The Moth Podcast: A Place at the Family Table

Summary

The Moth Podcast: "A Place at the Family Table" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: August 5, 2025

In this evocative episode of The Moth Podcast, titled "A Place at the Family Table," host Kathryn Burns delves into the intricate dynamics of family relationships through a series of heartfelt and transformative personal stories. The episode features three compelling narratives from Swapna Kakani, Roz Chast, and Adam Wade, each exploring themes of cultural identity, loss, and the enduring bonds of family.

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1. Swapna Kakani: Embracing Heritage Amidst Personal Struggles

Timestamp: [04:46] – [18:32]

Swapna Kakani opens the episode by sharing her experiences growing up in a blended family within a traditional Indian household in rural Alabama. Her story poignantly highlights the balance between embracing cultural traditions and navigating personal challenges.

Key Moments:

• Sari Ceremony: At 13, Swapna participates in a traditional Indian coming-of-age ceremony, donning her first sari. She describes the meticulous process and the cultural significance, reflecting on feelings of awkwardness juxtaposed with familial pride.

  Quote:
  "This is the first time my parents are able to share their traditional Indian ceremonies with their daughter, with their family, with their community."
  (Timestamp: [07:15])

• Health Battle: Swapna reveals her lifelong struggle with short bowel syndrome, a severe intestinal defect that required numerous surgeries and constant medical care. Her illness shaped her childhood, often keeping her apart from celebratory family events.

  Quote:
  "In my 27 years, I've had 62 surgeries, including a small intestine organ transplant."
  (Timestamp: [07:50])

• Debutante Ball Incident: Preparing for a debutante ball symbolizes her parents' aspirations to integrate into American society. However, the night before the event, her mother suffers a severe fall, leading to an emergency surgery. This incident becomes a pivotal moment for Swapna, as she grapples with her role in the family and her perception of maturity.

  Quote:
  "I realized that no surgery is minor to the family. No surgery is the same."
  (Timestamp: [17:10])

Insights: Swapna's narrative underscores the complexities of maintaining cultural heritage while facing personal adversity. Her story illustrates how family traditions can provide both support and pressure, especially when coupled with unexpected crises.

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2. Roz Chast: Navigating Loss and Rediscovering Family Ties

Timestamp: [22:20] – [34:35]

Roz Chast, a celebrated New Yorker cartoonist, recounts her journey through grief and the unexpected connections that help her cope with the loss of her parents. Her story delves into themes of memory, legacy, and the search for closure.

Key Moments:

• Avoidance of Death Conversations: Roz describes how her parents frequently discussed accidents and illnesses but avoided conversations about death, creating an environment of uncertainty and unspoken fears during her upbringing.

  Quote:
  "My father's phrase, 'Can't we talk about something more pleasant?' was the title for this book."
  (Timestamp: [23:00])

• Cremains in the Closet: After her parents' passing, Roz kept their cremains in her closet, a decision influenced by their avoidance of death-related topics. This arrangement remained until a mysterious letter prompted her to seek more permanent closure.

  Quote:
  "I thought, my closet's at least, you know, it's not arbitrary. They're here, they're with me, sort of."
  (Timestamp: [29:45])

• Discovery and Reconciliation: A stranger’s letter leads Roz to discover her sister's burial site, prompting her to arrange a dignified resting place for her parents' ashes. This process becomes a symbolic act of healing and honoring her family's legacy.

  Quote:
  "No surgery is minor to the family. No surgery is the same. I've forgotten about the risk. But my parents, they haven't."
  (Timestamp: [31:32])

Insights: Roz's story highlights the lingering impact of unspoken grief and the ways in which unexpected connections can facilitate healing. Her journey emphasizes the importance of confronting loss to find peace and preserve familial bonds.

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3. Adam Wade: Cherished Traditions and the Weight of Expectations

Timestamp: [42:20] – [54:35]

Adam Wade shares his poignant memories of spending Saturday nights with his grandmother (Yaya) and great aunt (Areti) in New Hampshire. His narrative explores the significance of tradition, familial expectations, and self-acceptance.

Key Moments:

• Saturday Night Rituals: Adam details the special outings with his grandmother and great aunt, including dining at their favorite restaurant, engaging in playful antics, and visiting the cemetery. These traditions foster a deep sense of belonging and love.

  Quote:
  "These women, they love to eat. Yaya would just start and she would just attack and she would take a scallop and dip it in tartar sauce."
  (Timestamp: [45:10])

• High School Struggles: Despite struggling with social acceptance in high school, Adam finds solace and unwavering support in his family. An incident at an airport, where he grapples with feelings of inadequacy, underscores his internal conflict between familial expectations and personal identity.

  Quote:
  "When we get home, my little sister was sitting at the table with my granny doing her homework. She looked up and she was like, 'Thank you for today.'"
  (Timestamp: [48:50])

• Legacy of Love: Reflecting on his family's influence, Adam realizes the profound impact of his grandmother and great aunt on his life, inspiring him to embody the strength and love they demonstrated.

