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Jasmyn Morris (JM): Hey, it’s the StoryCorps Podcast from NPR. I’m Jasmyn Morris.

 

As you know, we always end our episodes by asking you a question—which you can respond to by leaving us a voicemail… at 702-706-TALK.

 

When we open up that inbox, we never know what we’re going to hear. And lately you’ve been telling us your secrets… things that you kept hidden, or that were hidden from you. We’ve got stories about dogs… tulips…more dogs… And to start, hypnosis…

 

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Amber Anderson: Hello, my name is Amber Anderson and I am calling from Clackamas, Oregon. My secret that I kept for many, many years was when my family and I went to a state fair. And there was somebody up on stage, and they asked for volunteers to come up and get hypnotized. (Laughs) My family volunteered me, and I ended up going up there. 

 

They, kind of, had everybody walking around like chickens. They had some guy pretending to fall in love with, like, all of the females up on stage. “Oh, well look at this one. She’s really in love with him.” 

 

I was not hypnotized, I was just acting. I just kind of went with it because, just, everybody was having so much fun watching.  And I kind of figured when I’d come off the stage, I would spill the beans and, you know, tell the truth, but I didn’t.

 

They were selling DVDs of the recording after the show. And every time the family would get together, they would pop in this DVD. They’d really get going like, “You know, we never believed in hypnosis, but there’s no way Am would’ve done all that stuff.” I just had to say, “Oh, yeah, yeah.” You know, and kind of go along. And they were so into it and so I just couldn’t break their hearts, and I had to perpetuate this lie that I just wanted to go away. We would watch about 15 to 20 times a year for 12 years. (Laughs) Isn’t that just, like, terrible? (Laughs)

  

So after several years I had a boyfriend at the time–who’s my husband now–and I just, I finally had to admit it to somebody. I was lying. And, like, what should I do?” And he just said, “You know, well, maybe you should just tell them?” 

 

So I believe we had gotten together for some family events, I told them in the middle of watching the DVD. They were shocked. It was almost as if they, just, didn’t want to believe it. And it took me a while to convince them of the truth. But they eventually came around and believed me.

 

It was making them so happy and bringing so much joy that I just thought, it’s okay if I just tell this little lie, but it just got to be too much. So It was a huge relief for me after they stopped watching the DVD; a huge relief.

 

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Daley Perry: Hi, my name is Daley Perry. I’m calling from Modesto, California. I wanted to tell what’s the funniest thing that ever happened to me. Um, it starts off a little grim. 

 

When I was in college, my older brother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, which is a form of cancer. And he’d gone through chemo and radiation and had lost all his hair. And doctors had said he’s got like a 50-50 chance of survival. And so he was quarantined in the hospital up in Sacramento. And on one visit up there, um, he was sitting in a dark hospital room throwing up every few minutes, and my mom and dad stepped out into the hall. And so it was just me and my brother. 

 

We’re trying to make small talk and he says the medication is really irritating, like, the back of his throat. And he’s like motioning to his throat and he’s like, “You know that thing that hangs down in the back of your throat?” And me being, like, a know-it-all, I’m like, “Yeah, you mean your vulva?” And he starts laughing, (Laughs) which just, like, pisses me off because I’m like, “That’s what it’s called.” And he’s like, “No, like, I think you should know what a vulva is.” (Laughs) So it turns out, you know, it’s called your uvula, and he corrected me. (Laughs)

 

But I just remember that story because it was just a really tough dark time for our family, and it was like one of the few times that I had seen him laugh in the years long ordeal of him being sick. He’s been in remission for several years. And he’s gone on to have a family. So it’s really, it’s a happy ending. (Laughs) So anyway, that’s my story. Thanks so much. Bye.

 

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Donna Elkins: Hi, this is Donna Elkins. I am calling from Spokane, Washington. I am a guide dog user.

 

My vision has degenerated some over the years. You would not be able to tell that I can’t see, but I can’t navigate easily on my own, and a guide dog just does all that hard work for you.

A guide dog just becomes part of who you are, part of your existence, part of your body. And my first guide dog, Azure, was a yellow lab, and she was just my heart.

 

My dog died… and I, just, was so devastated. Azure was cremated. And I live four blocks from a big park. We did that route all the time, and I just said, “I got you, girl. We’re doing my last walk. I’m taking you.”

 

So I put her in a backpack. I could feel the weight of her body pressing into my back. It was just like we were a team again. And I was doing the work this time. I was doing the heavy lifting getting us to where we needed to go. 

 

I cried the whole way through downtown, and I saw all the places we traveled and we played, thinking I would never have her again to do that. I was scheduled to go get a new guide dog in just a couple weeks. But by the time I got to the edge of the park, I thought, I can’t connect to another dog. I just can’t do it.

