Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides: The Moth Radio Hour

Summary

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The Moth Radio Hour: Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides

Date: June 30, 2026
Host: Sarah Austin Jenness
Featured Stories By: Nadia Bolz Weber, Audrey Pleasant, Bushra Al Fusayl

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Overview

This episode of The Moth Radio Hour weaves together three unforgettable personal stories illustrating moments of resilience, transformation, and quiet revolution. From a struggling Denver pastor’s heartfelt vulnerability, to a young woman’s first taste of dance floor triumph in Harlem, to a revolutionary bicycle ride shaking the status quo in war-torn Yemen, each segment shines with humor, honesty, and hope. The episode centers on how shared failings and the pursuit of authenticity connect us, even in the face of adversity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Nadia Bolz Weber: Cotton Candy, Disappointment, and True Connection

Live at: Portland Literary Arts, Oregon

• (02:41) Nadia, a Lutheran pastor, recounts founding her unconventional church, House for All Sinners and Saints, seeking a congregational space with “very few rules, a whole lot of fun, and everyone gets to be themselves.”
• Her creative ideas included a velvet painting of crying Elvis (“Elvis welcomes you”) and a blessing of the bicycles rather than animals.
• The Struggle with Expectations: Despite efforts at inclusion and “rally day” carnivals with carnival food, attendance drops to just 26 people. She’s left bitter, resentful, and feeling like a failure—culminating in a desperate prayer in a church bathroom.
• The Real Blessing: Parishioners, especially Stuart—the self-titled “Minister of Fabulousness” and church drag queen—support her, offer prayer and unexpected emotional healing.
• Self-Doubt and Revelation: Post-cleanup, with no donations to offset the rally day, Nadia is haunted by her perceived failure—until, in the dead of night, she realizes she missed the abundance present:
  • Prayers of gratitude, recovery, hope
  • Parishioners feeding the hungry, handing out cotton candy to strangers, ministering to her
• (15:30) At a pastor’s conference, Nadia chooses to present her “full self”—including her recent failures—which connects her to colleagues in authentic solidarity.

Notable Quotes:

• “You can just make shit up.” — Nadia Bolz Weber on starting a church from scratch (03:04)
• “It started to feel like every Sunday I was throwing my own birthday party and waiting to see who liked me enough to show up. And then I was like, it's not supposed to be about me, it's supposed to be about God.” (06:01)
• “So if you don't have a church drag queen, I'm just saying, get busy recruiting one.” (09:16)
• “I only feel less alone when people share their failings with me. Their mistakes, their misconceptions, their jagged edges. Because I think those jagged edges of our stories create enough texture that it allows us to have something other people can hold on to.” (16:08)

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2. Audrey Pleasant: Dancing Through Humiliation and Triumph in Harlem

(19:12)

• Harlem, 141st St, Age 13: Audrey, once shy and left out on the dance floor, is repeatedly humiliated by Tommy Johnson’s flashy moves at church dances—but resolves to match him by practicing alone every day.
• Turning the Tables:
  • After a month of determined practice, she returns to the dance.
  • When Tommy tries to outshine her, Audrey meets him “slide for slide, shake for shake, split for split”—finally drawing applause and, notably, keeping Tommy trapped in a spotlight of his own making.
• Consequences of Determination:
  • Spontaneously dances outside the Apollo Theater and, after being noticed, is invited to perform onstage with the Coasters, then regularly at Harlem's iconic venues.
  • Receives positive reinforcement and a nickname from James Brown: “Wow, little mama. That became my stage name.”
• Enduring Message: Despite never knowing what became of Tommy Johnson, Audrey is grateful for his role in sparking her resilience and ambition.

Notable Quotes:

• “That was my humiliator...I laid on my bed crying and thinking about Tommy and his splits and turns and shaking tail feather. I thought about doing a step. I said, I could do this, I could do this.” (19:12–20:50)
• “He stood there with his mouth wide open, looking at me all wide eyed, all bug eyed...and I showed him what I could do.” (22:52)
• “Deep down in my heart, I thanked him for humiliating me the way he did because it made me more determined.” (29:22)

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3. Bushra Al Fusayl: Biking for Freedom in Yemen

Story + Interview Segments
(32:57, 35:41, 48:13)

• Context: In 2015, during a brief ceasefire amidst airstrikes in Sana’a, Yemen, Bushra—a UN worker, photographer, and “golden sheep” of her family—witnesses men taking to bicycles during a fuel shortage and is inspired to reclaim her own right to bike.
• Defying Tradition:
  • In Yemeni society, it’s not illegal or religiously forbidden for women to bike, but “against society and tradition.”
  • Bushra organizes a Facebook event, borrows bikes, and at great personal risk leads a small group of women and girls on a highly visible, symbolic bike ride.
• (36:00–44:00) The Ride: Despite fears—they could be “shot, beaten, kidnapped”—the group experiences a rare, intoxicating sense of freedom, joy, and solidarity.
• Backlash and Solidarity: Facing social ostracism, threats, and danger, Bushra finds quiet support from her mother (who tries biking privately) and is elated by an outpouring of online solidarity from women around the world, all posting photos #YemeniWomanBike.
• Reflection: Although repression intensified after, Bushra remains convinced the act was vital: “But it felt a moment of freedom.” (47:59)