  Quote:
  "In the time since they've passed, I've tried to do everything I can to be the person they saw me as."
  (Timestamp: [53:00])

Insights: Adam’s story underscores the enduring influence of family traditions and the struggle to align personal identity with external expectations. It highlights how cherished relationships can provide strength during challenging times and shape one’s sense of self.

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Conclusion: The Unifying Threads of Family

Throughout "A Place at the Family Table," each storyteller provides a unique perspective on the complexities of family dynamics. Swapna’s embrace of cultural heritage amidst personal trials, Roz’s journey through grief and reconciliation, and Adam’s navigation of familial expectations collectively illustrate the multifaceted nature of family bonds. These narratives emphasize that while family relationships can be a source of support and identity, they also present challenges that shape individuals in profound ways.

Final Reflections: The episode beautifully captures the essence of shared experiences and the delicate balance between individuality and collective identity within family structures. By intertwining personal struggles with cultural and familial traditions, The Moth Podcast offers listeners a deep and resonant exploration of what it truly means to find one's place at the family table.

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For more stories and to view accompanying photos of the storytellers, visit themoth.org.

Transcript

[Kathryn Burns]

Hey moth listeners. For 17 years, the moth Podcast has shared thousands of stories from stages around the world. Now it's your turn to take the stage. We want to hear from you. The Moth has created a listener survey to help us better serve our community and continue bringing you the best possible content. Visit themoth.org to share your thoughts. It takes just a few minutes for your voice to be part of our story. Head to themoth.org and take our survey today.

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[Brett Podolsky]

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[Kathryn Burns]

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This is the Moth Radio Hour and I'm Kathryn Burns in this week's hour, we're hearing stories about family dynamics. It can be tricky to understand our place and roles in our own families. I personally come from a classic blended family. The first weekend after their wedding, my stepdaddy Wayne and my mama left 12 year old me and my siblings with my new step grandparents, Mama and Pa Harold, who lived on a farm in rural Alabama. My 14,000 person hometown was Metropolis by comparison. Everything was unfamiliar the first night. Pa Harold asked if I'd like to go down the hill and pick out a watermelon to cut up for dessert. I was excited to have a way to pitch in. I picked out a nice fat green melon and struggled to hoist it up over my head. I got about 2/3 of the way up the long red clay mud driveway when boom. The watermelon slipped out of my hands, fell to the ground and cracked open in the dirt. Three times I went down the hill for another watermelon and three times I get close to the top, then drop it. I felt so embarrassed, but Pa Harold just looked at me, kindly, went down with me to get a fourth and carried it home. 12 year old me assumed Pa Harold was thinking I was some silly city girl, but he didn't say a word to anyone about my fumbling grip. He made me feel welcome into this new family of mine until the day he died. My son, born 10 years after his death, is named Harold. Understanding the inner workings of family becomes even more complicated when we start to grow up and pay attention to the dynamics and nuances at play. What are the adults thinking and feeling? That was a question for our first storyteller, Swapna Kakani, who, like me, grew up in Alabama. She told her story at the Randolph School School's Thurber Arts center in Huntsville, where we partnered with Alabama Public Television and public radio station KLRH. Here's Swatna Khakani live at the Mom.

I'm 13 years old and I'm standing in my childhood bedroom with my arms outstanding tall and the women of my family have engulfed me. They're tying, then wrapping, pleating, draping and pinning, making sure they're accounting for every inch of nearly nine yards of my first sari. As they're wrapping, I get to see the details of the sari for the first time of this cotton silk fabric and it has a saffron auburn tone to it. It has a shine, has gold plated designs on the border, and the blouse that was altered to just fit me has a deep cut in the back, it's almost scandalous for a 13 year old. And the sari is almost lengthy. And as I am standing there, my mind wanders to the walls of my bedroom and they're dotted with farm animals. I have a wall that's a mural of a farm and my bed is filled with stuffed animals. And I think, is this what it means to come of age to feel like my room is not fit for a woman? It feels childish when just the night before it was perfect. And I think, is this what it means to feel like a woman? To not feel like a kid anymore, but to feel like an adult? My ceremony in my Indian heritage is a coming of age ceremony where a girl wears and receives a sari for the first time. This is a big deal for my family and I. This is the first time my parents are able to share their traditional Indian ceremonies with their daughter, with their family, with their community. In Hinduism, there are so many ceremonies, it's hard to keep up. They start as early as birth, at six months. There's a ceremony called annaprasana, which literally translates to introduction of solids, introduction of rice, first solid food. So it's a celebration of a child eating solid food for the first time. And as important as these ceremonies are for my family, I was not able to partake in them because of my birth defect. I was born with an intestinal birth defect called short bowel syndrome. It's a GI chronic rare disease where it was not born with all my small intestine. And from day one, I was dependent on IV nutrition from an IV in my chest and a feeding tube in my stomach. My first year of life, I was in and out of the hospital, had multiple surgeries, and my parents were not allowed to feed me by mouth. In my 27 years, I've had 62 surgeries, including a small intestine organ transplant. These ceremonies were not a priority, but my sari ceremony was their first opportunity to celebrate this tradition with their daughter. As I'm standing there tall and with my hands out, I come back to reality when I feel a sharp pinch.

