by: Rachel Lindwall January 25, 2023
Story #1: Two Love Birds Bring The Holiday Spirit To The White House
The first StoryCorps interview I chose is about a woman, her husband, the White House, and their past. The woman is Marité Espinoza Sánchez and her husband, Hugo Sánchez. Last year, Marité was chosen to decorate the White House for the holidays and she was able to bring along someone with her so she chose to bring her husband. The rest of the audio is about them retelling their relationship and how they got married.
For a quick audio analysis, the interview was between Marité, Hugo, and the interviewer Annie Russell. I thought that the audio was very clear and there was no background noise. There was background music played at the beginning and the end.
I chose this story because, one, I was surprised to learn that you could sign up for a chance to decorate the White House. I think it’s super cool that Marie was one of the chosen when only 150 got a spot (I might try and sign up). The second was that I’m just a sucker for a romance story. I thought it was romantic when she said “And you know, a lot of people dream: the dress and the flowers. I did not care about any of those things. I could see the real you.”
Story #2: After Four Decades In The Classroom, A Texas Teacher Is Keeping History Alive
My second story is about a woman named Nelva Williamson. Nelva is telling her story to her son Timothy Harris. Her story is about her love of learning which eventually led her to becoming a teacher. Nelva then goes on to explain that I’m not teaching a subject we are losing that knowledge we could have had.
Just taking a look at the audio, there weren’t any disturbances in the sound; it was clean sounding. There was background music at the beginning and end. at the end though the audio of the interview was combined with some of the background music. To me this made the audio of Nova more impactful because it made you focus on her voice. Also, there was a person who did an introduction of the topic before Nelva spoke. so, the video edit was to include the introduction in the background music.
I chose this story because I could identify with Nelva in regards to her love of learning. I think her message is a powerful one that is very current and not only the past but the present as well. “When we take out big chunks of history, that diminishment diminishes us.” I definitely will remember Nelva’s quote and her message from it.
I believe StoryCorps to be a wonderful place where people can upload their audio interviews. It’s a Wonderful archive full of people who want to share their stories. Not all of them but many of them include a good life lesson or message that the reader will remember.