Notable Quotes:

• “I was always the golden sheep in my family.” (33:30)
• “We don't have bikes. I can't just...go to the street and rent a bike. So I started to call friends and family...we gathered around five bikes, which is amazing.” (39:20)
• “As soon as I started to bike, I started to feel the breeze into my scarf, into my abaya and went back. I completely forgot that we were under a siege...and all these nasty words. But I completely blacked them out...I just felt the moment of freedom at that moment.” (43:00–44:00)
• “But it felt a moment of freedom.” (47:59)
• “That's one mission that I'm going to do and remind the people that one day...we were able to do it under three days of truce. But one day, you never know.” (49:21)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “Sometimes you have to submit to a blessing.” — Nadia, about accepting help from her parishioners (11:12)
• “You ain't got dog like that. I got me a little bit of it too.” — Audrey, on outdancing Tommy Johnson (24:35)
• “I decided at least, you know, doing whatever I want to have. That's my right. And when you think this is your right, you're not that afraid.” — Bushra, reflecting on her courage (50:05)
• “My favorite photo is the one that comes with the background of the mosque...seeing their abayas just flying at the back of the bike. I felt like I was in a dream.” — Bushra, on the significance of those moments (51:14)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [02:41] Nadia Bolz Weber: Unorthodox church and Rally Day story
• [09:16] Introduction of Stuart, Minister of Fabulousness
• [12:00] Congregational prayers and community moments
• [15:30] Nadia’s confession of vulnerability before pastors
• [19:12] Audrey Pleasant: Harlem dances & overcoming humiliation
• [22:52] Audrey’s triumphant return and Apollo Theater moment
• [29:22] Audrey’s message of determination
• [32:57] Introduction to Bushra’s story from Yemen
• [35:41] Bushra: Organizing the rebellion bicycle ride
• [43:00] The collective joy and backlash from the bike ride
• [48:13] Bushra’s postscript: Was it worth it?
• [51:14] Bushra describes the photographs—final reflection

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Episode’s Tone and Style

• Intimate, candid storytelling
• Rich with humor, determination, and vulnerable honesty
• Emphasis on shared humanity and the power of small acts of rebellion or persistence

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Summary

“Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides” tells stories of leadership through uncertainty, the quiet power of ordinary people stepping bravely forward, and how individual authenticity and courage ripple to connect and empower others. Whether it's a pastor wrestling with disappointment, a young dancer transcending humiliation, or Yemeni women riding bicycles as an act of defiance, each story offers both local detail and universal insight—reminding us how moments of vulnerability and joy, even in the harshest circumstances, can lead to deep connection and change.

[Find accompanying photos and more information at TheMoth.org.]

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Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

At the Moth, we're using the power of storytelling to connect teachers with their students. Once a student develops their story and voice, they can show up more authentically in the classroom, their relationships and beyond. Which is why we developed the Moth Teacher Institute, an annual conference that brings together educators who want to use the Moth storytelling techniques in their classrooms and communities. The programming features live storytelling, panel discussions and hands on workshops to help help find, shape and tell your own true personal stories. To learn more and apply visit themoth.org

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[Nadia Bolz Weber]

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[Nadia Bolz Weber]

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[Sarah Austin Jenness]

This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm your host Sarah Austin Janess. At the Moth we come together to connect through personal stories. The Moth has over 500 public events a year where everyday people stand on stage to tell their true stories. In this episode, a bold bike ride in Yemen, shaking a tail feather in Harlem and our first story by Lutheran pastor from Denver Nadia Bolzweber. Nadia told this in front of a sold out crowd of 2,700 at a moth mainstage in Oregon where we partnered with Portland Literary Arts. Here's Nadia live at the mall.

[Nadia Bolz Weber]

I'm not what you would call the biggest fan of church, which can be awkward since technically I'm a Lutheran pastor. My dislike of church I came by honestly. I was raised in a really very strict conservative Christian church where there was just a whole lot of rules and very little fun and no possibility of actually getting to be my whole self. And so when I felt the call to go to seminary I thought, you know what I want is to to start a church from scratch. There could Be very few rules, a whole lot of fun, and everyone gets to be themselves. So in 2008, I founded a congregation called House for All Sinners and Saints. And the amazing thing about being able to start a church from scratch is you don't have to worry about being conventional. So you can just make shit up.

