Tired of overpaying for dozens of disconnected management software that leaves you overworked and underwhelmed than you need. Oh do for less than twenty five dollars. You get oh dues all in one management software built to handle any unique business need with. Oh do. You ll spend ninety percent less than the average business, while enjoying one hundred percent of produce award winning software packed with every tool. Eureka many needs and you'll get it all for under twenty five bucks to learn more go to oh, do dot com, slash, moth, that o d, o o dot com, slash math,. Courageous storytelling can be a vital source of inspiration, joy and connection at the moth we, but if everyone has a story to share- and we all benefit from hearing the true personal stories of others during the past one

Five years, generous friends like you, have helped to keep the power of storytelling alive and accessible join our dedicated community today by becoming a moth member membership, started just seventy five dollars per year and if you become a moth member at the one hundred fifty dollar level, you can receive two complimentary tickets to our special member show at the screwball centre in n Y, see on November fifteen or two tickets to a main stage show in your hometown for more details. Text. Member to two: that's one word to seven one: seven, seven! Seven! Thank you! Welcome to the mosque podcast, I'm jennifer hickson, your host for this episode throughout twenty twenty two, the moth has been set celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary. I've revisiting our history counting down year by year in this episode, will go back to the turn of the millennium two thousand a truly auspicious here for them, because that february we held the very first moth story. Slam at a small india

The theatre, space in new york city called dixon place. The idea for us Joyce land was barred from poetry, slams and retro fitted for storytelling we'd. Here ten stories picked at random and judges pull from the audience would decide upon the winning story. Those winners would go on to compete in our grand slam. from those ten stories, told dixon place official, not stories, lamb, are now held in twenty six cities across the globe, and just today I checked with villa voiceover, who manages the moths enormous database, and we clock in at more than forty three thousand slams boys, forty three thousand five hundred and ninety seven- to be exact- what These forty three thousand stories about well after each show brief story. Options are written by the local producers just for fun. I looked up a few key words in our searchable database. There's a lot of variation. Six mentions tramplings, six men kinda, hamsters,

over seventy mentions of pizza. There are two hundred and thirty six stories involving revenge and three hundred and seventy five stories involving hair and in very good news for humanity. The word love clocks in at three thousand one hundred and twelve mentions At each story, slam we have no idea what the tellers will bring to the stage pizza, hamsters, something else, and one of them. Exhilarating parts of attending a show is wondering what are we going to here tonight to try And replicate a little bit of that experience. We're gonna do something kind of different. This episode each year for our gala, the mothball, we ask some of our grand slammed champions from around the country to give us the one minute trailer versions of the stories they told to win their local grand slam So in lieu of bringing you to an actual show, here's a taste, ten those abbreviated versions of grand slam, winning stories. As a note, These stories were recorded at a bunch of different mothballs, some law.

I have in some virtual, so the audio is going to be a little different for each one. Hears donna teddy Vivian pam, juliet craig Ruby, phil wilson and where My first solo venture out. After the end of a long marriage. but oh it tantric body painting party, where. Whose should appear, but my axe, spent. I have a and then I'm like god. There's someone here. I know. So the leader gathers us all together for the policies which are these spiritual exercises, where every goddess will connect with every god and we all

form a circle. The men facing the women in the middle only step from person to person. Until Inevitably, I'm facing my was bent. And the poor that the group is given at this time is The two have a long, rich history. With each other and feel all that complexity. And then release each other into your features. So life brings us a divorce ritual We hold each other. We release we bow and I step away to face my new partner.