[Swapna Kakani]

It's just.

[Kathryn Burns]

And my aunt says, oh, did I just stab you? And I see the final pin coming in at my shoulder to pin the back of the sari, the pallu. I'm standing there dressed in my first sari and I'm literally weighed down with jewelry from head to toe. And I have hair extensions to make a long braid in my back. And I take my first steps just trying so hard to keep the folds together, not ruining Anything. And all I can think is, don't face plant. Don't faceplant. Don't face plant. The ceremony ends in our living room with all our guests watching. My parents invited. Our entire family from both my mom and dad's side have flown in, and over 100 mothers and daughters from the Huntsville South Indian community are present, which is a herd in itself. The ceremony ends with them coming to me and dropping dried rice mixed with turmeric on my head, which is. Which signifies blessings for the future. I officially came of age in the culture I was born in. Seven years later, I'm in college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Uab. Go Blazers.

[Swapna Kakani]

Woo.

[Kathryn Burns]

And it's spring break. I've come home like the responsible child I am, and I see on the kitchen table a cream envelope written in calligraphy. Writing is my name, addressed Ms. Swapna Kakani. I rip through the seal and I read the card, and it says, the Symphony Guild Quarterly invites you to be a 2009 debutante. What the heck is a debutante? Fortunately, I've watched a lot of Gilmore Girls in high school, including the episode where Rory is escorted by her boyfriend, Dean, to her debutante ball, and she's wearing a white wedding dress and he's wearing the tuxedo, and they dance the night away. And I think, oh, no, I don't want to have anything to do with this. Well, I call my friend, who I know is also invited, and she explains, this is their coming of age, their tradition. Their sisters have done it before them. Their. Their mom has waited for this moment, but to me, I see it as an expensive party to which I have no connection. I already had my coming of age, my tradition. Regardless, I got to tell my mom about this invitation that I got and our duties and what this card is. And I find my mom in her doctor's scrubs cooking an Indian feast for us for lunch, and I go and stand next to her, and I'm in my athletic tomboy outfit, shorts and T shirt and chacos. And in between breathing in cumin and coriander, I explain to her my rudimentary understanding of a debutante ball and this fancy card and what our duties are for the next six months. To my surprise, she says, yes, you must do it. And my parents, both of them, are so excited, and I think, what's their excitement? What's their desire? Why? I didn't get it then, but today I can share that they appreciated and enjoyed the formality of it and how it was a fundraiser and as an immigrant physician. To have their daughter, the first Indian American to be presented to society in Huntsville, Alabama, was a milestone in itself and something they were proud of and something I should be proud of. For my mom, I said yes. The ball was In October of 2009, the summer before we had the task of finding the dress. We were told it was going to be a white wedding dress with straps. Those were the rules. I was in summer school at uab, and so every week I would drive home and my mom and I would go on these shopping excursions. It was the blind leading the blind. We didn't know anything about American wedding dresses, but my mom, being the social butterfly she is, she knew people who did her white nurses that knew the selection in town. They gave her a list. And we consumed our Saturdays, going to each store and crossing them off. There were five stores, and of course, the last one was the charm, the something blue shop in Hartsville, Alabama, halfway between Birmingham and Huntsville. The dress I chose off the rack was a floor length gown with an intricate beaded center and a prominent train. And it was strapless, but unlike my sari, it was white, with hooks and zippers and no personalized blouse. The ladies at the store were the epitome of southern hospitality. They went above and beyond to accommodate us. They were very nice. At the last fitting, they said, oh, please come back when you get married. And there's this awkward silence. And I think I'm most likely going to wear a sari to my wedding. The weekend finally came. I was escorted by my version of Dean Christopher Dean, who was a high school classmate who flew in from out of town for the event. And just like the sari ceremony, this was a big deal for my parents and my family. My mom invited nearly all 20 Indian family members who live in town. And I got special permission from the debutante committee for the woman of my family to wear saris to the event, their evening gown of choice, their tradition. The day before the ball, my mom, dad and I were to take pictures in our clothes the next day. My mom in our dark, elegant sari, my dad in his black tuxedo, and me in my white wedding dress, white leather gloves, and hair done in Shirley Temple curls. The photographer took me away from my parents to take some solo portraits. And while he's taking the photos, he nonchalantly says, your mom, she just fell. And I think, that's weird. She'll get right back up. Nothing phases her. But then I hear commotion to my left and I see my mom tangled in her sari laying on the floor continuously saying, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've ruined the day. And then I hear her say, I can't feel my leg. That's when I knew it was much more than just a bad fall. She was not getting back up, shocked and not wanting to get in the way with my big white dress. From a distance, I see my mom wrapped head to toe in her sari, unable to move, get rushed to the ER by ambulance. The result was a clean break of her left femoral bone. It turned out that she had a stress fracture that went undiagnosed the entire year prior. She had to have immediate surgery that night and then she was not going to make it to the ball the next day. Sitting in the surgery waiting room, I had my most true coming of age moment. I was nervous. I was constantly looking up at the screen to check her status. Is she done yet? Is she done yet? I was wringing my hands, bouncing my feet. The PB&J sandwich my aunt gave me was not comforting. I barely could touch it my entire life. My parents sat in the surgery waiting room while I was rushed to the operating room. Saying goodbye to my parents at the double doors of the surgical suite was almost a ceremonious ritual we did multiple times every year. Our unfortunate tradition. At the age of 20, this was the first time the roles were switched. And I sat there in the surgery waiting room waiting to hear the fate of my mom. This surgery was 30 minutes at the most. Minor. She was going to be fine. I've had many minor surgeries of the same title. It was then I realized that no surgery is minor to the family. No surgery is the same. I've had so many surgeries that have become numb to the process. I've forgotten about the risk. But my parents, they haven't. And still they continue to stand by my side and show strength and poise and are amazing caregivers. That's all I wanted to be. To show that strength, that poise, that faith and no expression of fear. I couldn't. Though my heart ached for what my parents go through. It wasn't the sari ceremony. It wasn't the debutante ball. It was realizing what my parents have and continue to do to save me was what it means to come of age. Thank you.

