StoryCorps 467: More Purpose and Passion
Michael Garofalo (MG): It’s the StoryCorps podcast. I’m Michael Garofalo. And in our last episode, I told you about the newest StoryCorps book — Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work.
And at the end of that episode, I mentioned that we produced a companion CD to go along with the book. It’s not what you might think of as a traditional audio book, you know, the author or an actor reading the text, since the stories we’re sharing are told in the words of the people who lived those stories.
So, what we did was put together two hours worth of interviews from the StoryCorps archive. They’re all people talking about how they found their callings, why they do what they do, and why they love what they do. It’s hosted by StoryCorps founder Dave Isay. And in this episode, we’re giving you a sample of that CD, about 15 minutes worth. And for now, I’ll hand it off to Dave.
[MUSIC]
[Callings Excerpt]
Dave Isay (DI): Welcome to Callings, I’m Dave Isay. I feel fortunate to have found my calling at a relatively young age. I was 22 years old and on my way to medical school to join the ranks of psychiatrists in my family. But before I got there, I stumbled into my first radio interview for WBAI in New York. The moment I hit the “Record” button on my tape recorder, I knew that I had found the one thing I’d be doing for the rest of my life. Within a few weeks, I had withdrawn from medical school and I never looked back.
[MUSIC]
My father played a big part in finding my calling. Right around the time I started producing public radio stories, I learned that my dad was gay. I remember him telling me about the Stonewall Riots of 1969, something I didn’t know anything about. It led me to seek out people who had participated in the riots, record their stories, and compile them into my first public radio documentary. In StoryCorps interviews, we often hear how parents or grandparents inspire our passions in ways that we could never have expected. Our next story comes from Dana Viviano who lost her mother to breast cancer while Dana was training to be a nurse. Dana was interviewed by her daughter, Sarafina, about how that experience changed the course of her career. Sarafina was 10 years old at the time of their interview.
Sarafina Viviano (SV): I understand your mom had breast cancer.
Dana Viviano (DV): Mm-hmm.
SV: What was that like?
DV: It was very scary. She had been very sick, and they took her to a hospital. And a physician came out to talk to us when we got there and told us that she had cancer, and that they didn’t expect her to survive. And I remember thinking that there was a way that they could have told us that was softer.
SV: Is that why you wanted to become a cancer nurse?
DV: You know, I think so. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
SV: How’s it feel to you telling someone they’re going to die.
DV: It’s horrible. A lot of times when you get to that point, they know it, and you know it. Because they don’t feel good, and they know what we’re doing to them is not making them better. So a lot of times when we have that talk with them, they’ve kind of prepared for it.
SV: Are you friends with some patients?
DV: Mm-hmm. They all teach you something. They’ve taught me to celebrate the smallest things in life like hair growing back. I learn about fear, and I learn about hope. And I really learn what love is. And love is that deep intense feeling for another person’s soul, and that it’s ok to let that person go. We all don’t know how long we’re going to be on this planet, and that’s why it’s important to love each other, and to, you know, cherish a human being.
SV: I really think God wanted you to be what you are, because you’re awesome at it. You make patients smile. You walk in the room and they’re all like ”Dana! Oh my gosh, she’s here.” To me, you are maybe the angels on earth. You come down and try our best to heal people. You are my hero.
DV: Thank you.
[MUSIC]
DI: Dana Viviano and her daughter Sarafina near St. Louis, MO.
People ask kids all the time, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” There are a lot of standard answers,– doctor, teacher, firefighter. But not many kids say MBA referee. That was always Marat Kogut. When your calling is hard for people to understand, having just one person believe in you can give you the confidence you need to pursue your passion. For Marat, that person was his father, Leon Kogut, who owns a barbershop in Brooklyn.
Marat Kogut: Most kids grow up dreaming that they could hit the game-winning shot of a championship game. But I was the one that said I want to be the referee that blows the whistle and says the basket was successful. It was weird.
Leon Kogut: When you told me someday you’re gonna be an NBA referee, I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’
MK: You were always supportive, no matter what I said. If I told him I wanted to be a ballet dancer he would say, ‘Oh, good!’ But mom was totally against it.
LK: She wants to see you as a doctor, as a lawyer, ya know.
MK: Her main concern was to marry me off: Who’s gonna take a guy like that who’s gonna be a referee, what kind of a job is that?
LK: I always remember when you ask me, ‘How many lawyers do we have in this country, what do you think?’ I said, ‘I dunno, maybe 3, 4 million?’ ‘How many doctors?’ I say, ‘About 6, 7 million doctors.’ ’How many NBA referee? I’m gonna be one of them.’ Since that I said to your mom, ‘Don’t bother him any more. He going to be NBA referee.’
