Benny Smith and Christine Ristaino
In 2015, 11-year-old Benny Smith began feeling strange sensations in his body that felt like small electrical jolts. Soon after, the jolts began lasting longer and growing more intense—Benny was suffering with grand mal seizures (a condition characterized by loss of consciousness and muscle spasms).
The seizures would come at various times, including during the school day where the resulting falls led to multiple concussions.
Often, his mother, Christine Ristaino, would have to pick him up in the middle of the day and bring him home since his condition made it unsafe for him to be in a classroom. Soon after the beginning of sixth grade, Benny was forced to remain at home, being taught by a tutor. An outgoing social kid who loved being around his friends, to him this was one of the most difficult parts of the illness.
In January 2016, his condition began to improve and he was able to return to the classroom. Benny and his mom, Christine, came to StoryCorps to mark the occasion and discuss how he has lived with the seizures.
Originally aired February 12, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Tom Houck and Angelo Fuster
In 1965, Tom Houck was a high school senior when he decided to drop out of school and join the fight for civil rights.
Leaving Jacksonville, Florida, and heading to Selma, Alabama, Tom, 19, eventually met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and quickly volunteered to work for Dr. King’s Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Soon after his arrival in Atlanta, Tom was invited to the King home for lunch and Dr. King’s wife—Coretta—asked him to become the family’s driver.
Tom, who has continued to spend his life fighting for civil rights, came to StoryCorps with his friend, Angelo Fuster (pictured below left), to share memories of his time with the King family. 
Originally aired January 15, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top Photo: Tom Houck in front of a mural at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. (Credit: Todd Burandt)
Octavius Smiley-Humphries, Carole Smiley and Seth Smiley-Humphries
Hoping to meet someone special, in 2010 Seth Smiley decided to give online dating a try. Soon after posting his profile, Octavius Humphries reached out to him and they began an email correspondence.
Despite their age difference—Seth is 19 years older than Octavius—they immediately hit it off, bonding over their shared search for “commitment, consistency, and (a) connection.”
Eventually they met in person, going on their first date on Christmas Eve. Unsure of Octavius’ plans for the holiday, Seth invited him to dinner the next night at his family’s Atlanta home. Octavius, who was still grieving the deaths of his parents, had, unbeknownst to Seth, planned on spending the holiday alone. Instead, he reluctantly accepted Seth’s invitation.
At StoryCorps, Octavius (above left) and Seth (above right), along with Seth’s mother, Carole Smiley, sat down to remember their first Christmas together, as well as a more recent memorable holiday event.
Originally aired December 25, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Above photo: Seth, Octavius, and their son Julian (photo courtesy of the Smiley-Humphries family).
Claudia Anton and Diana Keough
Roger and Christine Bessey had been married for 27 years and were the parents of six children when he learned he had AIDS. According to his family, Roger had been living a double life for decades.
Christine was then diagnosed with AIDS and soon after left her husband.
Roger died in 1990 and Christine died in 1994.
Two of their daughters, Claudia Anton (pictured above left) and Diana Keough (pictured above right), came to StoryCorps to remember what it was like to lose both parents to AIDS.
Originally aired November 29, 2015, on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Top photo: Roger Bessey at his home in 1978 with daughters Claudia Anton, left, and Diana Keough courtesy of Diana Keough.
Brent Hendricks and Barbra Hendricks
When Barbra Hendricks gave birth to her daughter in 1987, she was surprised when Tiffany was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Three years later, when her son Brent was born, he also was diagnosed with CF.
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that mainly affects the digestive system and lungs. There is no cure.
In 2002 at the age of 15, Tiffany died. In March of this year Barbra and Brent came to the StoryCorps booth in Atlanta to remember Tiffany, discuss what it is like for Brent to live with CF, the pain of losing a child, and Brent’s thoughts on death.
Originally aired May 1, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Photo courtesy of the Hendricks family.
StoryCorps Legacy: Peter Byrd
“A lot of people don’t get a chance. I’ve had a million chances.”
Peter Byrd sat down with Lisa Roland to record this Legacy interview in partnership with Grady Health Ponce De Leon Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Listen to an excerpt from Peter and Lisa’s conversation:
Click here to download a PDF transcript of this clip.
Recorded in June 2014, Peter talks about his father who was a football coach for an undefeated team, “He was very big and very bold and very smart and very masculine. But if he would drive home and I’d be on the porch combing barbie doll’s hair, he never said a word. He never skipped a beat.”
He also recalls the moment he realized he was gay and how he thought it would change the way he was treated by others, “If you’re like that, the teacher’s won’t protect you. If you’re like that, the ministers don’t like you. It was just the beginning of trying not to be something that got your behind kicked all the time.”
Peter then remembers visiting a psychic three months after he was diagnosed with HIV and the advice he received, “She told me, ‘Stop worrying. This is not the end. This is the beginning for you.’”
At the end of the excerpt, Peter reflects on how grateful he is for the people in his life and for all the chances he’s been given, “I really want to honor all that has been given to me by how I treat people, how I embrace the world, how I keep myself safe, how I feel loved, how I give love.”
Click here to learn more about Grady Ponce de Leon Center.
Click here to learn more about StoryCorps Legacy.
Disclaimer: All material within the StoryCorps collection is copyrighted by StoryCorps. StoryCorps encourages use of material on this site by educators and students without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given. This interview has not been fact-checked, and may contain sensitive personal information about living persons.
Anne Purfield and Michelle Dynes
Anne Purfield (left) and Michelle Dynes (right) are epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
They both volunteered to spend several weeks in Sierra Leone, responding to the Ebola outbreak there.
When they returned to the U.S., they came to StoryCorps to talk about what they had seen.
Originally aired October 10, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
J.T. Johnson and Al Lingo
On June 18, 1964, J.T. Johnson (L) and Al Lingo (R) were two of several protesters who jumped into the whites only pool at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida.
At StoryCorps, they talk about how the owner of the hotel tried to force them out by pouring acid into the pool.
Originally aired June 13, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Photo credit: Protesters demonstrating in the swimming pool of the Monson Motor Lodge scream as motel manager James Brock dumps muriatic acid into the water. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
Rebecca Greenberg, Carl Greenberg, and Laura Greenberg
When we first heard from Laura Greenberg and her daughter Rebecca in January 2011, Laura spoke about growing up in her parents’ home in Queens, New York, in the 1950s, and not knowing what normal behavior was. She also spent time telling stories about meeting and marrying her husband, Carl.
Laura and Rebecca returned to StoryCorps, this time with Carl along as well, to give him an opportunity to weigh in on some of the things said about him the first time his wife and daughter recorded their interview.
Originally aired October 24, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Jack Bruschetti and Lynne Bruschetti
Leonard Carpenter worked for BFGoodrich in Akron, Ohio, where he also raised his family. According to his daughter Lynne, he always kept a comb, handkerchief, and penknife in his pockets and used clippers to cut his grass “because he wanted every blade of grass to be exactly the same height.”
His grandson Jack Bruschetti was born in 1999, the same year Leonard died from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 86.
At StoryCorps, Jack, 13, asked his mother, Lynne, to share with him more about his grandfather.
Originally aired July 19, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.