So is the young reporter at the mind harold and make an assignment to cover a midnight right along with the counties, police, agricultural patrol and our mission, that night was to stake out a group of notorious for Bandits, because it's miami, and even our produce has a criminal backstory so we drive out to those mango grove and we wait and wait and wait for hours all of a sudden the officers, radio crackles to life and shouts out. Here they are they're coming. We take After them, a police helicopter shows up overhead shoe. Police trucks appear out of nowhere. We are assuming through the mango grooms in hot pursuit, of a sudden, the officer looks to me and says screaming over the sirens. you think happens to me. There's a rifle in the gun rack

So what now I'm a journalist and I can not get involved in whatever the hell is about to go down right now and I can only isn't crazy. Shit does go down. I am the last person who should be cannot handle a gun I come from. Very long line of extremely near recited, easily you startled and very clumsy women like, I cannot be the last offence. In the situation Luckily, the van crashes into a chain link fence about half a dozen men poorer does you're into the night, leaving behind dozens of burlap sacks filled with stolen mangoes. The fruit bandits have got underway, and. So I am in sixth grade

and I'm on my way home from school, and when I walk in the house it is just dead silent. It is too quiet. They dropped my bag and, as I do, I turn- and I see my mother sitting in our dining room at that. our table perfectly still perfectly quiet like a baby. Black widow spider, just waiting for her favorite pray to return. As we make eye contact with all eight of them,. She starts with me what I never faggot are you anyway, I'm gonna take you too a therapist and he's gonna fix you. You're real son of a bitch. You know that technically that last, when I couldn't disagree with.

Spread out in front of her on the table was the contents of my stash, not not my drugs, but it was that made me feel okay about myself and my place in the world. There were the bras and panties and the skirts and all the things that I wasn't supposed to have and I this was not the first time I had endured one of these sessions and they could go on for hours with the way that I did. It was by promising myself, That, as soon as I could as soon as I turned eighteen, I would get out of the house, and I will take care of myself. I mean Through college, thanks to a maximum security prison, I've, I went tiered there

and those men inspired me to persevere. As the only black woman in my entering class, I drew courage I drew courage from their determination to succeed against impossible odds. One night, a popular band was playing on campus and I was the only volunteer who showed up for our weekly meeting. one of the men said: what are you doing? here, fool and we all laughed ice, Well, I'd rather, be here with you guys. I love you. I care about you I want to do everything I can to help you succeed. Room went death. We still final. one of the men began to cry and said in my whole life, no one's ever

told me they loved me or cared what happened to me. Then one by one. Every man in the room, even the guard, began to cry: and for the first time since I left home. so did I I grew up In savannah, georgia, The. My mamma would take us shopping. She would always say to my sister and me drink, a glass of water. On this particular day. We were going to a special store that I had not been to before

And it was says row bach. when we got to see, is. My sister and I saw something that we had never seen before, Water fountains. With signs white water call it water, To myself I said Khalid water: it must speak like the rainbow with ray. And blue and green mamma mamma Can I drink some of the, water and she looked. Ass, she looked at me and she east over to the fountains.

and she told my sister drain from the white fountain mama o is good drink from the colored fountain. She told me now, you drink from the white fountain now drink from the college fountain mamma, the water tastes, the saying she said yes, yes, My mama did so thing, she took a risk to teach us a lesson. water is water. It belongs to everyone. The. when my first boyfriend discovered that I was still wearing my magical, mormon underwear.

He was surprised, to say the least. internally. I was bursting out of the closet, but externally I was still maintaining the facade of the good mormon missionary. I had been trained to be underwear and all I was sorry error that if I took off that last symbol of religion. I wouldn't No, why was anymore I was young. My mom has taught me that when the underwear becomes old and worn out, they couldn't simply be thrown away was too sacred. Instead, it had to be burnt in reverence. So when the I came for me to find we say goodbye to that last relic of my religion. I knew exactly what to do. I built a, huge bonfire and I finally came out as flaming. We get No.