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

So

[Nadia Bolz Weber]

if the very first thing you want people to see when they enter in the church is a velvet painting of Elvis crying that says Elvis welcomes you to House for all Sinners and Saints, you can do that. And if you don't really want to do a blessing of the animals, but you want to do a blessing of the bicycles, you can do that. And if you want to take over the basement of a bar quarterly for an event called Beer and Hems, you can do that. And we did all those things. And that's what started to get the attention of my denomination. And I was so excited to get an email that said, we want to invite you to give the keynote presentation at a pastor's conference conference. We really want you to share your expertise. The thing you need to know is I didn't graduate college till I was 36. I had never been an expert in anything. And when I went to seminary, I was so old that they called me a second career student, which I thought was adorable because it implied I had a first career, which I did not. But the difficult part of starting a church from scratch is that you have to start it from scratch. And so my denomination gave me a little funding to get going, but all they cared about was how many people came and how much money did you bring in. And it started to feel like every Sunday I was throwing my own birthday party and waiting to see who liked me enough to show up. And then I was like, it's not supposed to be about me, it's supposed to be about God. And then I felt worse and it was rough. Like we would have like maybe 50 people on a Sunday, but during the summer the numbers just started getting really low. And we ended up not getting more than like 35 people on a Sunday during the summer. And so the day before I was going to Chicago to keynote that pastors conference as an expert, I found myself single handedly trying to get a cotton candy machine in the back of my Honda. And my back was hurting. And the reason is because I had just come from Costco and I had lifted all these cases of soda and enough burgers to feed like 80 people and an industrial bag of Doritos and I'd put it all in My Honda. When I realized, hey, we've got to try and get people back, I remembered that there's this really quaint tradition in the Lutheran church called rally day. Rally day is when you're trying to get all the families back for the start of Sunday school after everyone's been traveling through the summer. And so you have like a little carnival for the kids. And we didn't have any kids and we didn't have Sunday school, but I was like, fuck it, we're having rally day. And so I ended up setting everything up. I made cool flyers, I texted everyone in the congregation. I was so excited to get all these people back, to really get a lot of people. So I put the sodas on ice and I put out the napkins in the little circle and it was all fancy. And I got all the burgers ready and I put out a collection basket for donations because it, it costs like hundreds of dollars for all this stuff, and it's just easily recoupable with that many people. And so I was doing so much work and that I didn't actually go into the worship space until about two minutes before the service was supposed to start. And I'm walking up the stairs of this hundred year old church building and I'm so excited to see everyone. And I see the sun coming through the stained glass and bouncing off the 26 people who came. 26. 20 fucking six. And I didn't know what to do. So I quickly pivoted, turned around, went downstairs like I'd forgotten something. But if I'd forgotten anything, it was definitely my goodwill towards humanity. And I went into the women's room and I literally knelt on the peeling linoleum and was like, dear God, I hate all those people who didn't show up so much that I'm having a hard time appreciating the people who did show up. And as you know, I have to start a worship service in two minutes. So if you could like, you know, remove this resentment, like rip out my stony little heart and replace it with a human fleshy beating one again, I'd really appreciate that. Amen. So my desperate prayer helped enough for me to get going and get the service going. And then the prayers of the people were beautiful. And that helped too, because JP prayed he was glad he got a job after six months of unemployment. And Clarice was like, I've been off heroin for a year. And then someone else was praying for their aunt who had breast cancer. Just the realness of that helped as well. And so about 20 people stayed. And there was a group of my parishioners who were, like, grilling up all these burgers that we had for, like, 80 people. And they're like, we should just take them down to Triangle park to, like, feed some hungry people. And then this other group of my parishioners were making cotton candy and handing it to every single car that stopped at the stop sign by the church they were having. I was busy doing what I call the resentful cleanup, where you're trying to mask how disappointed you are. And I was, like, hastily trying to get everything cleaned up. And one of my parishioners, Stuart, looked at me. He said, pastor Nadia, are you okay? Now, the thing you need to know about Stuart is he has an official role at church as the minister of fabulousness. And he's like, the church drag queen. And the reason is because is because, like, when we were doing our first stewardship campaign, which is like a fancy church word for fundraising, and Stuart's like, oh, I know we're going to sell T shirts, and on the front it's going to say, this shit ain't free. And then on the back it's going to say, so you better tithe bitches. So if you don't have a church drag queen, I'm just saying, get busy recruiting one. But anyway, so Stuart goes, pastor Nadia, are you okay? And I did that thing where you tell a half truth. I was like, well, my back's really hurting. And he looks at his partner, Jim, and our friend Amy, he goes, jim, Amy, we're gonna pray for Pastor Nadia right now. And I thought, the hell you are.