Swapna Kakani is an advocate for patients with rare diseases. Through her platform, Swapna Speaks, an organization, Alabama Rare, Swapna has given presentations all over the world to help improve healthcare for those suffering from short bowel syndrome and other rare conditions. To see stunning photos of Swabna and her family at the Debutante ball, go to themoth.org Coming up, cartoonist Ra's Chast struggles with what to do with her parents ashes. That's when the Moth Radio Hour continues.

[Jay Allison]

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

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[Kathryn Burns]

Thanks for selling your car to Carvana. Here's your check.

[Swapna Kakani]

Whoa.

[Carvana Representative]

When did I get here?

[Kathryn Burns]

What do you mean?

[Carvana Representative]

I swear it was just moments ago that I accepted a great offer from Carvana Online. I must have time traveled to the future.

[Kathryn Burns]

It was just moments ago.

We do same day pickup. Here's your check for that great offer.

[Carvana Representative]

It is the future.

[Kathryn Burns]

It's it's the present and just the convenience of Carvana. Sorry to blow your mind.

[Carvana Representative]

It's all good.

[Brett Podolsky]

Happens all the time.

[Swapna Kakani]

Sell your car the convenient way to Carvana.

[Carvana Representative]

Pick up.

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[Kathryn Burns]

This is the Moth Radio Hour, and I'm Kathryn Burns. In this hour, we're talking about complicated family dynamics and how we show up for those we love. Now we're going to hear a story from beloved New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. A few years ago, a moth friend saw one of her cartoons and mentioned to me they would make a great moth story. We reached out to Roz, and luckily she agreed. We recorded the story outdoors at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where the Greenwood Historic Fund is our partner. And you'll hear the sound of some airplanes flying overhead. Here's Roz Chast live at the Moth.

[Swapna Kakani]

Well, some Years ago in 2014, I wrote a book about taking care of my parents. And in the last 10 years or so of their lives. It's called can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? The title came from something that my father used to say a lot. It was really one of his favorite phrases. The other one was why ask for trouble? But I think the reason why he liked to say this phrase was because my mother really loved talking about illnesses and accidents and seemingly horrible things had happened to almost everybody that my parents knew. I mean, you could just take anything. You could take a button on a shirt. And sure enough, somebody was once buttoning their shirt. The button popped off, it went up their nose, they choked and they died.

[Kathryn Burns]

It is just.

[Swapna Kakani]

