National Public Radio’s The People We Meet: Unforgettable Conversations
In The People We Meet the reader will be introduced to an eclectic group some famous (Stephen King) some not so famous who were interviewed by the various commentators on the station. You will learn about Antoinette Tuff, a bookkeeper for the McNair Discovery Learning Center, was sitting in for a receptionist when a 20 year old gunman entered the building armed with an assault rifle. When she saw what was happening she dialed 911 and left the phone on so the dispatcher could hear what was happening. Silently she prayed then began talking calmly to the young man telling him everyone has bad days and continued to share her own story of financial woes she was going through. She empathized with his problems and the dispatcher hearing what was transpiring sent police to the location who were able to apprehend the gunman without incident. Emily Bear, of Rockford, Illinois, who at 1 year old began emulating the tones her mother sang to her in lullabies note by note. As she learned to walk, Emily made her way to the family piano playing with the keys, not pounding them but actually making music . By the age of 3 she was composing and playing her own original songs. She was 6 years old when this interview took place and she could compose original music whenever someone told her a story creating a fitting piece to represent it. Emily does not like the term prodigy which in her mind connotes someone being forced to learn, while her ability comes naturally from the joy and love of creating and playing her compositions. Hurricane Katrina survivor Colleen Bordelon whose sweet spirit and story of what she and her husband went through and how in the aftermath she continues though now widowed to survive and take life’s knocks and blessings still in her home in Saint Bernard Parish outside New Orleans. Temple Grandin, a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, grew up autistic and could not stand human contact it would throw her into panic mode. She invented what she called a “hug box” a device that would hold her and give her the security and stability of something solid around her that she could lean against and relax similar to the concept of a hug just without the human contact aspect. Having spent some time on a ranch in her youth she pursued a master’s degree in animal science and after a doctoral degree in that field. She felt an understanding of the behavior of livestock sensing livestock reacted in much the same way a person with autism does feeling stress in reaction to their environment. She studied the handling, transporting and slaughter of animals noting animal’s reactions to shadows, dangling chains and other details most people do not notice. She noted cattle stressing out and crying out horribly from their treatment and this led her to develop equipment similar to her hug box but for cattle, a center track double rail conveyor restrainer system that held cattle and kept them calm during the stunning in large beef plants improving animal welfare from the farm to the slaughter houses. She is a champion for the humane treatment of animals in the food process and is a sought after expert, consultant and lecturer on the subject and on Autism. Connie Harrington, who heard an interview of Paul Monti, a father telling about his son getting killed in the war in Afghanistan and how he (still) drives his son’s old pickup truck. Connie was so moved by that interview that she wrote a song about it, “I Drive Your Truck,” that was recorded by Lee Brice and became a hit. Whoa! I just listened to that tune and she definitely captured that feeling of wanting to be close to the person who is gone through a tangible thing holding a bit of their essence. There are more great stories here, Irena Milic the jaded teenager living in Sarajevo who has seen so much devastation she is numb to the possibility of life ever improving, there are interviews here with people dealing with deforming cancer who maintain a loving spirit and positive attitude even if she does freak kids parents out in groceries stores when their kids ask, “Why is your face like that?” and she doesn’t get mad, she explains it to them, and the successful English author who writes fantasy novels who has found out he has Alzheimers. So many great stories here. Well worth your time. It’s like chicken soup for your mind. An enjoyable read.
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