[Narrator/Announcer]

But

[Nadia Bolz Weber]

sometimes you have to submit to a blessing. I just remember the Colorado sun and his big drag queenie hands warming my black clergy shirt and them praying over me. And it sounds bonkers now, but I swear what happened is it felt like those muscle spasms in my back went from being like fists to being like open palms, and it, like, released. It was beautiful. And I thanked them. And then his partner Jim said, pastor Nadia, would it be nice to have some help cleaning up? And I said, yeah, it really would. Thank you. And a couple seconds later, Jim goes, well, what do you want me to do with this? And he held up a completely empty donation basketball. Now, I hated all the people who didn't come, and I hated all the people who did come. And also, I had to get out of there pretty quick because I had a very early flight in the morning because I had to go be an expert at a pastor's conference. It was probably midnight when the resentment and anger and self loathing left my body enough to fall asleep. And two hours later I was jolted awake with what I can only describe as a bitch slap from the Holy Spirit. I jolt up in my bed and I go, oh my God, I missed it. Like I had back pain all day. And then after they prayed for me, I didn't for the rest of the day. And I didn't even notice. And I didn't notice what a blessing it was for people to pray for their pastor who usually prays for them. And I didn't notice how amazing it is that hungry people got warm burgers and that all these strangers inexplicably got free cotton candy at the stop sign. And I was so wrapped up in my expectations not being met that I missed everything that did happen. So the next day, the next afternoon, I'm in Chicago and I'm going through this PowerPoint presentation for the pastors and they're loving it. I'm like, blessing of the bicycles and the Elvis. And I tell them, like, every year on Reformation Day, we do a selling of indulgences bake sale. And they're laughing and. And then I tell them how at house for all sinners and saints, we have what's called an open table, which means everybody, without exception, is invited to receive bread and wine at communion. And how we had this young queer girl who spent a year in our community and having this open table. And she traveled to Michigan to visit her parents. And I get this phone call from her on a Sunday morning and she's weeping and I'm like, baby, what's going on? She goes, I'm at my parents church and they're doing communion and I can't take it. And she was just like destroyed by it. And I talked to her for a bit and I said, do you mind if I share our conversation with some folks at church tonight? And she said that was fine. So I tell some of the people at church about Rachel, and without skipping a beat, Stuart goes, we'll just have to take her communion to the airport when she gets home, I guess. And so at 9 o' clock at night on a Tuesday, 10 of us show up to Denver International Airport with bread and wine and like a chauffeur sign that said, rachel Pater, child of God. So I'm telling them this story now they're crying. And I thought, well, if I think church should be a place for your whole self, I should tell them the whole story. And I took a deep breath. And I said, and last night I cried myself to sleep because I felt like a failure. And I told him the whole thing, the cotton candy machine, the healing I didn't notice the bitch slap from the Holy Spirit, the cotton candy, everything. And the coolest thing was at lunch later, they didn't treat me like an expert, they treated me like a sister and a colleague and they regaled me with stories of their own failure. And it was so beautiful because we felt like connected. And what I've always wanted my whole life is to feel less alone. And it's great to be dazzled by people's virtues and for experts to just stun us with how amazing they are. But that never makes me feel less alone. I only feel less alone when people share their failings with me. Their mistakes, they're misconceptions, they're jagged edges. Because I think those jagged edges of our stories create enough texture on us that it allows us to have something other people can hold onto. Thank you.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

That was Nadia Bolz Weber. Nadia is the founding pastor of House for All Saints and Sinners. She's the author of several best selling memoirs and lives in Denver where she says, I continue to write about my personal failings for the benefit of my fellow spiritual misfits. She's pretty sure she hasn't consumed cotton candy since 2009. To see photos of Nadia and the congregation with that cotton Candy on the first rally day, go to themoth.org. In a moment, Lessons in parenting and riding on two wheels with women in Yemen when the Moth Radio Hour Continues.

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[Nadia Bolz Weber]

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[Sarah Austin Jenness]