MK: My first official game for the NBA, my partner gave me the ball, and I’m the one that got to throw it up to start the game. I was so nervous, up until I finally released the ball in the air… I’m like, ‘This is just another game between two teams. Let’s go to work.’ Do you remember when New Jersey played Milwaukee?
LK: The whole family went. A lot of customers went to the game also.
MK: There was a hell of a turnout. They just filled up a whole section, and they were embarrassing me. My partners were looking at them like, ‘All those people are here for you? You have more fans than the players do.’
LK: [LAUGHS] I never miss even one game yet. I watch every game, it doesn’t matter if you work in the West, and the game start 10 o’clock, finish 1 o’clock in the morning, I still watch to the last minute. My son is in the arena and he blow the whistle there! It’s incredible feeling, incredible. The dreams comes true.
MK: I still go to your barber shop to get haircuts because you give me the family discount. [LAUGHS]
And every time there’s a customer, you say, ‘Hey this is my son,’ and the first things that come out of their mouth is, ‘Oh your father always talks about you.’
LK: Of course. I’m proud of you, that’s why. I feel very very proud of you. Very proud, all the family proud.
[MUSIC]
DI: That’s Leon Kogut with his son, Marat. As it turns out, Leon has a calling of his own. He’s been running “Leon’s Fantasy Cut” in Brooklyn, NY for nearly 25 years.
As we’ve seen, it often seems like those who answer a calling are born with some special trait. A strength of character that gives them the courage to chase a dream. But sometimes, it’s the very act of finding something you have a knack for that gives you the courage. It can transform you.
Santiago Arredondo grew up in Southern California and, as a child, he struggled socially. So his grandfather, Jose Guadalupe Enrique Sanchez, took it upon himself to share the strength and pride that he learned through his own work as a gardener. And, as Santiago told his wife, Aimee, those lessons stayed with him for the rest of his life.
Santiago Arredondo (SA): He was a gardener for over 50 years. He had, uh, very dark skin, you could tell he spent his whole life out in the sun. His hands were those of someone who worked since the age of six but he was the cleanest gardener you would ever see, always wore button down shirts from JCPenny’s. And, um, as a kid, on top of me being overweight, I also stuttered. And it was, um, a lot of bullying. So my grandfather stepped in. Every Saturday morning he picked me up at 7 am and we would go to his gardening route. We would spend our days mowing, pulling weeds and blowing leaves. He started teaching me specialized things, how to prune roses and plant them and create new roses. That helped me develop more self confidence because I knew how to do something that not everyone does. And I think that helped guide me to where I am now.
Aimee Arredondo (AA): And where are you now?
SA: I’m a landscape supervisor for University of Southern California. So I’m in charge of 44 men.
AA: I never met your grandpa but sometimes you tell me, “Do it right or don’t do it at all.” Where does that come from?
SA: He had ordered a big delivery of soil–the pile was bigger than me. And I, I was jabbing my shovel into the middle of the pile and, and loading it on the wheelbarrow and he said, “You need to do it from the bottom of the pile.” And me being a kid, I just did what I wanted to do anyways. He said, “Listen, either you do it right or don’t do it.” Those, those words I say to myself every single day. There has been a number of times that I cried out to him, “Grandpa, I need your help.” He is a part of everything that I am. At night, when he wasn’t working, we would watch cowboy movies for hours and hours. He used to say his cowboys. And my grandpa was ha-ha-hard of hearing, so the TV was always like full blast. And now as, as an adult on Saturdays, they always show westerns. Whenever I can I, I like to sit down and watch them as loud as I possibly can. [laugh] And um, I feel like I’m sitting there watching it with him.
[MUSIC]
DI: That’s Santiago Arredondo speaking with his wife, Aimee, about his grandfather, Jose Guadalupe Enrique Sanchez.
[MUSIC]
MG: That was an excerpt from the audiobook version of StoryCorps’ newest book, Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work. It’s available as a CD. You can find that on Amazon and you can also buy it as an mp3 in the iTunes store.
The CD was produced by David Herman, and edited by me. The host is StoryCorps founder Dave Isay and the music is by Podington Bear. Special thanks to Highbridge Audio, who published the CD and let us share part of it with you here on this episode of the podcast, which was produced by Elisheba Ittoop. Until next time, I’m Michael Garofalo, and this has been the StoryCorps podcast. Thanks for listening.