So Much More than a Soundbite
My "Moth" submission and "Vietnam" in a nutshell
Thank you for your input last month on the four short audio clips featuring my childhood stories. My goal was to pinpoint which story was best to submit to the Moth Radio Story Project.
I’m often surprised by how deeply people connect with these stories.
The majority of votes were split between #1 (finding my dad trying to drill a tunnel through the wall to keep u ssafe from the Viet Cong) and #4 (meeting the South Vietnamese neighbor who recognized me 40 years later, but there were a few votes also for #2 (dancing with my dad) and #3 (the Babylift crash).
The comment by Paul Block rather pulled it all together:
I listened to each of the recordings. At first I thought the first one (the tunnel). But then I kept thinking about the 3rd and 4th. I’m wondering if you could sort of combine then, so that you talk about your feelings of guilt but conclude with feeling welcomed and sort of overcoming your guilt.
Here is my two-minute submission required as an application to do a “full-length” tale on The Moth Radio Hour.
Again, thank you so much for all you input, support, and help.
In case you didn’t see the original post these were the four one-minutes tales I shared:
Story #1 Tunnel to Safety
. . . in which I find my father drilling a hole in the wall . . .
Story #2 Dancing in my Father’s Footsteps
. . . in which I get to dance with my dad, perched on his leather shoes.
Story #3 A Surviving Guilt
. . . in which I realize the pain I’ve carried for decades.
Story #4 On Being Welcomed “Home”
In which meeting a Vietnamese neighbor changes a house to a home.
.
Thanks so much for reading and listening. I began on this mission to explore and write about these stories in 2012 and as the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon approaches, I feel as if I’m on the homestretch.
Your participation in this sharing means the world to me. I look forward to hearing what you think.
Until next time,
Kat
About me: I began “Stories of Vietnam” to share a unique panorama of stories about Vietnam, many of them from my own childhood and family. In addition to this weekly newsletter, I have written a narrative nonfiction book, to foster and interest in the Vietnam era. The paperback is available through Bookshop.org (which supports local bookstores) or on Amazon, where an ebook purchase is also an option).