Host: Catherine Burns

Catherine: [00:00:02] Welcome to our new summer series, All Together Now, Fridays with The Moth. I'm Catherine Burns, artistic director of The Moth, and I'll be your host this week. 

Nine weeks ago, like so many other people, we shut down our Moth office, canceled hundreds of events and moved the rest of our shows to the virtual space. We see each other on Zoom, so much Zoom, but we find ourselves craving human connection. Whether you're quarantined alone or with friends and family, we wanted to create a series that helps everyone feel a little more connected to their loved ones and to themselves. All Together Now is a 17-week special starting today, May 15th, and running every Friday through September 4th. 

After the stories in each episode, we'll give you some prompts. If you want to discuss the stories with friends and family, think of it like a book club, but with stories. As a bonus, all of the stories on these Friday episodes are suitable for all ears, so you can listen with your kids, your friends or your grandma. 

These stories are all about identity. Who are you really? How do you define yourself? Who do you surround yourself with? How are you coping right now? Many of us, Moths, are spending a lot of time with our pets these days. So, we thought we'd start with two stories about animals. Our first storyteller this week is Annalise Raziq. Annalise told this at a StorySLAM in Chicago, where the theme of the night was Gifted. Here's Annalise, live at The Moth.

[cheers and applause] 

Annalise: [00:01:41] I told my daughter to make a wish. We were sitting together in our tiny, ramshackle kitchen, staring at the seven birthday candles on her cake. She closed her Cindy Lou Who eyes for just a second, and then she blew out these candles with great determination and she said, "Mommy, do you want to know what I wish for?" And I said, "Oh, no, honey. That's something precious for you to hold close to yourself." 

But the truth is, I was afraid of this wish, because her father and I had been separated for the last four years, but we had only recently become officially divorced. I knew that Kaylee was at the age now where a lot of kids started saying, “How come you're not together anymore?” and they started making wishes that their parents would get back together. And this wish was especially problematic, because my daughter was born with a special talent. She had the ability to materialize what she envisioned. 

So, okay, here's just one example. So, a couple years before, my mom was taking us on a trip to Disney World. We had to get to the airport at the height of rush hour. I was freaking out about this, because in our crappy neighborhood, cabs were notoriously unreliable. And so, I had called this limo company and I had negotiated this deal where we could get a town car for only $5 more than I'd pay for a cab. So, Kaylee heard me on the phone with them. When I hung up, she said, “Oh, are we going to get to ride in one of those really long cars?” And I was like, “Oh, no, honey. We're just getting a regular car.” She just looked at me, and she's like, “Okay.” [audience laughter] 

So, the morning that we're supposed to leave, she's at the living room window, and she's like, “Mommy, mommy look.” I go look out the window, and pulling up in front of our house is the longest black stretch limo I have ever seen. This guy getting out, like, in the full chauffeur regalia. I went running out the front door, and I was like, “No, no, no, no. I did not pay for this. No, there's some mistake.” He's like, “Just chill out, lady. We're out of town cars. So, you get this car for the same price.” [audience laughter] Right. Kind of a little bit scary. 

So, we drive to the airport, and Kaylee drinks soda the whole way, and watches cartoons and she's got this little smile on her face. But this wish is really a problem, because I know that it's never going to happen. We're never getting back together, and I thought, oh. At the tender age of seven, her magical powers are about to come to an end. But she presses on and she's like, "Mommy, I wish for the same thing every year." And I was like, “Oh,” you know, feeling this tightness in my stomach. She goes, "I close my eyes, and I wish and I wish and I'm feeling ill. I know that one day I'm going to open my eyes, and there it'll be." “What?” “In the backyard.” 

And I was like, “Oh, a dog.” She's wishing for a dog. I knew she wanted a dog. But I was raised with cats. I'm an animal lover, but a dog seemed like a lot of work and I didn't have any money. Our phone was turned off regularly at this point, and the gas. I was just like a woman living on the edge. [audience chuckle] But her powers are legion, because a month later, God dang it, a dog shows up in our backyard. [audience laughter] I'm not kidding. 

So, she's home from school on the tail end of chicken pox, and she's standing in the backyard hula hooping. I'm at the kitchen table working. I can hear the shh, shh, shh. And then, it stops. She comes to the back door and she's like, "Mommy, there's a dog out here and he's staring at me.” And I was like, "Whatever, he's someone's dog. He'll go back home." I hear her go back out in the yard and I hear shh, shh, shh, and then it stops. I get up, I go look out the back door.

