Imagine interviewing a loved one, or someone choosing you to interview for the largest, historical, oral project in the country. Your story is shared locally, then nationally on public radio and saved in the Library of Congress for generations to come. Instead of a paint brush, your story shapes the American portrait and is preserved, with a true voice. Sounds amazing doesn't it?

What's the story? A story of history, hopes, humanity and love. Stories are told by listening and sharing. These can be stories of a daughter asking her mother about growing up in the South, a neighbor sharing the ups and downs of when he started his small business, an immigrant recollecting her journey in adapting to a new country, a couple reminiscing on how they met and stayed married for 30 years.

Over the years, StoryCorps(R) has embarked on this remarkable project headed by Dave Isay. Now, a compilation of these American stories is bound in audio and now a book under a perfect title "Listening is an Act of Love". Dave Isay has taken it a step further as he travels around the U.S. to share select stories from thousands of recordings. Here is one recording by Juliet Jegasothy who heard about gangsters and crooks when coming to America.

"Listening is an Act of Love" reaches Miami for one night only, November 6, at Books & Books in Coral Gables. You don't want to miss it. Even better, the event is free. When you attend, won't you consider returning to this BLOG and sharing your thoughts? So other readers can see and hear through your experience?

If you live outside Miami, no worries. StoryCorps(R) is headed to Tulsa, OK, Westport, CT, Brooklyn, NY, Brentwood, NY, and Atlanta, GA. Click here for the complete schedule with dates and location.

If the tour is not in your vicinity, you can still be a part of this historical movement. Sit down with a friend, neighbor, relative, grandparent. Ask them to share their story, listen and record their story with StoryCorps.

Listening is an Act of Love, the book is a New York Times Bestseller and is available in paperback at most bookstores. With Christmas around the corner, this book is an ideal gift of love.

A couple of weeks ago, I returned to Key West for part two of my birthday celebration with the family. Not ones to drink to oblivion, we made the most of our day and evenings. As tourists (all the way from Miami), we signed up for the Ghost Tour one evening. The website and brochures claimed it was the #1 Walking Tour Family Attraction at night. That's because it's the ONLY Walking tour and family attraction at night. Keep reading...

It was a dark, hot and humid night as we briskly walked to the dungeons. No just kidding. We sat in a hotel lobby waiting-- tick, tock, tick, tock. Then the booming voice of our tour guide, Jay, herded us to a corner. Dressed entirely in black including an ominous black cape and top hat, he introduced himself, interjected some jokes about ghosts and asked who believed in ghosts. A couple of brave souls raised their hands. Unfortunately I have to say, that was the highlight of the entire tour. It was all downhill from here.

Then we set afoot to the first stop, and the first "ghost story" referred to the hotel and one particular occupant. Only the building and our imagination pictorialized Jay's storytelling. It was an entertaining story and he successfully interjected some funny jokes, and the stop was a brief one.

The next stop was a back parking lot where Jay told the rather long story of Count Carl VanCastle who married his dead and embalmed bride. The visual was a building of the funeral home and some laminated photos he pulled out and shined with a lantern. Not a ghost story but a true, gruesome story.

The third stop was next to a church and I vaguely remember hearing about ghosts appearing in the courtyard of the church. Supposedly if you took pictures of the courtyard at night, one might see the ghost in the picture but not in reality. So we took pictures on our digital cameras and pressed the review button. Nope, no ghosts on our shots. Imagine that.


The fourth stop was in front of a former church? Or school? Can't remember. Something about a fire. Too many passerbys were interrupting by shouting ghoulish comments. Jay warned us of these interruptions and trained us well on how to respond in chorus "GET A LIFE!". It was funny in the beginning but after awhile it became somewhat annoying.

I noticed one family that trailed behind suddenly fleed. Lucky them.

The fifth stop was in front of a three-story colonial looking house, called the "Artist House". Here the bizarre story of "Robert the Doll" was told in painstaking detail, dreadfully longer than the last one. Walking most of the day (not in heels) my feet were beyond podiatric pain. If I sawed my ankles off that would certainly liven up the tour with real blood and gore! A tempting thought. But for selfish reasons.

Artist's House in daytime

Photo by Drobnikm

I tried to signal to my family to escape the group and disappear into some side streets. But my weary feet could not catch up to my scattered family members. The final stop was inside the gift shop and the request for TIPS (Key West unabashedly asks tips at every event, attraction, restaurant...)

I admired Jay's spirit and character especially with the many layers of clothing on an extremely humid night. However, I wonder if these tour guides receive any formal training on
1- How fast to talk: Secretaries are hired to type at least 60 words per minute. Speed typing is a plus, but not in tour guides. Jay was speaking 600 words a minute. So fast, sometimes you missed the many jokes and punchlines. Foreigners, were often lost.