 

We had got through the park and there was a bridge, and I found, like, the concrete on the edge, and I started walking. And then I thought to myself this sidewalk is not getting any wider, and I looked to the left and I saw the Spokane River. I looked to my right. I’ve got lots of lanes of traffic and I realized this isn’t actually a sidewalk. All it is is a raised curb. There was a guard rail, but it was not high enough to keep me from falling in the river. 

 

So I just kept walking, thinking, oh my God, I wish I had my dog. She wouldn’t have let me go on that skinny sidewalk. And I felt my dog say to me, “I kept you safe for a lot of years and now your love for me put you in danger. And that makes me feel like all my hard work was for nothing.” And I said, “You’re right. I need to take a new dog. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you, and we weren’t a team.” 

 

And then I thought, my dog absolutely hated water, and I felt my dog say to me, “If you fall in this river, I’m gonna be pissed.” And then I started giggling about it, and I started thinking about all the fun things we did, and what a good life we had. And then I looked around and I was across the bridge. And I thought, my dog has just helped keep me safe one more time. 

 

Now she sits on a beautiful shelf, looks out the window. And I’ve got my new guide dog, Gabby, a little black lab. She’s very serious about her work, but as soon as I take that harness off, she’s just a silly, playful, fun little dog. She’s absolutely different than Azure, but she’s perfect for me as well.

 

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JM: When we come back… a secret hidden in a garden… and an unexpected friend.

 

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Josh Buck: Yeah, my name’s Josh Buck. I’m a truck driver from Dallas, Texas, calling about, uh, where’d you meet your unlikely friend? Uh, my unlikely friend is with me right now. She is about 1-year-old, uh, I found her sleeping under the truck one day and, uh, took her in.

 

Thank you so much. Bye. 

 

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Josh Buck: Uh, this is, uh, Josh Buck, I just realized that I probably didn’t let you know my unlikely friend was a, uh, puppy that I found sleeping under my truck one day. 

 

It was in September of last year, 2024. And, uh, I went to check out my truck, and it was pretty hot out, and I saw something moving underneath. And I looked and there was a dog and she was kind of skittish, so I tried to call her, but she backed away. So I put some water down for her and, uh, the water apparently was enough for her to come to me. 

 

 And she has been my little travel buddy ever since. Usually she’s sitting in the front seat with her head hanging out the window, just looking at all the new sites and everything that she’s seeing for the first time. Definitely a pit bull mix of some kind. She’s up to 65 pounds and a total lap dog, which I guess is fine. I can’t think of any reason not to like that. Her name is Zoe, and she’s my unexpected friend. She, uh, certainly makes the job a little bit interesting.

 

Anyway, thank you so much. Appreciate you. Bye.

 

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Patricia Ball: My name is Patricia Ball. I’m responding to the prompt: What got you out of your low point? 

 

Byron was a science teacher and a master gardener. As we began dating, he noticed that my yard was really more than I could manage to take care of. And Byron couldn’t stand looking at it. He never said that, but he started doing more and more nice things for my yard. My children and I grew to love him. Eight years into our relationship, he was diagnosed with cancer. He died 15 months later. 

 

That winter was difficult for me. And then in the spring, things started coming out in my yard. Some tulips popped up and they were purple tulips. I don’t know exactly when he put those bulbs in, but I knew he had planted the tulips sometime during his illness. Byron knew that I loved purple, and they were Byron saying, I love you. You’re in my heart. 

 

Any tears that might have come then were joyful, like that kind of mixed up version of sad, happy, hopeful. You can’t know or plan for how your grief will look because, just when you think you are through the sad part or through the angry part, or that you’ve come through to acceptance, something might happen that sends you back sometimes: a song or a smell or a memory or a…the sight of a tulip.

 

So I just try to value what we had once upon a time and enjoy the tulips that are now coming up in my yard. I can’t be out there and not think of him, and all that he brought to my life. 

 

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JM: Patricia has been learning to garden. She gets a lot of compliments for the tulips that she planted in Byron’s honor.

 

That’s all for this episode of the StoryCorps Podcast. The stories were provided by you, our listeners. And we’d love to hear more. If you have a burning secret you’d like to confess…our voicemail line is always open… dial 702-706-TALK. That’s 702-706 T-A-L-K. Tell us a story.

 

This episode was produced by Max Jungreis. Our Senior Producer is Jud Esty-Kendall. Amy Drozdowska is our Executive Producer. Our Technical Director is Jarrett Floyd. Liz McCarty created the art for this episode. 

 

I’m Jasmyn Morris. Thanks for calling in.