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StoryCorps: Recording The Lives And Stories Of Everyday Americans StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.
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StoryCorps

Sharing And Preserving The Stories Of Our Lives
A Family That Teaches Together Talks Shop

Robin Weems' son Jason (left) teaches kindergarten across the hall from his parents' first-grade class in Baltimore. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

Opinion

A Family That Teaches Together Talks Shop

When school starts at Leith Walk Elementary in Baltimore on Monday, Robin Weems will greet her new first-grade students. And she won't be alone: Her husband, a retired Marine, is her classroom assistant. And her son is just across the hall, teaching kindergarten.

A Family That Teaches Together Talks Shop

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Homemade Planetarium Reflects One Man's Dream

The Kovac Planetarium is dedicated to Frank's father, Frank Kovac Sr., seen in the inset photo on the sign, who inspired his son to gaze at the stars. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

Homemade Planetarium Reflects One Man's Dream

Deep in the North Woods of Wisconsin, Frank Kovac turned his lifelong fascination with the stars into the world's largest handmade planetarium.

Homemade Planetarium Reflects One Man's Dream

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Opinion

In Meeting His Dad, A Son Finds 'Another Part Of Me'

George Robinson's parents never married and he didn't know his biological father. It took more than 40 years, but Robinson eventually tracked him down on the Internet. His father provided support when Robinson's mother died: "I felt that I lost one part of me, but I found another part of me."

In Meeting His Dad, A Son Finds 'Another Part Of Me'

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Opinion

A Love Story That Started With A Song

It didn't take long for Jay McKnight to know that the teenage girl watching him sing with his buddies on a Brooklyn corner would one day become his wife. McKnight was almost 19. The girl, Andrea, was 14. More than 50 years later, they're still married. "No other woman will ever move me," Jay says.

A Love Story That Started With A Song

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The Man Behind The Lilliputian Stripper

Mort Segal and Joan Feldman remembered their dad at StoryCorps in New York City. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

The Man Behind The Lilliputian Stripper

From the 1940s through 1960s, the Catskill Mountains were a popular summer escape from New York City. Talent agent Jack Segal made his living booking novelty acts in the more than 500 hotels and resorts in the region.

The Man Behind The Lilliputian Stripper

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Surviving A Double-Lung Transplant: 'Life Is Good'

Nan Graham spoke with her son, Howell, about his recovery from lung-transplant surgery in Wilmington, N.C. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

Surviving A Double-Lung Transplant: 'Life Is Good'

As a child, Howell Graham was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that often impairs lung function. So in 1990, he had a double lung transplant. And today, Graham, 49, is one of the longest-surviving recipients of that surgery.

Surviving A Double-Lung Transplant: 'Life Is Good'

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Visit Provides A Peek Into A Father's Painful Past

Julian Walker and his daughter Julia Walker Jewell visited StoryCorps in North Carolina. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

Visit Provides A Peek Into A Father's Painful Past

Julian Walker realized there was a lot he didn't know about his father when a visitor stopped by one day.

Visit Provides A Peek Into A Father's Painful Past

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Alzheimer's Brings Daughter, Dad Together

Betsy Brooks remembered her father, Charles Brooks, during a recent visit to StoryCorps in New York with her boyfriend, John Grecsek. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

Alzheimer's Brings Daughter, Dad Together

Betsy Brooks remembers her father, Charles, as a "razor-sharp" former Marine. The two had their share of arguments when she was a teenager, she says. But that all changed late in her father's life, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Brings Daughter, Dad Together

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Daughter And Dad: Strong Ties And Big Questions

Bob and Alice Gerold adopted Aimee when she was an infant; here, they pose for a family photo. Gerold Family Photo hide caption

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Gerold Family Photo

Opinion

Daughter And Dad: Strong Ties And Big Questions

Bob and Alice Gerold adopted their daughter, Aimee, from China when she was a baby. Now 14, Aimee has many questions about how her parents met, and why they decided to adopt. She spoke with her father recently to get the answers.

Daughter And Dad: Strong Ties And Big Questions

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Opinion

The Teacher Learns A Lesson: Coming Out In Class

In years of teaching high school English in New York, John Byrne kept a secret from his classes. But that changed in 1991, when his students helped him overcome his fears. Byrne calls it "a wonderful turning point" that made him the teacher he is today.

The Teacher Learns A Lesson: Coming Out In Class

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A Writer And His Father, And 'A Barrier Between Us'

Walter Dean Myers, 73, spoke with his son, Christopher Myers, 36, about his efforts to make an impression on his father. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

A Writer And His Father, And 'A Barrier Between Us'

Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem, the son of a janitor. Today, he's the author of nearly 100 books, many of them popular with teenage readers. But as he tells his son, there was one person Myers always wanted his writing to impress: his dad.

A Writer And His Father, And 'A Barrier Between Us'

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NBA Referee's Father: 'I Watch Every Game'

Leon Kogut, 63, spoke with his son, NBA referee Marat Kogut, 31, at StoryCorps in New York. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

NBA Referee's Father: 'I Watch Every Game'

Having a career in the NBA would be a dream for many athletes and sports fans. For Marat Kogut, 31, his long-held dream came true when he became an NBA referee in 2009. It was an outcome that may have seemed unlikely 30 years before, when Kogut's family emigrated from Ukraine.

NBA Referee's Father: 'I Watch Every Game'

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A Nemesis Becomes A Wife: Grandfather Tells All

Martin Levin talked with his granddaughters Jennifer Goebel (left) and Zoe Crowe at StoryCorps in Atlanta. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

Opinion

A Nemesis Becomes A Wife: Grandfather Tells All

Back in the 1930s, Martin Levin went to college to become a teacher. That's where he met a classmate he didn't like. "I hated her," he tells his granddaughters. "So, I married her."

A Nemesis Becomes A Wife: Grandfather Tells All

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Army Couple Deploys To Iraq, But Only One Returns

Max Voelz and his wife, Kim, were both part of the 703rd Explosive Ordnance Detachment, based in Fort Knox, Ky. StoryCorps hide caption

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Opinion

Army Couple Deploys To Iraq, But Only One Returns

Max and Kim Voelz deployed in 2003, serving on the Army's elite bomb squad. "There was no being scared, no doubt, no 'I might die' — we never talked about that," Max says.

Army Couple Deploys To Iraq, But Only One Returns

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Opinion

Forgiving Her Son's Killer: 'Not An Easy Thing'

It'd be easy for Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel to be enemies. After all, Israel killed Johnson's son. Israel went to prison for that — and near the end of his sentence, he and Johnson made peace.

Forgiving Her Son's Killer: 'Not An Easy Thing'

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