Richard O'Connor

Stefan Lynch remembers the community of gay men who helped raise him (lovingly nicknamed his “aunties”), the dark days of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and the lessons that he learned from this powerful family.

How one doctor’s family is navigating COVID-19

As active shooter drills become integrated into schools across the country, students must grapple with the threat of school shootings. This is the case for ten-year-old Dezmond Floyd, who has an open discussion with his mother Tanai about what happens in his fifth grade class during his school’s active shooter drills. Dezmond explains step-by-step what his class has been taught to do during an active shooter situation.

On the verge of professional breakthrough, a young Bertolt Brecht reflects on relationships.

Six-year-old Jerry Morrison is obsessed with outer space — so of course, his favorite person to talk to is his uncle Joey Jefferson, a Mission Operations Engineer at NASA. They talk all about favorite planets, how much more there is to learn, and Joey’s hopes for Jerry’s future.

On September 11, 2001, Vaughn Allex was working the ticket counter at Dulles International Airport. When two men arrived late for their flight, he ran through all of the security measures of the time and let them board. Only later did he learn that they were among the five hijackers responsible for the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. Vaughn came to StoryCorps to remember the guilt and shame he experienced following the attacks — and how he eventually found healing.

Stefan Lynch remembers the community of gay men who helped raise him (lovingly nicknamed his “aunties”), the dark days of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and the lessons that he learned from this powerful family.

How one doctor’s family is navigating COVID-19

As active shooter drills become integrated into schools across the country, students must grapple with the threat of school shootings. This is the case for ten-year-old Dezmond Floyd, who has an open discussion with his mother Tanai about what happens in his fifth grade class during his school’s active shooter drills. Dezmond explains step-by-step what his class has been taught to do during an active shooter situation.

On the verge of professional breakthrough, a young Bertolt Brecht reflects on relationships.

Six-year-old Jerry Morrison is obsessed with outer space — so of course, his favorite person to talk to is his uncle Joey Jefferson, a Mission Operations Engineer at NASA. They talk all about favorite planets, how much more there is to learn, and Joey’s hopes for Jerry’s future.

On September 11, 2001, Vaughn Allex was working the ticket counter at Dulles International Airport. When two men arrived late for their flight, he ran through all of the security measures of the time and let them board. Only later did he learn that they were among the five hijackers responsible for the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. Vaughn came to StoryCorps to remember the guilt and shame he experienced following the attacks — and how he eventually found healing.

When Sharon Adams moved back to her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, she needed help with fixing her house. Initially there to do electrical work, Larry Adams found himself enamored by Sharon. The two fell in love and embarked on a new undertaking: revitalizing their neighborhood one lot at a time.

Some sweet love stories start with chocolates and roses — but this one starts with a pet snake. Bud Jones started his taxidermy business when he was a teenager in Tallapoosa, Georgia. When Jackie and Bud went on their first date in 1954, she quickly discovered that she was in for a wild ride for love. At @StoryCorps, they shared the story of how the early adventures in their romance led to a lifelong partnership.

Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden was born into enslavement in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She was 7 years old when she was freed. She stayed in Black Mountain and became a midwife, delivering several hundred babies including her own grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Mary Othella Burnette, came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, to honor the family matriarch. [Overview Courtesy of Storycorps]

In 1930s Brooklyn, Van Harris met his wife-to-be, Shirley — blooming into a 75-year romance. For nearly 40 years, they performed comedy together in Borscht Belt resorts in New York State. Beyond the stage, there was another place they loved to spend their time — Dubrow’s Cafeteria. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]

In 1964, Lynn was one of 14 black students who integrated West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. During this difficult time in his life, there was one man who always made him feel safe and supported—his father, Ted Weaver—who worked as a janitor and chauffeur. At StoryCorps, Lynn talked to his daughter, Kimberly, about a lesson he learned from his father that extended beyond the classroom. [Overview Courtesy of StoryCorps]

In 1998, a violent conflict forced Najat Hamza to flee her home in Oromia, a regional state in Ethiopia. She recalls the night she said goodbye to her mother before she, her father, and two siblings left for Kenya. Najat eventually settled down in Minnesota, but she still longs for a place she left behind. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]

Barb Abelhauser worked in an office for 14 years. Then one day she quit, and decided to become a bridgetender on the Ortega River Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida. She planned to work there for a year. Eight years later, she shares the moments of beauty and intimacy of her job, and why she decided to stay.