She's standing frozen in the backyard holding this hula hoop, looking at this dog through the chain link fence. They have locked eyes. [audience laughter] They are communicating. [audience laughter] I go out in the backyard and I run up to the fence and I see this dog. He's a medium sized German shepherd mix, and I was like, "Hey, are you a nice dog?" He's just sitting there and his tail goes thump, thump, thump. [audience laughter] And then, I see his ribs and he's painfully skinny. [sighs]

I open the gate, and he comes and he flops down on the patio. I see Kaylee, she's starting to get that little smile, and I was like, "No, no, no, no. We are not keeping this dog." I run in the house and I call our vet and I was like, "Look, this dog is here. He seems really nice I can't handle it. I'm overwhelmed. I'm a single parent. I have no money.” And so, they take pity on me and they're like, "Bring the dog in. We'll check him out. We'll help you figure out what to do." 

As we're going to the car, Kaylee just quietly says to me, "His name is Orbit, because he was circling our yard." [audience laughter] And I said, "That's great, honey. We'll tell that to the people that we give them to." [audience laughter] So, we take him to the vet. They can see I am a crazed human being. I call him back later on and they say, "Oh, he's been on the street a long time, but he's so sweet. Don't worry, it's going to be no problem finding him a home. We just have to put some ads in the paper and see if there's an owner."

And back at home, Kaylee hand draws 20 found dog posters and makes me take her around the neighborhood and hang them up. And for the next three days, I sneak into the bathroom and I call the vet and I'm like, "How's he doing?" And they're like, "Oh, he's so sweet. Everyone loves him. No problem. You don’t have to feel guilty. He will have a home." 

Except for on the third day, the vet tech says to me, "Wait a minute. How'd you find this dog again?" And I tell her the story, and she's like, "What? You can't give away this dog. This dog came to you. He's yours." [audience laughter] So, I go out in the living room and I go, "Put your shoes on. We're going to go get the dog." [audience laughter] She gets that little smile on her face. Shazam. Powers intact. Thank you.

[cheers and applause] 

Catherine: [00:07:50] That was Annalise Raziq. Annalise is a Chicago-based performer, writer, peace activist and grateful mother. Her creative endeavors have ranged from leading theater workshops with incarcerated women to playing the back end of a dragon. Most recently, Annalise performed a solo show called I Know a Place, about her relationship with her stepdad, Bill. Annalise let us know that Orbit passed away a few years ago, but she still thinks of him every day. To see photos of Annalise, her daughter and Orbit, check out themoth.org. 

Up next, Wilson Portorreal. Wilson came to The Moth through our education department. He told this story at a high school GrandSLAM, where the theme of the night was On the Verge. Here's Wilson, live at The Moth.

[cheers and applause] 

Wilson: [00:08:48] All right. So, as a kid, I've always wanted a dog. Who doesn't want a man's best friend? Come on. [audience laughter] So, I didn't just want any dog, I wanted a big dog for a little kid. I wanted to feel like a macho man. I wanted a caviar Rottweiler or a husky. I wanted protection, basically. [audience laughter] I wanted some protection. 

I've always asked my mom, "Ma, can we have a dog? I want to have a dog. Please, can we have a dog?" “No, I'm sorry. We can't have a dog. A dog is a lot of responsibility.” “But come on, I'm going to train it. I'm going to teach you how to stay, how to follow me, how to fetch. I'm going to give her treats. He's going to be like-- I'm going to-- That's going to be me. That's my responsibility." And she goes, "No, because it's too much work. And on top of that, we live in an apartment." So, all right, fall back. [audience laughter] 

So, last year, I arrive home from school and exhausted, take off my shoes. I put it to the side and I see this little fur ball come up to my socks and start nibbling my socks. I just feel the little teeth, like little sharp teeth going to my toes. It tickled, but it hurt at the same time. [audience laughter] It was like little pinches. But I couldn't get mad at the fact that this was a dog right beside me. So, the excitement, I didn't really feel as much pain. [audience laughter] I looked at him, and I remember seeing the nice little chocolate coloring, like a caramel color with some white whipped cream. Just picture that combination together. [audience laughter] 

He was a lovely dog. We named him Hershey. We named him Hershey. So, Hershey, he was given to me about two months. I did everything I said I was going to do. I trained him, he learned how to follow me, he learned how to fetch, he learned how to stay. He was just the best dog to me. I'm just saying that, because he's the only dog that I've had. [audience laughter] 

And so, one day I take him outside to my front building and I'm like, "You know what? Today, I'm going to teach him how to follow me without the leash." I'm growing this bond with him, and I'm believing, trusting him. That's my pal. He will never leave this building when the door opens. Now, at this time of the-- He's about five to six months, and that door opened and he dashed out of the building. Now I'm in uniform, in shoes and I'm running down the block chasing this dog. 