It was the craziest thing. A chair. Somebody was going to sit down in the chair. They missed the chair. They got a bruise on their hip. The bruise got infected, they died. And my mother seemed to sort of relish telling these stories. And, you know, a Mr. Mulcahy, he was getting into the car, he slammed the car door on his leg got infected. They had to cut the leg off. My mother knew somebody. One of the rules of my childhood was never sit directly on the ground, because if you sit directly on the ground, it might happen to you. What happened to her best friend? She sat directly on the ground. She caught a cold in her kidneys and she died. So my father's phrase, can't we Talk About Something More pleasant? Was the title for this book. Nevertheless, even though they loved talking about, or she loved talking about illnesses and accidents, they did not really like to talk about specifically about death, especially their own deaths. It was a topic that they liked to avoid, which made, in many ways, taking care of them kind of hard because I never really found out what they wanted. And I would try to have these conversations about things, and it was just impossible. And I didn't particularly want to talk about it. So we just avoided it. And that's kind of what the book was about. I'll give you an example. When my grandfather died when I was about four years old, I asked my mother what happened to Grandpa. And she said, he went to Virginia. Anyway, so I took care of them for these 10 years, and it was pretty rough. I was an only child, and I grew up in a very small apartment in the middle of Brooklyn. Apartment 2J. Never felt forget. And when they died, my father died first. He died at the age of 95 and he was cremated. And I remember picking up his cremains, they call it nice word at the funeral parlor. And they were in this little box. And I put them, the box inside of his favorite Channel 13 bag that he always carried around with him. And then I put that bag in my closet. And two years later, at the age of 97, my mother died. And when she died, I went to the funeral parlor and picked up her cremains, which were in a little box. And she didn't have a channel 13 bags. She just. She didn't get one. But they were in my closet for a long time. 2007, 2009 was the dates of their death. And they remained in my closet until about maybe two years ago. And I didn't really mind having them in my closet. I thought it was a little bit weird. But on the other hand, you know, it was sort of nice to know where they were. And the truth was, every place since they didn't want to talk about death or their deaths, I didn't. There was no place that seemed other than arbitrary for them to be. I thought, well, my closet's at least, you know, it's not arbitrary. They're here, they're with me, sort of. And then about two years ago, out of the blue, I got a letter from a stranger. This woman who had read the book I wrote about my parents and knew that my parents cremaines were in my closet. And she said that there was a mystery. She had read my book and she really enjoyed it. But there was a mystery that needed to be solved. And she reassured me that she wasn't nuts. And I believed her. And you know, because I'm a trusting sort, considering that I grew up in Brooklyn. And what she was saying was, my parents before me, they had a baby that died shortly after birth. And because, as I said, my parents didn't like to talk about death, I did not know where she was buried. I couldn't really talk much to my parents about this because they did not want to talk about it. When I brought it up to my mother, she would just say, I don't want to talk about that mess. Because the truth was that she almost died during this horrible incident. And the baby, as I said, died anyway. So this woman, this stranger, took it upon herself to look up online on a website called Find a Grave, which the female chaste death, 1940 or so. Because my parents waited a long time. I'm not that old. Between having her and having me, because they were so afraid. And where this baby was buried. And weirdly enough, she looked. Did this research before I did, and she found something that she thought I might find interesting, that this baby was indeed buried in Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens. Hebrew Cemetery. So I thought, whoa, that's kind of weird. And I went online and I looked up Mount Lebanon Cemetery, and I found their contact button. And I wrote, dear sirs or madams. I wrote this book about my parents, blah, blah, blah, blah. Archives, George and Elizabeth Chast. And I just thought, well, maybe they'll get to this. I don't know. The next day, I got a letter from the guy at the cemetery, who, incidentally, is called a Cemeterian. I learned this term. And he said, dear Roz, I believe you have found your sister. Not only that, but it turned out that my mother's parents were also buried in that cemetery, which I did not know. And he sent photos of my grandmother and my grandfather, the one who was supposedly in Virginia. So I talked to him a little bit, and I said, you know, my parents are in my closet, and I think I'd like to get them out of there. And he said, okay, you know, we're in business. So I set up an appointment. It was a two part process because the first part was really for paperwork. And we set up an appointment. And I went out to Mount Lebanon cemetery with my son, and it was really interesting. We met with him. He took out these archived cemetery maps, and he showed us the precise place where my sister was buried. And we went out there and we put stones on her grave, which is what Jews do. We don't put flowers there. We put little stones and showed me where my grandparents were buried. And we went back to his office, and he knew that my parents were cremated, which is not. It's becoming more common in Jewish cemeteries, because he said, as he said, it's a hot topic.

[Roz Chast]

Ha ha ha.

[Swapna Kakani]

He really did say that. So he was really, really nice. And he said that he found a perfect place for my parents, cremains, that there was a niche wall, and it overlooked the place where my sister was buried. And there was only one niche left in that wall, and it was niche J2. And as I mentioned before, the apartment where my parents lived for 50 years and where I grew up was 2J. And I just thought, oh, well, we really have found a place for my parents, speaking of sense of place. And then there was no rush. So it took a few months. But I did make a second trip out there with a friend and I had my parents in a tote bag and I was on the subway and I kept thinking, I so wanted to. To just say to somebody on the platform, guess what or who is in this bag? So I got there and I went out to the niche wall with the driver and we got there and I remember there were. I have to describe this like a picture because usually I draw things. I don't just tell a story, I draw it. And so you'll have to picture. There's this wall, and leaning against the wall of this niche wall where they put cremains is a tall ladder going up to the very top. And there are two workmen people on the ladder. And one by one, I gave the boxes holding my parents cremains first to the one guy and he passed to the second, and he put my father in there, and then they put my mother in there, and then they sealed up the box and I realized it was time to say goodbye. That's it.

[Kathryn Burns]

That was Roz Chest. Roz is a longtime cartoonist for the New Yorker. She likes birds, and you can see her cartoons, as well as photos of Roz and her two parrots, Eli and Jackie, on her Instagram. We're turning now to our Atlanta Story Slam series, where we partner with Georgia Public Radio. Here's Zilia Anjali, Tatiana, live at the Moth.

