Romance Archives - Page 4 of 13 - StoryCorps

DACA Recipient on the Pressure of Living Life Undocumented

Irakere Picon was just two years old when his parents brought him to the United States from Mexico on a tourist visa. They never left.

He was aware something was different about his childhood, but it wasn’t until he applied to get a driver’s license that he realized his immigration status might get in the way of his dreams.

In 2012, Irakere received protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and was able to attend law school.

It was around that time that he met Arianna Hermosillo on a bus and later asked her on a date to Millennium Park in Chicago. When they were together, Irakere told Arianna he was undocumented.

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Irakere and Arianna were married earlier this year, but it remains unclear whether Irakere will be approved for a green card for permanent residency.

Top photo: Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon pose at their StoryCorps interview in Chicago on February 3, 2018. Photo by Laura Saenz for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Irakere Picon and Arianna Hermosillo on their wedding day in Oak Park Conservatory in Chicago. Courtesy Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon.

Originally aired October 19, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Recalling a Life Lived Through the Window of an Ice Cream Truck

Every summer, the town of Peabody, Massachusetts is serenaded with the familiar strains of “Yankee Doodle.” It’s the sweet sound of Allan Ganz’s ice cream truck. Ganz has worked as an ice cream man for more than seven decades. He only takes one day off per season.

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Over the years, he’s watched his customers grow up to become parents and even grandparents. The town loves him so much it has a street sign designating him “The King of Cool.”

He came to StoryCorps with his wife, Rosalyn, to share the story of how his father got him started in the business over 70 years ago.

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Top photo: Allan and Rosalyn Ganz at their StoryCorps interview on July 12, 2018 in Peabody, Massachusetts. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Allan is greeted by a bevy of neighborhood kids as he makes a stop along his typical ice cream route in Peabody, Massachusetts. Courtesy Allan Ganz.
Bottom photo: Allan poses in front of his dad’s ice cream truck at age 19. Courtesy Allan Ganz.

Originally aired July 27, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Love Interrupted By A Wrongful Conviction

Brandy Carpenter, 38, and De’Marchoe Carpenter, 41, began their romance in the summer of 1994. Brandy was 14 years old. De’Marchoe was 17. And Brandy had had a crush on him for years.

But before they had their first kiss, De’Marchoe was arrested for a murder he didn’t commit in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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De’Marchoe was eventually exonerated by the Oklahoma Innocence Project, and walked out of prison on May 9, 2016. He and Brandy got married 13 days later.

At StoryCorps, De’Marchoe and Brandy talked about the toll his incarceration took — and continues to take — on their relationship.

Top photo: Brandy and De’Marchoe Carpenter at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City. Photo by Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: De’Marchoe and Brandy Carpenter (back left and right), along with Brandy’s kids, during a 2010 prison visit. Brandy had kids with someone else after she and De’Marchoe parted ways. Now that they’re reunited, he’s become a father figure to them. Photo Courtesy De’Marchoe Carpenter.

Originally aired July 20, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Nudist Couple on Falling in Love and the Mistake Only a Nudist Would Make

We’re used to people baring their souls at StoryCorps, but this is a story about baring quite a bit more.  

Ten years ago, on Tracia Kraemer’s 40th birthday, she wanted to do something she’d never done before. So she gathered her courage and paid a visit to the last surviving nudist park in the state of Louisiana, Indian Hills.

She figured she’d at least wind up with a good story, but as she remembers in this conversation with her husband Patrick, she came away with a whole lot more.

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Tracia and Patrick married in 2013. Together they managed Indian Hills for several years.

Last fall, they took off in an RV for a year-long adventure visiting nudist establishments across the country.

Top photo: Patrick and Tracia Kraemer pose nude behind a tractor at the Indian Hills Nudist Park in 2015. Courtesy David Grunman / The Times-Picayune.

Bottom photo: Patrick and Tracia Kraemer at their StoryCorps interview in New Orleans, Louisiana in February of 2018.

Originally aired May 4, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

War Vets John (WWII) and Jerry (Vietnam) on Love and Their Marriage

John Banvard, 100, and Jerry Nadeau, 72, are military veterans, and served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively.

When they met in 1993, they were “sort of in the closet.” John’s wife of over 35 years had died nearly a decade prior and he had never been in a serious relationship with a man. Neither had Jerry.

At first, the two seemed worlds apart. John was a lover of art and theater, while Jerry was an outdoorsman. But they hit it off and soon became inseparable.

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Today, they live together in a senior home for veterans in Chula Vista, California — just a few miles south of San Diego, where they were married in 2013.

Top photo: John Banvard (L) and Jerry Nadeau at their home in Chula Vista, CA.
Bottom photo: Jerry Nadeau (L) with John Banvard outside their home in Chula Vista, CA.

Originally aired February 09, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

 

Greg Houston and Lynne Houston

Many StoryCorps conversations touch on love, work, and death. But when Lynne Houston and her husband, Greg, sat down for their interview, they covered all of that and more just by talking about their first date.

They met 25 years ago in Buffalo, New York. Lynne worked at a restaurant across the street from the funeral home where Greg was a mortician.