Now, you do not see that every day. Mind you. I'm chasing a little dog, [audience chuckle] half Shih Tzu, half Maltese. [audience laughter] Yeah. So, I'm chasing the dog and I'm running and I'm like, “No, I'm going to get this dog.” I'm catching up to him on the sidewalk, and I run beside him and I'm catching up and his hair's flying back. He looked like a little lion, a miniature lion. [audience laughter] And his tongue is rolling out his mouth. He looked like a fruit roll-up tongue. [audience laughter] He just excited freedom at last. And so, he's running.

Now, mind you, he runs into the street now, and this is the Grand Concourse. Now, if you've been to the Grand Concourse, you would know that this is like a mini highway. Hell breaks loose. Anything could happen in the Grand Concourse. Now, in the Grand Concourse, I felt like, “You know what? This is my responsibility.” I said, “I'm going to take care of him. Now, I have to go and take this risk” and I charged for him. I ran outside into the streets, and I'm chasing this dog. I ran through all these cars and I'm like, “No, you're going to stop.” [audience laughter]

I'm on a mission right now to save the dog. Mission of the day. Get this accomplished. Now, the bus driver sees that I'm chasing this little dog and he's like, "Oh, oh, oh yeah, go get him, get him. [audience laughter] Yeah, get him." And I'm like, “Oh, thank you.” Now, things are getting a little hectic, because he runs into the middle of the street, more centered with all these cars coming up. Now, you have vans, trucks, buses all coming in from one side and he just shocks. Everything gets hectic faster they're coming and now you see the honks of the cars and you can hear the tunes of the buzzing. [buzzes] And it was too late for death, because I grabbed my dog and I lifted him up into the sky, like if he was Simba. [audience cheers and applause] 

Death was not going to take my dog today. Nope. So, I'm lifting him up into the sky because he was Simba and I bring him to my chest and I have this heart to heart, chest to chest connection. He's just shivering on me and I go, "No, you little dog." I'm scolding him like, "No, next time--” Like you see a child, you will hold his hand, so you're crossing the street, “I'm going to keep you on the leash. You are not going nowhere.” And so, I walked off with the dog and the bus driver gets me the thumbs up. He goes, "Yeah." I walked out of there feeling victorious. Thank you.

[cheers and applause] 

Catherine: [00:13:44] That was Wilson Portorreal. Wilson participated in the Moth High School program as a student at the Bronx Leadership Academy, and was the winner of the citywide spring 2014 high school GrandSLAM. A few years ago, he was chosen to be an extra on Creed 2 and was later cast in a student short film called Nomophobia. He's now a 2020 John Jay College graduate and is a security professional at Facebook and Instagram. 

Moth stories focus on personal narrative. Storytellers have to choose which details to share. If you want to talk about these stories with your friends and family, here are some possible questions for discussion. The theme for the SLAM the night Annalise told her story was Gifted. What's your favorite gift? Do you have a special talent? What's something an animal has helped you discover about yourself?

If you want to tell stories of your own, here are some starting points. Have you ever had a memorable moment with an animal? Have you ever made a mistake that had calamitous consequences? You can also find these story prompts in the Extras for this episode on our website, themoth.org. 

We want to hear how you liked this week's episode. If you listen with friends and family, take a picture and show us on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, @themoth and on Instagram, @mothstories. 

That's it for this week. Until next time, from all of us here at The Moth, have a story-worthy week.

Julia: [00:15:18] Catherine Burns is The Moth's longtime artistic director. As one of the lead directors on The Moth's Mainstage for more than a decade, she has helped hundreds of people craft their stories. She's also the director of two solo shows, Edgar Oliver's Helen and Edgar and Adam Gopnik's The Gates, both of which appeared at the Public Theater in New York City. Born and raised in Alabama, Catherine now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Catherine [00:15:43] Podcast production by Julia Purcell. The Moth Podcast is presented by PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, helping make public radio more public at prx.org.