[Roz Chast]

I'm in seventh grade. I'm pretty smart. My boyfriend's pretty smart. So we're like, you know, valedictorian, salutatorian couple of the year. And I'm pretty popular, but I'm not full of myself. You know, I'm pretty humble. Seventh grade. Seventh grade. So I'm at lunch and, you know, there's the cool kids club. You have your clique or you sit with them. This is what we do. If you're not part of this clique, you kind of don't sit with us and drink your juice. It's just, that's how it goes. So I'm sitting at lunch, everything's fine, and some kids run in from the playground, running Doo, doo doo. So everybody calls me Z. You're gonna call me that, too, but my name is Zilia. And so they run in from the playground, and all I hear is Zilia Zealia. And so I'm sitting at the table, I'm like, what has happened? You know, people never say my name like this. What have I done? Then my heart drops. I'm like, what's going on? What's going on? So I jump up and they're like, it's your little sister. My little sister. She's in second grade. I see her sometimes in passing, but never really during the day. And they're like, she fell off the swing. She's hurt really bad. So I'm freaking out. I know my mom is gonna freak, so I'm like, oh, gosh. So I get up from the lunch table and I run outside, and my little sister's literally, like, crawling out of the dirt like a zombie. And there's blood coming from her nose and her mouth and her glasses are all twisted and cracked. And she's just bawling, you know, walking toward me, and I just grab her and I say, oh, my gosh, what happened? What happened? I'm looking at the kids like, what? Somebody tell me what happened, damn it. And they're like, she fell off the swing. And I'm like, how? How did you fall off the swing? So I bend down to her and I'm. Tell me what happened. Tell me what happened. Holding her chin. And she says, we had a contest. And I'm like, okay, keep going. And I'm looking at the kids, support her. What happened? We had a contest.

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[Roz Chast]

And I said, over the top of the swing set? We're in seventh grade. We don't even do that. I said, that's Beastie. You know, I'm super excited. She's bawling. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. And I'm like, so you're obviously, you know, hurt. Did you. Did you just let go or what happened? She's like, I made it over the top. So she's bawling, you know, blood is in her tears. And I'm like, I have to tell my mom what happened. You know, everybody's ill. He's here. What are you going to do? So I take her broken, crumpled up glasses off and kind of stick them in my skirt pocket and super small. And then I walk her to the front office. And my kids were, like, kind of laughing and stuff. And I turn around, I'm like, shut Up. At least she went over. What did you do? You know? So we get to the office and I'm like, well, what happened once you got over? She's like, well, I let go. And I'm like, why? She's like, well, in the movies, you let go and then you land on your feet. I'm like, you got more guts than all these kids, you know? And I'm kind of like wiping away the tears and the blood. And I'm like, it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. And she's just crying and they call my mom. And of course my mom freaks. Cause she's like, super, you know, just protective. She's like, oh my gosh, are you serious? No, Mom, I'm kidding. I'm like, yeah, mom. Serious. Her glasses are crushed. She. She's in bad shape. And my little sister, she kind of laid on my shoulder and we were affectionate, I think, as young sisters. But it was the first time I felt like I was her protector. I turned around and told those kids to shut up. At least my little sister made it over. You little punk. You couldn't even get over the top. And then when we get home. Well, when I got home, my little sister was sitting at the table with my granny doing her homework. And she looked up and she was like, thank you. Thanks for today. And my mom was like, what happened? You know, just tell me the whole story. And in retrospect, I'm this older sister. Yes, I'm her protector. And at the same time, I was like this coolest kid in class, you know? And when I ran to her on the playground, it wasn't really about who I was or who was watching us. It was just like everybody else disappeared. And it was me and my little sister in this spotlight. And I'm like, I'm going to be here. And I'm still in that spotlight. I'm still here. Whether you're late on a car payment, whether you ran out of gas, whether you broke up with him because he's an idiot and most of you are idiots. Whatever it is, I'm going to be here. And everybody else will disappear. And it'll just be our spotlight and our sister. Love, and I love you.

[Kathryn Burns]

Zelia Angeli. Tatiana or Zee, is a Detroit native. She considers herself a full time creative person and also works as a maintenance mechanic for the postal service. She writes, my little sister is graduating from nursing school soon, ironically enough. Lol. She's still a courageous woman who laughs in the face of adversity. To see a photo of Z's little sister around the time of the accident, go to themoth.org Coming up, a high school student in New Hampshire spends his Saturday nights with his beloved grandmother and great aunt. That's when the Moth Radio Hour continues.

[Jay Allison]

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

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[Kathryn Burns]

This is the Moth Radio Hour and I'm Kathryn Burns. In this hour we've been hearing stories about finding your place in your family. Many beloved Moths RA storytellers tend to recall their high school years as hellish, but having close family relationships can sometimes be a balm. That was a case for Adam Wade in this story told at a Moth main stage in New York City, where WNYC is our media partner. Here's Adam.