This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Sarah Austin Jenness. Our next story is from Audrey Pleasant and she told it at a Moth night that featured outstanding stories from our community engagement program. Here's Audrey.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Tommy. Tommy Johnson. That was my humiliator. I mean, at the age of 13, how could you be so humiliated? Let me not get ahead of myself. You see, I was going to a church right across the street from me that was at 141st street in Harlem between 7th and 8th Avenue. They had a center down there that we used to go down to dance my dance step. Side to side shuffle, side to side shuffle, regardless of what type of music it was. And I would go there and I'd sit on the side where the young ladies would sit that didn't get a chance to dance too much. And I would sit and sit and this young man by the name of Tommy Johnson would come and ask me to dance. I'd get up and I'd follow him out to the dance floor like the moth to the flame. And we get out there, Tommy would do slides, turns, splits, bend over and shake a tail feather. And I would do my little favorite step, side, side, side. Regardless of what he did, I would side, side, side. That was my movements. Well, Tommy did this so much and I got tired of it. I mean, I really got tired of it. And I went home one night after being humiliated and I laid on my bed crying and thinking about Tommy and his splits and his turns and his bent, knowing, shaking tail feather. I thought about doing a step. I said, I could do this, I could do this. I got up off that bed, got my belt out of the closet, put it on the doorknob, tightened it up, close that door. And I started doing me some slides. Almost tripped over my own foot, but I still did my slides and I bent over and I shook a tail feather. I even did a little twirling. Then I did the half split. I couldn't do the whole split, of course, but the half split would suffice. Me and I kept this up for a whole, whole month. I mean, I would Eat. I would stop and eat, yes. I'd stop and go to school. I had to go to school, but my mother wasn't gonna have that. And I come back home, do my homework, have my dinner, go to my room and I'd do my little dancing. I'd practice and practice and practice. One night the door, the closet door came open. I bumped my head, but I just shook that off and kept right on dancing. And I even practiced doing the headstand. I bumped my head again on the floor, shook that off and tried it again till I got it. Like I said, I did that for a whole month till I felt I had it together. And then one night, one Friday night at 6 o', clock, I got dressed and I went down to the center and I sat in my same little spot. Now, I don't know who Tommy was dancing with while I was gone, but I guess he was dancing with somebody. But I sat in my same spot waiting, just waiting for him to come over and ask me to dance. True to form, here comes Mr. Tommy Johnson. And I got up and I followed him out to the dance floor. Now, when you get out there on the dance floor, if you're really doing something spectacular, a crowd will gather around you. Now, that crowd is there to help you stay inside the circle, to let the person that's doing the fantastic dancing do their thing. And if you're not dancing so good and you try to get out that circle, you can't go nowhere. You got to stay inside that circle and endure the humiliation. Well, Tommy had asked me to dance again. And I was inside the circle and he was doing his splits, he was doing his turns, his slides. I mean, he had it going on. He was sliding all over the place and then bending over and shaking a tail pepper. And I let him go right ahead. Go ahead, slide some more. Do the split. Shake a tail feather. And he even galloped like he was riding a pony. I said, yeah, go right ahead, go right ahead. And I got tired of looking at him, doing all his slides and everything. And I slid up to his face and he stood there with his mouth wide open, looking at me all wide eyed, all bug eyed. And I showed him what I could do. I showed him my slides. And I mean, I slide. You could think I was James Brown, I was sliding so good. And I showed him how I could bend over and shake a tail feather. And I went and did me a half split, which I could do. Did it pretty good too. And he just stood there looking at me with his mouth wide Open, all buggy eyed like he was. He tried to walk out the circle, but they wouldn't let him out. They came in tighter and enforced it. And that made me more determined to do my slides, my shaker, tail feather. And I even did like the pony too. Showed him I knew what I could do. And then when I tired of him, I slid up to his face again and threw him a kiss. Let him know that, hey, you ain't got dog like that. I got me a little bit of it too. And I walked out of that circle. Now, I didn't go back to the center for a while and I didn't know what happened to Tommy Johnson. But anyway, one day I was walking down 125th street between 7th and 8th Avenue, the Apollo theaters down there. And across the street there was a store called the Record Shack. And they were playing some music. I mean, they were throwing it down. And it was one of James Brown's records too. And I just. Something just came over me and I started dancing. Next thing I knew, I had a crowd of people around me and I just showed off even more so. And this man stepped out of the audience and he said, you know what, miss, you should be at the Apollo Theater. I looked at that man like he was crazy. He said, I'm serious. He said, here. He said, come here. At this time and on this date, I took the paper and I said, well, I couldn't lose. I might gained something. And on that day, and at that precise time, I went to the Apollo Theater and they had a group performing up there called the Coaster. And the lead singer was Speedo. He would come down and interact with the audience. He would take the mic and he would put it to somebody. He'd say, whoa. And then he put the mic to somebody's mouth and they said nothing. He went to the next person, whoa. He got nothing. He came to me, he said, whoa. I said, wow. He jumped back and looked at me and he grabbed my hand and he pulled me up on the stage. And that's the first time in my life I had ever seen anybody do the twist on one leg while they got the other leg extended in front of him. Well, I couldn't do that. So I did the best thing I could do. I turned around and showed him my posterior jumping up one at a time. And he took off his, his shirt. But when he went to take off his pants, I screamed, I ran off the stage. I hurried and got back to my seat. The usher came down with a flashlight and he was shining in my face. I said, oh, gosh, did I do something wrong? He said, miss, come here. And I got up and I went to him. He said, the manager wants to see you. And I thought to myself, I'm going to get put out of the theater. They going to put me out. They're really going to put me out. And I paid to come in here. But I went up to the manager, brave, very brave. He said, are you working anywhere, miss? I said, no, sir. Now here, I'm 13 years old. And he said, would you like to appear here on stage with the Coasters for the rest of the week? Would I? Yes. He said, you'll get paid Friday just like they do. I said, thank you. He said, you wouldn't have to go up on the stage every show, but be here every day. And I was true to form. I was there every day. I went up on the stage some of the times. And one time I was up there on the stage and who made an appearance was James Brown himself. I said, wow, Then I really did something. Then I did my slide and I had trained myself so well that I could do the slide and make it into Figure 8. He looked at me, he said, wow, little mama. That became my stage name, Little mama. And from there I went to

