VA Presents: My Life, My Story31 Aug 2020

Zack: The Gambler

A hospital room might not seem like an ideal spot for someone to tell their life story.

There are all those beeping machines. Nurses are popping in and out on their rounds. And the patients themselves have to wear those silly robes and no-slip socks; often they are feeling sick or tired . . . or both.

And yet, despite the interruptions and other little annoyances, most of the 5,000-plus interviews we've done with veterans through the "My Life, My Story" project have occurred in hospitals. And that has proven, we think, to be a good thing.

The fact is, spending a few days at a hospital can be downright boring. Besides being unwell, patients are usually stuck in their rooms without much to do besides watch TV and rest. Chatting with a stranger about your life can relieve the tedium. Beyond that, we’ve also found that patients are often in reflective moods before we even talk to them. After all, when you're sick, it's hard not to get a little nostalgic for days when you felt a whole lot better.

This episode of our podcast features Zack. At the time of his interview, Zack was being monitored with an EEG for seizures. Attached to his head were a bunch of wires and electrodes. He'd hardly slept the night before. And yet, he agreed to be interviewed, and the story he told us was one of our favorites. We hope you enjoy it, too.

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Episoder(31)

Kari: A big, wonderful, dysfunctional family

A smart, funny sailor talks about her journey from being a cook on a destroyer to a counselor on an aircraft carrier.

2 Aug 202310min

Luke: Turnip soup, black bread

This amazing story details the day-to-day existence of a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II, and also what followed his liberation.

9 Jun 202310min

Eugene: He helps me, and I help him

A veteran discovers at 20 years old something that upends everything he thought he knew about himself. But life goes on.

2 Jun 20238min

Greg: Just keep pedaling

“You never know what other people are going through." That's a cornerstone idea for the "My Life, My Story" project, and it really rings true in this story about Greg.

26 Mai 20238min

Kevin: Boring can be good

Where you start in life can go a long way toward determining where you end up as an adult. But it doesn’t have to.

19 Mai 20239min

Florian: the story everyone wants to hear

The story that Florian tells in this episode is literally the stuff movies are (and have been) made of. Whether or not you know the history of the USS Indianapolis, this is a story worth hearing.

26 Aug 202110min

Jimmy: Leaving a mark

A taxidermist who trekked alone through China and made it into a book called "Weird Wisconsin" -- those are some of the highlights of this wonderful veteran's story.

19 Aug 20219min

Jeb: The Guy Who Got Out

A lot of people have screwed up, royally, at least once in their lives. They've crashed cars, yelled at the wrong guy in a bar, fallen asleep on guard duty, cheated on their spouse . . . or worse. Som...

12 Aug 20219min