As most of you know, I’m a big fan of NPR (I get that from my Dad) and in particular a segment called, This I Believe. Stealing directly from their website:
This I Believe is a national media project engaging millions of people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. NPR has aired these three-minute essays on its news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered since April 2005.
This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. In creating This I Believe, Murrow said the program sought “to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization.”
(Read the rest here.)
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had a hard time allowing things to truly “get” to me lately.
But today that wall I hastily built several months ago came down a little bit with the help of Christine Cleary and her submission “The Deeper Well of Memory” to This I Believe
I feel any words I could add would never properly convey how this story makes me feel. (If you’re applying to be my future therapist, send me a note and we can discuss. Please be willing to provide tissue, couch, good reading materials for your lobby and chocolate.) For those whom the story does not resonate with, I offer up Believe This! as an apology.
The Big Blue Mess 
Very powerful. I love her closing thought:“I believe there is a difference between memory and remembering. Remembering has to do with turning the oven off before leaving the house, but memory is nurtured by emotion. It springs from a deeper well, safe from dementia and the passage of time.”Thanks, Anna, for letting me know about the podcast.~ April
I’m fighting tears at my desk after reading this Christine’s story, it evokes so many emotions. Thanks so much for sharing.
Making sure you realize that This I Believe is available as a podcast, too, that you can listen to with that spiffy iPod of yours. There’s a link on that entry page that will automatically launch iTunes and allow you to subscribe. Only two episodes so far, but it looks like they only just started podcasting it. At least one of the episodes is the one you’re referring to. It’s a full minute into the program before you get to hear HER read, though.