in London, 2019. Courtesy of Alex Hedison.
He died in 2019 at the age of 92.
Recently his daughters, Serena and Alex, came back to StoryCorps to reflect on the secret he shared, and the legacy he left behind.
Alex Hedison and Serena Hedison at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles on January 24, 2023. By Garden of Sound studio for StoryCorps.
Top Photo: Alex, David and Serena Hedison in Malibu, CA, circa 1975. Courtesy of Alex Hedison.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Originally aired Feb. 10, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
With your support, StoryCorps is able to record more stories that help lift up underrepresented voices, bridge political and social divides, and preserve personal histories for the future.
“Fear” Wasn’t A Word His Father Knew: The Origins Of A Civil Rights Leader
Rev. Harry Blake grew up working on a cotton plantation in Louisiana. At an early age, he learned the delicate balance between standing up for yourself and survival. Entering adulthood he was drawn to the ministry, eventually becoming the Pastor of Mount Canaan Baptist Church, where he served for many decades.
Rev. Harry Blake in the mid 1960s as a young Pastor of Mount Canaan Baptist Church courtesy of Monica Mickle.
Blake became active in the Civil Rights movement and was invited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to work for him at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He survived beatings, arrests and even an assassination attempt. 
Rev. Harry Blake (c) talks with Shreveport police outside a memorial service at the Little Union Baptist Church on Sept. 22, 1963. Local authorities refused a permit to hold a memorial for four girls killed in a bomb blast in Birmingham, Ala., several days earlier. When it appeared a march would be held anyway, a tense confrontation ensued. © Langston McEachern, Port Huron Times Herald via Imagn Content Services, LLC
In 2017 Rev. Blake came to StoryCorps with his daughter Monica Mickle. At the age of 85, Rev. Harry Blake Died from COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.
Top Photo: Monica Mickle and Rev. Harry Blake at their StoryCorps interview in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 30, 2017. By Madison Mullen for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired on January 13, 2023 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
With your support, StoryCorps is able to record more stories that help lift up underrepresented voices, bridge political and social divides, and preserve personal histories for the future.
10 Years After Sandy Hook: Remembering Jesse Lewis
On the morning of December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty six people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty of them were between the ages of 6 and 7.
Six-year-old Jesse Lewis was among those killed.
Jesse Lewis posing for his mom, Scarlett Lewis, on the morning of December 14, 2012. He stands in front of Scarlett’s car, on which he’d written, ‘I love you’ and drawn hearts in the frost. Photo courtesy of Scarlett Lewis.
His mother Scarlett Lewis has spent the subsequent ten years founding and leading the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, dedicated to creating safer and more loving communities.
She and her mother Maureen came to StoryCorps to share their memories of Jesse and the importance of gratitude.
Maureen Lewis (left) and Scarlett Lewis at their StoryCorps interview in Sandy Hook, Connecticut on November 27, 2022. By Halle Hewitt for StoryCorps.
Top Photo: Jesse Lewis posing for his first grade school photo at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Fall, 2012. Photo courtesy of Scarlett Lewis.
Your support makes it possible for StoryCorps, an independently funded nonprofit, to collect, archive, and share the stories of people from all backgrounds because everyone’s stories deserve to be heard.
Separated by Time and Distance, Best Friends Reunited After More Than Three Decades
Pak Yan and Joe Chan grew up in the same neighborhood in Hong Kong. They developed a close friendship, learning to ride bikes without training wheels and walking each other to school every day. Then, in 1962, Joe’s family moved to the U.S., seeking refuge amidst the Great Chinese Famine.
Pak Yan (left) and Joe Chang at a StoryCorps interview in San Francisco on September 18, 2014. By Geraldine Ah-Sue for StoryCorps.
An ocean between them, the two sent handwritten letters weekly via airmail. But after several years, as they moved and their addresses changed, the two lost contact. Pak often wondered what had become of his friend, and when he was 30 years old he also moved to the U.S. Years later—in 2000, when the internet was still relatively new—Pak decided to use Yahoo to search for his friend. He found 108 Joe Chan’s and called them one by one, leaving voice messages until he finally reached Joe on the 104th call.
“It’s like we just picked up where we left off,” Joe said. In 2014, the two men came to StoryCorps to remember their reunion.
Top Photo: Pak Yan (left) and Joe Chan (right) at Friendship Park in Richmond, CA soon after they reunited. The text on the rock reads ‘friendship’ in Chinese.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired November 25, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Your support makes it possible for StoryCorps, an independently funded nonprofit, to collect, archive, and share the stories of people from all backgrounds because everyone’s stories deserve to be heard.
How An Unexpected Deportation Cut A Young Musician’s Career Short
Decio Rubano still remembers the day he learned to play the drums. He was 12- years-old and playing stickball outside his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when his uncle Jimmy pulled up in his car. It was the start of WWll and Jimmy, a working musician, had just lost his drummer to the Army. Rubano remembers his uncle saying, “Hey kid, I need a drummer tonight, so you’re going to play.” Jimmy took out two spoons and showed Rubano how different beats were played.
From that first performance, Rubano says he got “the bug” and couldn’t stop making music. After high school, his career as a drummer was taking off until one night, when he was visiting his grandparents, a pair of immigration officers knocked on the door—Rubano was quickly deported to Montreal, Canada.
Middle Photo: At 17 years-old, Decio Rubano began his professional drumming career when he was scouted to play on the Arthur Godfrey radio show in Miami. Courtesy of Gina Livingston.
Rubano had been born in Montreal because his opera singer mother had taken a job for the season at the Montreal Civic Opera while pregnant with Rubano. As a young man, Rubano was shocked to learn he was not a U.S. citizen.
Rubano signed up for the U.S. Air Force and served in the Korean War. While he continued playing the drums for many years, he never returned to the music business. At StoryCorps, Rubano tells his daughter, Gina Livingston, “I did one thing right in my life. I raised you. You’ve been a joy as a daughter. Everybody should be as lucky as I am.”
Bottom Photo: While stationed on Johnston Island with the US Air Force, Decio Rubano hosted a jazz radio station in his spare time. Courtesy of Gina Livingston.
Top Photo: Decio Rubano and Gina Livingston at their StoryCorps interview in Decatur, Georgia on October 31, 2022. By John St. Denis for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired November 11, 2022, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Your support makes it possible for StoryCorps, an independently funded nonprofit, to collect, archive, and share the stories of people from all backgrounds because everyone’s stories deserve to be heard.