[Nadia Bolz Weber]

the

[Narrator/Announcer]

Carver Ballroom, the Renaissance Ballroom, the Audubon Ballroom, the Baby Grand Smalls Paradise. And I did my slide and my bend over shake a tail feather. I even did the fly. And I stopped doing my little side to side. That was off the hook. No more doing that. I no more doing that. But you see, I never knew what happened to Tommy Johnson. But deep down in my heart, I thanked him for humiliating me the way he did because it made me more determined. And I mean, I was determined to show him that I was not going to be a little step, step, step, step, step. I was gonna show him something. And I showed him and I showed the ones that held me back in that circle that I could do something, hold him back and let me do my thing. Wow. Mama got a.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

That was Audrey Pleasant. Audrey is a poet from the Bronx and she wants you to know she can still shake a tail feather. You can find out more about our community engagement workshops where we craft and develop stories with veterans, nurses and neighborhood groups by going to the moth.org while you're there, you'll also see a photo of Audrey in her star studded gown on stage at the Moth. In a moment, a story of riding on two wheels with women in Yemen when the Moth Radio Hour continues.

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[Sarah Austin Jenness]

This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Sarah Austin. Jeness Bushra Al Fusayl tells our final story in this hour. It takes place in 2015 in Sana', A, Yemen, during a three day ceasefire with Saudi rebels. But that doesn't mean that the city is safe. In fact, her choices in this story garner a lot of outside attention and put her at risk. I called Bushra to have her set the stage for us. You said you were the golden sheep at one point. I just love that phrase. Or what kind of a kid were you?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Well, I was quiet, but also I was a rebel. I remember when I was five years old, my mom started to teach me Arabic stories and the boys would always go with their fathers and the girls would always go to the kitchen and cut. So I always ask my mom why the hell the girls are not going with their fathers. So that was my start as a golden kid.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

And how was that received by your mom and your dad?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Well, that was the norm. Like the boys goes with the fathers and the daughters goes with the mothers and clean and make sure they have food and cook and clean and take care of the house. But the boys would go outside with the fathers and, you know, have fun. So. But I was, I always liked to go out with my father, I was what they call it, daughter, father, girl, what's that phrase?

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

And so when this happened, did they, could they have seen it coming? Was this within your character to step out in this way?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Oh yes. My mom, she always used to freak out every time I bring any sentence towards women's rights.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

So was this the first war you had lived through?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Unfortunately not.

[Interviewer/Additional Voice]

Through the history of Yemen we always

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

had civil war, but this was the first time we had airstrikes.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

And was it just a dangerous landscape with airstrikes?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

We just didn't know how to deal with it because there's a bomb coming from the sky so we don't know which areas are safe and which ones is not. So everybody was locking their self inside the houses so the streets were empty.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

For context, this story takes place in 2015 when Bushra was 27 years old. Live from the Moth main stage in Los Angeles in collaboration with public radio station KCRW, here's Bushra Al Fusayl.

[Interviewer/Additional Voice]

