"It's amazing the things that people can live through when they have to. So you get through it. You get through almost anything and live to be 96. And sometimes you wonder why, but then when you look up at the blue sky, you think, it's going to be alright."
ANNA WISE, Maryland
"I don't have regrets for anything that happened because going through the homelessness just made me so grateful, determined, thankful. And now, every time it rains and I have keys in my pocket, I have a joy of life you cannot believe."
GEORGE HILL, California
"You know, falling in love does not save us from the bad things that can happen in the world. Yet, I don't believe I'm here because of anything less than his love for me. I miss him all the time."
CINDY WHITE, Nebraska
These are the voices of real Americans, people who spent an hour of their lives in an Airstream trailer contributing to a permanent archive of stories that stretches from one end of the country to the other, across generations and ideals.
It is called StoryCorps, and anyone who has listened to National Public Radio has probably heard a yarn or two, from a Tennessee man recounting Martin Luther King Jr.'s final speech to a pair of New York women laughing about their world travels.
Founder Dave Isay once said of the project, "By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation - reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive." The mission began in 2003, giving individuals of all stripes a crack at the microphone and a special place in a massive oral history being preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
On May 15, StoryCorps is headed to Boise for a month-long session open to anyone. Boise State Radio is hosting the event, and general manager John Hess is thrilled to be part of it.
"These are the stories of everyday people who are, in many ways, the most interesting just being out there living their everyday lives," he said. "The historical significance is that 50 to 100 to 200 years from now when everybody involved is gone, people will be able to go back and really get a sense of what the average person was doing."
Parked in front of Boise City Hall, the Airstream will be the studio. Two sound engineers or "facilitators" will prep visitors and give them tips, but the interviews are conducted on the other side of the booth. Questions are asked by friends, lovers, children and colleagues, and answers are filed into one of the following categories: Angels & Mentors, Discovery, Friendship, Griot (storyteller), Growing Up, Hurricane Katrina, Identity, Romance, September 11, Struggle, Wisdom, Witness and Work.
Contributors walk away with a CD of the entire conversation, though excerpts are often played during NPR's Friday broadcast of "Morning Edition." Boise State Radio will have access to 40 percent of the material, which will become the Idaho StoryCorps Project and play over the next year.
Registration begins May 1, and interested parties can reserve a space (one per family) online or by phone.
Whatever your story, it is worth telling. StoryCorps is about painting a picture of American life, and its mission statement includes the following thought: "Everybody's story matters, and every life counts."
Erin Ryan: 672-6732
