Jason Weems and his parents, Robin and Warren

Classes begin at Leith Walk elementary school in Baltimore this coming Monday. And Robin Weems will be there to greet her new first grade students.

Robin’s husband, Warren, a retired Marine, will also be there, because Warren is his wife’s classroom assistant.

This husband and wife teaching team sat down to speak with their son, Jason, for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 26, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ester DiNardo

Marisa DiNardo (pictured at left) worked in the World Trade Center, where she was killed on September 11, 2001.

Her mother, Ester DiNardo (pictured above), came to StoryCorps to remember the final night she and Marisa together. They celebrated Ester’s birthday at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

Marisa died in that same building the following morning.

Originally aired May 5, 2011 on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

Photo courtesy of the DiNardo family

Walter Dean Myers and his son Christopher Myers

Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem as the son of a janitor. Today, he’s the author of nearly 100 books that are very popular with teenagers.

Growing up, there was always one person Myers struggled to impress with his writing – his father, Herbert Dean.

Here he talks about his father with his own son Christopher.

Walter and his son Christopher work on books together – as writer and illustrator.

Originally aired June 17, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Max Voelz

Max Voelz met his future wife, Kimberly, on Valentine’s Day, while they were training to work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit — the Army’s elite bomb squad.

Both Max and Kim were sent to Iraq in 2003. One night, Max called in the location of an explosive and Kim was sent to disarm it. She did not survive the mission.

Max sat down for StoryCorps to remember her.

Originally aired May 27, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: Kimberly Voelz at work. Courtesy of Max Voelz.

Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel

In 1993, Oshea Israel was a teenager in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One night at a party Oshea got into a fight, which ended when he shot and killed a teenager named Laramiun Byrd. Laranium was the only child of Mary Johnson.

A dozen years later, Mary went to the penitentiary to visit the man who murdered her son.

After serving 15 years, Oshea was released from prison. Soon after, Mary brought him to StoryCorps to talk about their friendship.

Mary Johnson founded From Death to Life, an organization that supports mothers who have lost children to homicide, and encourages forgiveness between families of murderers and victims.

Originally aired May 20, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Photos courtesy of Brian Mogren.

Beverly Eckert

Sean Rooney worked for Aon on the 98th floor in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. After United Airlines Flight 175 struck the tower about twenty floors below him, Sean tried to make his way to the roof. As he searched for an escape route, he called his wife, Beverly.

Beverly came to StoryCorps to remember their final conversation.

Beverly went on to become an advocate for families affected by September 11. She died in the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in 2009. She was traveling to Buffalo to award a scholarship in Sean’s name.

Recorded November 19, 2006.

Glenny Brock and her father Jon Brock

Jon Brock tells his daughter Glenny Brock about being committed to Bryce Hospital, Alabama’s oldest psychiatric facility, in 1965.

James Thompson, Dwight Thompson and Brenda Graham

In 1958, a kiss made civil rights history. It happened in Monroe, North Carolina. Two African American children, James Hanover Thompson and David Simpson, were said to have kissed a girl who was white. They were arrested and accused of rape.

The incident became known around the world as “The Kissing Case.” But over time, it was largely forgotten.

Even the Thompson family rarely talked about it–until they came to StoryCorps, where James (L) sat down with his younger brother, Dwight (R), and told him what happened.

Under political pressure, the governor of North Carolina released the two friends. James then spent most of his adult life in and out of prison for robbery.

His sister, Brenda Lee Graham (pictured left), also came to StoryCorps. She remembered what life was like for the family after James had been arrested.

Originally aired April 29, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Alex Fernandez and Noe Rueda

Nineteen-year-old Noe Rueda (right) grew up poor in Little Village, a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. He is the oldest of four siblings raised by a single mom. As a boy, Noe watched his family struggle and decided to help.

At StoryCorps, Noe tells his high school economics teacher, Alex Fernandez (left), about launching his first business venture selling discarded cleaning products from a nearby factory.

Click here to watch “Making It,” an animation of Noe’s story.

Originally aired April 15, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Michele Garcia and Frank Garcia

Robert Oswain was one of hundreds of NYPD officers who patrolled the World Trade Center site shortly after September 11, 2001.

In 2010, Oswain died from a rare form of cancer that his family believes was caused by exposure to toxic dust at Ground Zero.

His parents, Michele and Frank, came to StoryCorps to remember him.

Recorded on December 5, 2010.