One of the nights in 2015 and in Sanaa, Yemen I used to live at my parents house and it was around 12am and I woke up and I felt my bed was shaking. I get out of my bed and I heard a huge explosion and I saw my dad standing on my bedroom door screaming, telling me to go to the basement. I ran to the basement and I saw my mom and my two siblings. There was no electricity and there was no Internet. An hour later the Internet was back. So I went to my Facebook and I see Saudi coalition started to bomb Yemen. My parents were really scared because we'd never been bombed in Yemen. We always had a civil war but we never been bombed, we never experienced an airstrike. So me and my parents decided to stay at home and try to keep safe. But two weeks later I started to get depressed and I wanted to go back to work. At that time I used to work at a UN agency and I was a freelance photographer. So I had a fight with my mom that I wanted to go back to work and they were just telling me it's crazy, it's so dangerous. But at that time Sana' a was controlled by Yemeni rebels and it was under a siege as well. So we didn't have any fuel in the country and it wasn't the first time that we had a fuel crisis. So I knew from where to get fuel from the black market, I knew to which point and which street they're just standing with gallons of petrol. So I decided to go to the Black market and to buy a gallon, which cost me that day from 80 to 100, used to cost 15 to $5. So, so happy I got the fuel and I took my car the next morning and I decided to go to the office. I started to drive and I look up and I started to see men are biking. And I was like, okay, this is. I felt happy because people are trying to find alternative ways and it's not very familiar that bikes in Yemen, to be honest. And it reminds me as well about my childhood where me and my older sister Sarah, we used to bike in the old city of Sanaa, which used to be safe and people were open minded. And while I was driving, I look at the other side, I started to see women waiting for public transportation, fully covered from head to toe, holding a very heavy grocery plastic bag on their heads under a very strong sun. And it reminded me about why I can't bike anymore. So Yemen is one of the most patriarchal country in the Middle east. And it's not forbidden that women couldn't bike. It's not against the law and it's not against the religion, but it's against the society and against the traditions in Yemen. And as much as I asked myself, I started to get more angrier why I couldn't continue to bike. So I started to talk with my friends, what about we start to bike? And then I decided just to create a Facebook page called Yemeni Woman Bike, just to see what people are going to react about it and to create a platform that I could just suggest about women biking in this crisis. So people started to like that page. And I was happy that people started to talk about what if women could bike in Yemen. And at that time, the Yemeni rebels were having a negotiation with the Saudi coalition for having a ceasefire for three days. And I was like, okay, if I'm gonna bike, I'm gonna bike in these three days. So I did a Facebook invitation inviting Yemeni women come and join me for a ride bike. But then the problem is again, Yemen is not Amsterdam. We don't have bikes. I can't just, you know, I can't just go to the street and rent a bike. So I was like, okay, around 100 girls, they signed up that they're going to attend this campaign. So I started to call friends and family and everybody, neighbors, who's going to lend me their bikes. So me and my friends, we gathered around five bikes, which is amazing. So I remember that night, I was so nervous because I didn't know what to expect it's so dangerous, anybody could shoot us. There is no government present at that time. And to be honest, even if the government was there, they would never protect women. But I was like, I have to do it. So that morning came at 6am I woke up, I wrote on my Facebook, it's a revolutional day. And I hided the bikes at the backyard because I didn't tell my parents. I was always the golden sheep in my family. So I just hide them. And I took my car, my dad's car, and I just shoved them inside and I just went. And then I chose this huge highway in Yemen, and I knew it was dangerous, but I wanted us to be very visible for everybody. And I just want everybody just to see us. But that street was destroyed because there was before they bumped that street. So there was rock there and there. And there was a checkpoint. But I ignored all these facts and I just put the five bikes next to me. And I was just waiting, holding my camera. And I thought that, okay, I'm crazy, maybe nobody's gonna show up, it's just gonna be me. But I look up, I saw my friend and I was like, that's great. Two of us is amazing. And then I look up, then my other friend came. I was like, I can't ask for more than that. Three of us is amazing. And then I see two ladies are walking from the checkpoint point toward us. And she came and introduced herself. She's like, hi, this is me and my daughter. We came to support the campaign, but we don't know how to bike. That was the cutest thing I ever saw in Yemen, to be honest. So I was so happy. And around five minutes, we gathered 11 girls and everybody just started to take the bike and take the turn. And everybody was so happy. And I was trying to take photos with my phone and my camera. And the girls told me, please don't show our faces. And I respected that. So I was like taking photos but not showing the faces. And it came my turn. And as I said, we wear like a long abaya. So I pulled out my rebaya and got on the bike. And as soon as I started to bike, I started to feel the breeze into my scarf, into my abaya and went back. I felt like, little moment, they're just biking. And I was so happy. I completely forgot that we were under a siege or controlled by Yemeni rebels or being bombed with the Saudi coalition. And as well, there was like men were driving through with their cars and screaming, you're crazy. Or go back to your home and all these nasty words. But I completely blacked them out because I was so happy and I just felt the moment of freedom at that moment while I was biking. So for two hours we biked. Everybody left, Everybody was happy and I was so excited. I shared some pictures to make friends. I was like, what do you think? And I returned the bikes, I went back home and as soon as I stepped in, my parents were standing there telling me, bushra, what did you do today? Did you bike? I was like, no, I didn't bike. I just photographed. I lied. People are knocking the door. People are calling us. They were so mad. But I just left to my room. I was like, I just photographed.

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

That's it.