[Carvana Representative]

I grew up in New Hampshire, and during my high school years I had a tough time fitting in and I was on the golf team, but I was a reserve, so that means I never got to play and I was in the marching band. But after freshman year I was pulled aside by the supervisor and he said, you're not physically or mentally able to handle the rigors of marching band. I had friends. I didn't have a lot, but I had a few. And one of the few friends I had, he went by the nickname Fetus. So, like, popularity wise, like a scale of one to 10, I was a two. But on Saturday night, with the company I kept, I was a 10. And every Saturday night in high school, I would go out to eat with my grandmother and my great aunt, and I would pick them up in my mom's bright purple Mercury cougar, which everybody in my town knew as the pimp mobile. When I was 16, that's when I got my license. And to them I became a man because instead of them picking me up, I would pick them up. And Yaya and Areti, both their husbands had passed some Greek, so it was a yaya and annariti. And like, both her husbands passed. They lived together and they worked in the Amoskeg shoe factories. And my Yaya, my grandmother, she made the shoes before she retired. And she so much manual labor. Her hands, they look like potato skins. And ainariti, she was more the Sophia Loren esque of the two, she was a little more glamorous. She was a secretary. And she always had lipstick and high heels. So I picked them up, and this particular night was in April of my junior year. And I took them to their favorite restaurant, which was called the Clam King. It was a mom and pop fast food place. They liked it. The seafood was really good. They overcooked a little, but it was good. So we go and we order, and they always order the fry scallops and the french fries and tartar sauce. And I would order just the cheeseburger because of my stomach. And once the waitress left, we would play this game and I was the eyes, and I would keep an eye on the waitress, and then I would, like wink when she was gone, and either Yaya oriti would steal the salt and pepper shakers. That was like our game. They had a lot. They had like 300 things of salt and pepper all over the house. But it was like their thing and we loved doing it. And. And it was like, you know, and I wink and they do it. You'd hear the zip and it was good and mission accomplished. And, like, you did a good job. I go, hey, you sold. You know, it was good, you know, and then the food came and, like, went right. These women, they love to eat. So, like, Yaya would just start and she would just attack and she would take a scallop and dip it in tartar sauce, stuffing it in her mouth. And just like a robot. And she forgot to chew in her face. You just watch it expand. Where Arnorici. She just liked to look at the food a little, and she'd watch the steam coming up from the french fries. And she put her hands over, like, a campfire, and she'd be like, oh, they smell delicious. And then they would start. And then this was the favorite part of the night for me. It's when they would start complimenting me while we ate. They would say like, oh, you got your haircut. Oh, it looks good. I was like, oh, thank you. How'd you do on your chemistry test? I was like, I got a 95. And they were like, oh, you're so smart. I was like, oh, come on. I appreciated. Like, they saw me the way I wanted to be seen. So after we ate, we would do what we would always do. We would go to the cemetery to say hi to the dead relatives, and they never get out of the car. I would just have to drive the car as close to the gravestones as possible. And they would go, hi, Ben. Okay, keep going. And then we just keep driving. And then we would go to McDonald's for milkshakes because the clam king's milkshakes weren't up to par. And then we would drive, and we would take this ride past the airport, and we'd always just drive by it. But they'd always say, come on, like, let's go to the airport. Let's watch a plane take off. Come on. And be like, nah, nah, nah, let's not do that.

[Roz Chast]

They're like.

[Carvana Representative]

