446:
Living Without (2011)
Originally aired 09.16.2011
Stories of people living without. Nubar Alexanian explains what fish can do for him that his own ears cannot. Bobby Morris, on leaving baseball. And other stories.
It's hard to give things up. Host Ira Glass tells the story of Walter, a three-year-old boy who had to give up his pacifier, and then, wanting comfort, asked all the adults around him to tell the stories of when they gave up their pacifiers. (4 minutes)
Act One. Do You Hear What I Hear?
Nubar Alexanian was forced to give up one thing—and then gave up another thing by choice. This story was put together by Nubar and his daughter Abby, with help from Jay Allison, for Transom.org, with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It originally appeared on Transom's site, where there's an ongoing discussion about the story. (9 minutes)
Ira with former baseball player Bobby Morris, on leaving baseball. (7 minutes)
Note: We first broadcast this show in 2005, and in 2011 we did this new version, replacing an essay by Sarah Vowell with the story above. Her essay was about a gluten-free diet called Living Without and it was great, but the culture sort of caught up to the idea of gluten-free living and by the time we wanted to rerun the show six years later, in an era where pizza places everywhere offer gluten-free pizza, the story felt like a relic from a more innocent, gluten-ignorant era.
Act Three. The Call Of The Great Indoors.
Every week, Chelsea Merz has lunch with a homeless man named Matthew, in the same restaurant. Matthew's been on the street for seven years, but once or twice a year, he housesits for a friend. She talked to him after he was housesitting for 16 days, on the day he went back out on the street. This story is part of a larger project Chelsea is putting together, with help from Jay Allison, the Cape and Island NPR stations, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (8 minutes) Since we first broadcast this story, Matthew has gotten off the street. He now gives talks around the country about his experience.
Sometimes it's hard to figure out if you're doing something of your own choice or because someone wants you to do it. Actor Matt Malloy reads "Guilt," a short story by Judith Budnitz.
(23 minutes)