[Interviewer/Additional Voice]

So I went in and I checked my Facebook and I started to receive all these phone calls and messages. What have I done? Where is my dad? Why is they not controlling me? People are starting to knock the door asking about my dad. What have I done? Creating a war in a wartime and I'm a bad influencer for the Yemeni girls. And all these messages that they said that if they ever saw me biking, they're going to just beat me up. So it was very intense. I just closed the phone and my dad ignored his phone calls too. And he didn't open the door for anybody. Next morning, my mom decided to take us to my older sister's house because it was so intense. And we went there. I had a nap that afternoon and I woke up and I was listening, I heard that my mom, she was laughing. So I went down and I went to the backyard and I saw my mom is trying to get on the bike, trying to balance our backyard like nobody could see us. It's fully covered. And that was like a silent solidarity from my mother without no words, which was very, very cute. And then my sister came and she was telling me, look at her Facebook. I started to look to the photo and then there is this Yemeni girl who posted a picture while biking in Yemen underneath it saying in solidarity with Yemeni woman bike. And then while scrolling more down, I started to see Yemeni women in Canada doing a campaign in solidarity with Yemeni woman bike. And then I scroll down from Canada, from Egypt, from New York, from D.C. from London, from all over the world and hundreds and hundreds pictures that have been posted, posting in Facebook and hashtagging in solidarity with the Yemeni woman bike. I was extremely, extremely happy. And I felt like I'm not that crazy girl. And I showed my parents, see, your daughter is not crazy. We have the Right to bike. And it's true that this happened since five years and unfortunately the war is still going on and the Yemeni rebels are stronger and there's no rights for women in Yemen. And it's true that we were just 11 girls, including myself, we were biking. But it felt a moment of freedom. And thank you.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

That was Bushra. Alfussayl Bushra lives in New York now. She spends her time organizing in the Yemeni American community. She works in property management, and she's still taking photographs. Here's Bushra again. Do you think women are still biking?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

No, unfortunately not. As I said, they're controlling more of the city, controlling more of the country, and women are being more scared.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

So do you think that the bike riding was worth it?

[Interviewer/Additional Voice]

Yes, definitely, yes.

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Because the amount of the Yemeni women that I get support after the campaign and that they know this is possible, but not under the rebels. Definitely not. But they know as soon as they're not controlling the city, this is an option for them to bike. But right now, as long as they're there, unfortunately we can't. It's like Taliban in Afghanistan.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

But you think the mothers and the daughters remember this day and know that at some point it could happen again?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Definitely. That's. That's one, one mission that I'm going to do and remind the people that one day under, you know, controlling these rebels and under the airstrikes of Saudi coalition, that we were able to do it under three days of truce. But one day, you never know.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

You just sound like such a badass because it doesn't sound as dangerous as I think it actually was. Do you just have nerves of steel or. How dangerous was this?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Well, it was so dangerous thinking about it today, but at the moment I. I didn't think about it because I was afraid if I'm going to stop myself from doing it. I was panicking. I was really panicking because I was responsible for the girls who was going to come in. And there was a big, huge, like, possibility that we'll be shot, we will be beaten, we will be kidnapped. And this is what I'm seeing today from the, from the rebels that they're controlling Sanaa. This is what they do for women, especially outspoken women like me or anybody try to challenge them. So definitely doing this, I was like, I was risking my life and risking other people, but we didn't have anything to lose at that point. Like, either we're gonna die from airstrikes or from these people. So I decided at least, you know, doing whatever I want to have. That's my right. And when you think this is your right, you're not that afraid. Like you're willing to challenge whatever it needs to go out and you just do it.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

It's incredible, incredible, incredible. And can you describe some of the beautiful photographs, the photographs related to this historic event?

[Bushra Al Fusayl]

Well, my favorite photo is the one that comes with the background of the mosque, but I loved taking pictures while the girls were getting on the bike and just riding the bike and, you know, seeing their abayas or just flying at the back of their bike. So I never imagined that I would see that at all. So seeing that, I felt like I was in a dream.

[Sarah Austin Jenness]

Bushra al fusail. You can see Bushra's photographs from this historic day at themoth.org do you have a story to tell us? You can pitch us your story by recording it right on our site. You can pitch us [e-mail] where you can also share these stories or others from the moment Moth Archive and buy tickets to Moth storytelling events in your area through our website themoth.org there are moth events year round. You can find a show near you and come on out and tell a story. The Moth can be found on all major social media platforms. That's it for this episode. We hope you'll join us next time.

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This episode of the Moth Radio Hour was produced by me, Jay Allison and Sarah Austin Janess, who also hosted and directed the stories in the show along with Katherine Burns. Co producer is Vicki Merrick, Associate Producer Emily Couch. The Moss leadership team includes Gina Duncan, Christina Norman, Marina Cluce, Jennifer Hickson, Jordan Cardinale, Caledonia Cairns, Kate Teller, Suzanne Rust, Sarah Jane Johnson and Patricia Urenia. Moth stories are true. It's remembered and affirmed by the Storytellers. Our theme music is by the Drift. Other music in this hour is from Epidemic Sound Podcast Music Production support from Davy Sumner. The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Special thanks to our friends at Odyssey, including Executive Producer Leah Rees Dennis. For more about our podcast. For information on pitching us your own story, which we hope you'll do, and to learn more about the moth, go to our website themoth.org Sam.