My son was born with cerebral palsy and was quadriplegic. He moved into his first group when he was twenty one and he knew his new friends, You guys. All they ever did on their spare time was talk about sex. and girls and over the last with them and then I go home and forget about it. Late that year when it was getting close to christmas. I call them and said so. Is there special you want for christmas, and he said I want sex. said sacks. That's not a christmas present. Sweaters gains in shit. You know me that

christmas and besides buying sex as I could jail. I don't even know where to look for sex per and he said you could find mama knew your summer Nineteen, seventy nine port of people form this human? Although one the sidewalk luck The entrance to the cafeteria, I found a gap I cut through it I was rather held the mobile.

growth in every part of my body, that pushed him. I know a back there was a mine. He beckoned me to hit him with my purse I tried, but you the way taunting teasing. So I, if turned away he squeezed behind it body laughed. I fled feeling humiliated and powerless. Then I remembered something in my purse that I bought as a joke when ninety nine cents- I grabbed it an ivory tower, He was galloping around with a woman mount his lower back. He left. Her down raised her dress above her head, the crowd here. She staggered away. I entered that arena, smiling

I said hi remember me and I lifted my can of pepper sprang us raise him in his face. The eyes got one he reached for my throat. I took two steps back then I sprayed him again and again I sprayed him like a roach laughed. My wife and I stood in the lobby of our hotel in the meon dong district of Seoul, south korea. Waiting with her rapporteur noon up, I picked. Hotel not knowing was in the same shopping district. My birth mother had wandered around thirty two years before after taking me to the orphanage known as farmers, and she looked up at me and said: she's our here are you ready? I haven't been able to sleep at all the night before or eat anything that morning, but I I guess we got into the elevator as we rode up one floor, I tried to focus on my breathing My wife put her hand on my back, sending me.

at this moment when the elevator doors opened. I turned the corner in the back of the hotel. By a woman was sitting on a letter. Sulphur of a large window, Just a silhouette and the backdrop of morning light, as I stepped the light she stood up and brought her hands to her face and started crying. Oh my said, that's a crane word from others. when I was in the army, I was trying to have to contradict reveals of war. Why was I have complete trust and say People in Europe that I serve with, even if it and I had to risk my life and the second They have absolutely no mercy or empathy for the enemy. With something during periods of stress in the fall of the wall, Fine lies visualize, fingered blurred. Like don't cry, When I walk into the desert without my weapon and suddenly I saw the ground in front.

we started to move and three iraqi soldiers job about opposition. They have me and just ass. Suddenly the indicated to me We want to surrender, luckily our former survive the encounter. But here's the thing. if I had been one of those three iraqi soldiers- and I saw me walking up there with no weapon- I wish stop me I've been here in my weapon that day I would have killed him because that's what soldiers do Luckily, for all of us I wasn't carrying my weapon, we all successfully survive that day. Does that day I have wondered. And I have hoped- and I pray in all three of those men went on. I love you. Healthy wonderfully prospers lives.

You just heard in order donna, otter, tearing greedy vivian anderson pam barrel, juliet homes, craig mangle, ruby cooper. Phyllis Baldwin will sincerely and re christian will have more information and bylaws on all of the story, tellers on our website, just go to the moth dot, org, slash extras. We want to end by saying thank you to all the good people of mind their lives for stories to share on the monsters slammed stage and also express gratitude to our local producers are hosts and the audio tis, who show up again and again to give their full attention to strangers as they talk about their highs, their loads, the winds and the losses and in three thousand one hundred and twelve cases so far, the love. And if this episode has made you want to attend a monster slam weed, To see their we'd love to hear you they're, so go to them off dot org for information,

on all of our live events from all of us here. The moth have a story where are they weak? Jennifer hickson is a senior director one of the home? the people, the award winning mouth, radio, our and co author of the mass had to tell a story she always thousand little been in love with each storyteller and hopes you will to jennifer's story where their smoke has. In featured on them off ray you, our this american life and was a part of the mouse first, but the moss. Fifty three stories. This episode of the mouth pot gas, was produced by Sarah stinginess. Sergey Johnson in me marks ollinger the one minute stories in this episode were directed by jennifer hickson, the rest of moss leadership, team, cleats, catherine burns. Sarah, hebron, jennifer, hickson, meg, bulls, Kate, tellers, Jennifer, Birmingham radically change

Susannah, rest Brandon, grant leanne gully in the Lebowski and all the casa. All my stories are true as remembered by the storytellers for more about our podcast information on pitching your own story and everything else go to our website. The moth data work, the moth podcast is presented by pyrex the public radio exchange, helping make public radio more public at t rex, dot org

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