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Greg charmed Lynne, despite his work bleeding into their romance. When Greg picked her up for dates, he would sometimes be accompanied by an occasional corpse from the hospital. After six months, the couple took a romantic weekend away and drove through upstate New York — in his hearse.

Lynne and Greg eventually married on All Souls Day and now live in McLeansville, North Carolina, where they recorded with StoryCorps.

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Top photo: Greg and Lynne Houston at their StoryCorps interview.
Middle photo: Greg and Lynne Houston in 1992, the year they met. Courtesy of the Houston family.
Bottom photo: Lynne and Greg Houston on their wedding day, November 2, 2001. Courtesy of the Houston family.

Originally aired October 27, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Emily Addison

On June 12, 2016 a lone gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Among those killed was Deonka Drayton. She was 32.

Deonka left behind a young son and her co-parent, Emily Addison. At StoryCorps, Emily sat down to remember her.

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Originally aired June 9, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

There were hundreds of people at Pulse the night of the shooting, and some were able to escape in time. Christopher Hansen is among those who survived that night. It was the first time he’d ever visited Pulse, having just recently moved to Orlando. He came to StoryCorps to remember what happened that night.

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These interviews were recorded in partnership with WMFE and the Family Equality Council. In March, StoryCorps recorded 14 conversations in Orlando, Florida about the Pulse nightclub shooting and the lives that have been deeply affected by the tragedy. The project welcomed survivors of the shooting, friends and family members of lost loved ones, and community organizations who have been vital in the aftermath to record their experiences, and focused on capturing stories from the LGBTQ community. In addition, WMFE used the StoryCorps app to collect stories from the broader Orlando community, in a project they called Taking Your Pulse.

Top photo: Deonka Drayton with her son, Diyari. (Photo courtesy Emily Addison)

Middle photo: Emily Addison and Deonka Drayton with their son, Diyari. (Photo courtesy Emily Addison)
Bottom photo: Christopher Hansen at StoryCorps

Claudia Dewane and Bill Dewane

When Bill Dewane was a college freshman, he suffered a severe spinal cord injury. He was hospitalized for more than six months and doctors thought he’d never walk again. He did regain his ability to walk, but was left partially paralyzed and with chronic pain.

Claudia Maraviglia graduated from Rutgers University in 1973 and took a job at a New Jersey bank before heading to graduate school that fall. She was working at the bank when she met Bill, and a confused transaction led to their first date.

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Bill and Claudia married on July 12, 1975 — this year marks their 42nd wedding anniversary.

Bill is a retired budget analyst for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Claudia teaches social work at Temple University. They have two daughters, Maggie and Mollie Dewane.

At StoryCorps, Bill and Claudia discuss the beginnings of their relationship and reflect on their years together.

Originally broadcast February 10, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: Bill and Claudia on their wedding day. Courtesy of the Dewane Family.

Tariq Sheikh and Tabinda Sheikh

In 1989, Tabinda was working in a Manhattan hotel as a housekeeper. She had just immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic and one day at work, she caught the eye of a fellow employee who was working behind the hotel’s front desk—Tariq Sheikh.

Tariq was also a recent immigrant, but from Pakistan, and he remembers that the first time he saw her, Tabinda was hard at work. She was still in her yellow gloves and neither spoke English too well, but after a few clumsy love notes, a relationship was born.

Tariq and Tabinda have now been married for 25 years and have a 20-year-old son, Madani Sheikh. They live in Jersey City, New Jersey, not far from the park bench they were sharing the first time Tariq realized he had fallen in love with Tabinda.

They came to StoryCorps to share the story of how they met.

Originally aired October 21, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

John Matlock and Carol Matlock

In their early days, most computers were used for mathematical work, but a few were also used to help people find love.Matlock

John and Carol Matlock met in what was a precursor to online dating—computer dating—where potential partners filled out a questionnaire and then mailed it in.Then, a person would create a punch card out of their answers and feed it through a giant computer that would spit out a few perfect matches. In just weeks (or sometimes months), that information would then arrive back in their mailbox.

In 1964, John was working in electronics and frequently on the road without much time to date. Carol was a single mother concerned about finding someone who would love and accept her 2-year-old son, and while she wanted to date, she certainly wasn’t looking to get married. After filling out his profile, John remembers receiving the names and photographs of three women. But Carol stood out from the others with her attractive red hair worn in a French roll to one side so he picked up the phone and asked her out.

Carol hadn’t received her matches in the mail and didn’t even know what John looked like when she accepted the date, but she knew that if her family didn’t like him, she wasn’t going anywhere with him. When John arrived at Carol’s house, he was surprised to find 16 other people waiting to meet him. Fortunately, he received a good report, and they were married less than a year later.

John and Carol, who will have been married 52 years in December, recorded their first interview earlier this year using the StorpCorps app when their daughter, Karyn Servin, talked them about how they first met (you can hear that conversation below). More recently, they came back to StoryCorps to continue the conversation.

Originally aired August 12, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above Photo: Carol and John Matlock on their wedding day, December 26, 1964, courtesy of the Matlock family.