And, like, I don't know what their fascination was with planes. I never asked. But for me, I knew that the airport from rumors around school was that's where all the cool kids parked. And the social ramifications of me getting caught at the airport with Yaya and Areti. Come on. I was a two fetus. Come on. Plus, my first time to actually go and park at the airport, My dream and hope was to actually go with a girl my own age. But sadly, at the time, girls my age didn't see me like that. So they're begging. And then on this particular night, I look and I can see that there's no cars there, and it's still really early. So I'm like, all right, let's go, let's go. And they're like little kids. They're like, oh, yeah, you're the best, boy. You're the best. Boy. So we pull in, and we're waiting. And it's a small airport, so we're waiting, and we're waiting. And I put the radio on. I put on the oldies station, the Doo wop Shop on Saturday night, and I put it loud enough so they can hear it. I perfected this. But loud enough they won't complain that it's too loud. And we sit there and we wait and we wait. And then finally, this little propeller plane pulls around, and it's ready to take off. And Yaya's in the front seat, and I put her hand in my hand and Areti's hand in the back. And as it takes off over us in unison, we go like, whee. And it's nice. It feels good. It feels good. We feel good, you know, like, all right, now it's time to get the hell out of here, you know? And as I'm thinking that, Yaya looks over at me and she says, you know, I wonder if that plane's going to China. Like, do you think that plane's going to China? Like, I look at it, I'm like, you know, yeah, it's a small. Like, I mean, your guess is as good as mine. I. I don't know if it's going to China. And reaches in the backseat and she starts cackling. She's like, how the hell is he supposed to know if it's going to China? And then she, like, lights up a Pall Mall menthol, and she's had cancer, like, three times, but she just likes to have a few puffs. And then she throws it out the window. And Yaya turns around and goes, you know, keep smoking. You know, cancer's got you. Three times. One more time, you're going down. You're dancing with the devil. You're dancing with the devil. And she's like, it's a free country. And she's like, well, good luck to you and the Red Sox. And then whenever. And then, whenever arethe ran out of things to say, she would go like that. And I used to enjoy watching them fight. It was great entertainment. But then I look up in the rearview mirror, and I see the cars, and they're coming in now. And it's like, Volkswagen Jettas and Saab's, and they all have Central High Pride bumper stickers, and I'm screwed. And I look to the left, and this blue Suburban pulls up, and it's the last car I want to see. It's S.D. he's a senior, and he's not a Nice guy, but he's cool. And his girlfriend Rachel, who looks like Dee Schneider from Twitter, Twisted sister. She's got, like, dive blinding, but she's cool again. And they see the pimp mobile, and they're like, oh, my God. Adam waits here. Oh, my God. Wow. You know, Adam, Adam, Adam. And finally, I look over and I'm like, what's up? They're like, adam, you stud, who you with? And Yaya leans over and says, he's with his grandmother and great aunt, dear. What a beautiful night to watch the airplanes. They start laughing, and then other cars start noticing, and they're flipping the high beams, they're beeping the horn, they're screaming Wade. And I just start sweating, and I don't know what to do. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. And then Yaya looks over concerned, and she says, what's wrong? Are you okay? Are you okay? And I say, no, I'm not okay. And she's like, what's wrong? I go, don't you understand? I'm not who you think I am. And they're like, what do you mean? And I go, yeah, I'm a loser. And she's like, no, you're not. She's like, why do you think that? I go like, I snap. And I say, I'm with U2 on a Saturday night, and we're at Makeout Point. I'm a loser. I start up the car and we drive away in silence. I never yelled at them before like that, so this is all different. And I'm shaking as I drive. We get back to their house, and they start boiling water for hot chocolate. They start getting the poppycock. They start getting the Swiss fudge. And I'm just sitting there watching them do this, and they're not saying anything to me. And I have this shame now because I've disappointed them. So then it's 10 o'. Clock. It's time for the Commish. We always watch the Commish on Saturday nights at 10 o'. Clock. It stars Michael Chiklis. And we're Greek, and we support all the Greeks. We're not a Nielsen family, but. But we're gonna watch it, you know? So we sit on the love seat, and I'm between them, and we're eating, and they're bigger, so I'm, like, sandwiched in. And then there's a commercial. And again, it's really quiet, and I'm waiting for them to yell at me, and they're not. So I say, I'll tell you one thing, you know, this is Chiklis. I mean, he's just as good an actor as. As Telly Savalas and John Cassavetes. I mean, Greek actors, these guys. I mean, he's right up there. And Yaya nods her head and she puts her hand through my hair, and she says, you got such a nice haircut. He did such a good job. And then Arethi puts her arm around me and says, I hope you know you're the best boy. I hope you know. So that Monday I go to school, and It's a nightmare. SD's telling everybody I'm taking Yaya to the prom. I don't need it, you know? But I'm surprised it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I just let it go. Now. Yay. And Areti have been gone for a few years now, and every time I go home, I find myself. I go a couple times a year, I find myself in a car and I'm driving around, and I always retrace that route. I'll go by the Clam King, and I'll go by the cemetery. I'll go by their gravestones out of respect. Hi, guy. Hi, Areti. Then I drive off. I go to McDonald's, and then I drive by the airport. In the time since they've passed, I've tried to do everything I can to be the person they saw me as. And I'd do anything to be able to go back and take them to the airport one more Saturday night. Thank you.

[Kathryn Burns]

That was Adam Wade. Adam is, as he always mentions at the top of his stories, originally from New Hampshire. He tells us that a huge turning point in his 23 years living in New York City was the first time he got up on stage at a Moth story slamming nearly two decades ago. Adam says that not only was the crowd incredibly supportive that night, the man sitting next to him, Alan Manovitz, our longtime board member, offered him a few slices of pizza from a stack of pies Alan had brought along to the show to share. Adam's been a proud member of the Moth community ever since he wrote us to say, I'm often asked if you could now have dinner with any two people from history, anyone, who would they be? My answer is still unquestionably, my Yaya and great Aunt Annaridi. That's it for this episode of the Moth Radio Hour. We hope you'll join us next time.

[Jay Allison]

This episode of the Moth Radio Hour was produced by me, Jay Allison, and Katherine Burns, who also hosted and directed the stories in the hour along with Sarah Austin, Janess co producer Vicki Merrick, associate producer Emily Couch. Additional grand slam coaching by Jennifer Hickson. The rest of the Moth's leadership team includes Sarah Haberman, Meg Bowles, Kate Tellers, Jennifer Birmingham, Marina Cluce, Suzanne Rust, Brandon Grant, Inga Gladowski, Sarah Jane Johnson and Aldi Caza. Special thanks to Tracy Mills Seguera as well as Stories under the Stars, which puts on storytelling shows in Huntsville, Alabama. Most stories are true as remembered and affirmed by the storytellers. Our theme music is by the Drift. Other music in this hour from Stellwagen, Symphonette, Loris Danielson and Kina Osme, Croca, Pink Freud and Roy Orbison. We receive funding from the National Index Endowment for the Arts. 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 and everything else, go to our website themoth.org.

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