It was just two days before Christmas in 1958 when John Cruitt's mother died after being seriously ill with multiple sclerosis. At the time, he was a student in Cecile Doyle's third grade class. And an act of kindness she showed him became stamped in his memory. So, more than 50 years later, he wrote her a letter.

John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. He raised three children with his wife Fannie Ruth, who was also blind and deaf.

John Banvard and Jerry Nadeau are military veterans who served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively. John, 100, and Jerry, 72, sat down at the veterans home where they live to reflect on nearly 25 years together.

Alice was 14 when her mother died just two weeks after giving birth to her youngest child. 10 years later, the siblings discuss losing their mother for the first time.

Panchita Espitia was a formidable woman, not afraid of rattlesnakes underfoot on the Texas ranches of her youth, or of death itself. Her grandson, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, learned this near the end of her life, when he realized some spiritual lessons can only be passed down by our elders. Bishop Ramirez came to StoryCorps to remember his abuelita. [Overview courtesy of Storycorps]

The difficulties faced by same-sex couples have created far too many stories of unrequited love. Glenda Elliott's story is one of them: Glenda came to StoryCorps to remember Lauree, the woman she fell in love with in small-town Georgia, at a time when it was difficult to imagine an acceptable path apart from marrying a man and starting a family. Though she and Lauree planned for a late-in-life reunion, fate interfered. In "A Certain Kind of Love," Glenda remembers the power of their bond.

Father Michael Duffy recalls delivering the sermon for his close friend, Father Mychal Judge, who was the first certified fatality of the September 11th attacks. Father Michael remembers Father Mychal’s endearing mannerisms, his constant positivity, and, above all, his profound impact on everyone he knew.

For 25 years, Betty Thompson — who was lovingly referred to as “Miss Betty” — dedicated her career to Jackson Women’s Health Organization where she helped countless people who walked through those doors. In 2004, Jackson Women’s Health Organization became the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, and in 2022, it was forced to close as a result of the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. At StoryCorps, Betty reflects on her decision to help these women, and the experiences as a teenager in the 1960s that brought her to her calling.

In a war zone, a slice of home.

When Jeffrey Perri was nine years old, his grandfather, Tony Perri, came out to him as gay. At StoryCorps, grandfather and grandson share memories of their respective coming out journeys and reflect on how much they mean to each other.

Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed are best friends and Vietnam-era veterans. Although they didn’t serve in the war together, they share a story of courage — on and off the battlefield. They met at a transgender veterans’ support group and became inseparable members of a powerful, enduring sisterhood.

In 2018, at the age of 63, Dee Westenhauser came out as a transgender woman. But growing up in El Paso, Texas in the 1950s she remembers having a hard time fitting in. One weekend, her parents decided to take her to her aunt Yaya’s house. Aunt Yaya saw a kindred spirit in Dee, and gave her an opportunity that no one else would: a safe, loving space to be herself.

When Joseph Patton joined the Navy in 1955, he recalls serving in silence, as the LGBTQIA+ community could not be open while in the military. Despite being the “perfect sailor,” Joseph was kicked out of the Navy for being friends with gay service members, under the assumption that he was homosexual. Due to the status of his “undesirable discharge,” Joseph was unable to receive any benefits for his service in the Navy. Years later, Joseph came to StoryCorps to reflect on his journey and share his resilience, as he fought and successfully changed his status to “honorable discharge.”

In this StoryCorps short, Kiamichi-tet Williams sits down with his dad, Thompson Williams, to learn more about his larger-than-life grandfather.

Animals seek solace on a blustery winter's night.

Mary Mills grew up as an only child in the 1960s in a quiet neighborhood near Santa Monica, California. Although Mary didn’t have siblings to play with, she was never lonely. There were plenty of children nearby, and they all wanted to be at her house where they would hang out with Mary… and her mom, Joyce Carter Mills. At StoryCorps, Mary brought her mom to tell her why she was “the mom every other kid wanted.”