WMFE presents StoryCorps: Orlando

“I almost ran them over and the guy turned around, and it was Bob Hope.”

“I never thought I would ever leave public housing typically because you’re led to believe sometimes that you can’t.”

“The alligator had come in the house and was standing up on his tall looking into the baby bed where I was lying.”

“You’re alive… but you don’t know what’s happening, what year you’re in.”

“The driver who hit us was on her phone. She wasn’t paying attention.”

“I was about the only one there to start with.”

“We all … huddled together like a bunch of little puppies to try and keep warm.”

“We have been able to accomplish the hopes and dreams of our parents.”

“You’ve brought me farther left and I’ve brought you farther right, so we’re both kind of right in the middle.”

“How are you able to work so hard every day but you’re still so happy?”

“When I was… about where you are now, girls were just beginning to think that they could do other things.”

“I tell Leah, even now, the three Ps: persevere, practice and pray.”

“I wish she was here to live the life that she really deserved.”

“It’s a big motivation for me to keep fighting.”

“He said, ‘I go in there every week and get a haircut …”

“Finally he pointed to me and said, ‘Just say goodbye to your mom.'”

“I could have lost my whole relationship and my whole family.”

“In one second, my mom knew who I was.”

“Free-range chickens are the best, so why not free-range children?”

“It was the most wonderful, moving thing to see.”

“What’s your favorite thing about Orlando?” “It has to be the people.”