This week’s StoryCorps assignment was very interesting, informative and most of all, fun. I really enjoyed playing around on the website and seeing all of the various stories that are available to listen to. I chose the following stories: “A Road Trip And Lost Time: A Father And Son Reconnect After 30 Years” and “Memories of Escaping the South Tower of the WTC on September 11, 2001.” Both stories are very interesting but are very different from each other. These stories are about three minutes each in length, but accurately and effectively tell their stories.
“A Road Trip And Lost Time: A Father And Son Reconnect After 30 Years” consists of a father, Chas, and their child, Chick, reconnecting after thirty years apart. I chose this story as I felt it would be interesting and sentimental. Chick’s father invited them on a two-week long road trip after reconnecting and both throughly enjoyed their time together. While Chick initially expressed fear of acceptance due to them being transgender, their father reassured them that he accepted Chick fully. I feel as though this is a common situation that many individuals face in our society today and this story was a great example of a positive reconnection between parents of LGBTQ+ members and rekindled family relationships. Chick has regret about lost time, but they are happy to have reconnected and gone on their road trip. This story was well organized. The story begins with a brief introduction from a narrator and then leads in to Chick and Chas’s conversation. The audio we receive from Chick seems clear, however, Chas’s audio sounds as though there is static in the audio feed. When the conversation ended, calm and relaxing music closed out the story.
The second story I chose was “Memories of Escaping the South Tower of the WTC on September 11.” This story is about a man named Joe Dittmar who was meant to have a meeting in the South Tower of The World Trade Center. He was able to see red flames on the walls of the North Tower and gaping holes filled with smoke. He then recognized the silhouette of an airplane in the North Tower. He was fortunate to escape and made it home safely to his family in Illinois. His story is incredible and I find it important to listen to and hear the survivors stories. This story had wonderful production. There was narration at the start of the story and flowed in to Joe Dittmar telling his story. The story ended with somber and sad music to fit the tone of the story.