2- Know your audience. At the beginning of all my tours (Art Deco walking tours), I always ask where each person is from. This helps me know which "stories" are more relevant to the group. I tailor my tours on the spot. Some prefer more history, others prefer architecture, and other prefer the Hollywood stories. As a tour guide, you don't have to share ALL the facts, because the tour becomes too long and lecturish. No one wants a boring, professor who loves the sound of his voice for a tour guide.

On the plus side, his voice inflections were perfect. Eerily quiet in the beginning and building to a frightful crescendo but then he prattled on and different chapters were one long quick story. Note to Ghost Tour Guides: remember to pause between stories.

Overall the tour was too long--two hours. Especially when there are only five stops and visuals are minimal. For example, you are directed to visit a museum to see "Robert the Doll", an obsession of a young boy through adulthood. Couldn't they at least stage something so it looks real? Maybe like a haunted house?

Am I being too critical? I don't think so. My family of four entirely agreed. Given the promotion on the website expectations were set. The tour failed to meet those expectations.

I've taken many walking tours in this country and abroad and this is the first one that I would WARN folks not to waste their money on--$15 a person. As a matter of fact, I highly recommend the walking tour of the House of Hemingway in Key West. Of course, we had a veteran tour guide and he was excellent!

For my birthday, my dining connoisseur sister (Yvonne) and brother-in-law (Rick) popped the question for my 40th birthday three- day weekend celebration. "Where do you want to go for dinner?" Let's see, going through my list, I started with the biggies--The Blue Door, The Forge...But we had dined there before on their last visit so I craved a new adventure.

Then I thought of Barton G--a great restaurant for a group celebration but my sister said based on my review and other's alike, the Barton G ranks high on presentation but less in food. She and Rick are finicky when it comes to fine cuisine. The establishment could literally have a hole in the wall or cater to the rich and famous, regardless, it's always about the food.

Should we risk a new place? A restaurant with ambience, creative menu variety, but not insanely priced. Chic ambience and a fusion menu to match are plenty in Miami. The price is another. Thinking ahead of the weekend to come in Key West, I didn't want to ask for much in the beginning.

Then my sister did some research on the internet. A food critic in New York, rated the best restaurants outside of New York City. One lucky contestant happened to be in Miami. Michael's Genuine Food & Drink located in the Miami Design District. Why haven' I heard of it before? Must be a well kept secret.

In visiting their website, the menu answered our second criteria. "Panzanella Rustic Bread Salad, Housemade Rabbit Terrine, Duck Confit with Pear Raisin Chutney, Grab the Napkin We're Drooling from reading this menu.

Zagat reviewers raved about the food but ranted poor marks for the service. Should we take a chance? Yes, we always have Key West awaiting for the next three days to help us forget.

My first visit to this corner of the Miami Design District, I was not sure of the humble extent of the "unpretentious" neighborhood surroundings. I was pleasantly surprised. Boutique shops showcased one-of-a-kind furniture, home accessories and artwork with lavish taste. This was not the SoHo part of the Design District. I almost thought we were back in Coral Gables.

On a Thursday night, there was plenty of parking along the street and payment machines. No need to valet this time. A courtyard with a waterfall graced the entrance and upon entering the restaurant, the ambience embraced us like a smooth liqueur on a fall night-- rich colors in a chic setting. Then came the slap in the face --no seats were available in the main dining room. We would have to sit next door in an adjacent dining room void of any ambience or decor. We felt like intruders ushered out the front door and into the next door. Why didn't they just knock down the wall to expand the main dining room?

Maybe since it's been awhile since we had those "suckers" on the octapus, the dish was good but not memorable. Score: 3




Now if you never heard of sweetbreads ONE WORD, very important, then you're in for an anatomy lesson. Sweetbreads is a euphemism for an animal organ--the thymus glands. Not to be confused with the thyroid glands, the thymus gland is cooked from beef, lamb or pork. It is considered the ultimate organ meat and highly prized by chefs for their mild flavor and velvety texture. Typically they are soaked in salt water, then poached in milk after which an outer membrane is removed. Once dry and chilled, they're often breaded and fried until crisp. Sweetbreads figure prominently in hot or cold appetizers, stews, pates, terrines, and sausages.

A neophyte in eating glands, it tasted like an organ. I don't like liver, and so I did not enjoy sweetbreads. Strange because I enjoy fine goose pates. Yvonne and Rick are connoisseurs of this delicacy. I'll have to add sweetbreads to my short list of Foods I Won't Eat.