Suzanne Rust

Sometimes being a fish out of water brings out your fierceness.

Our next storyteller, Javier Murillo, shared such a revelation at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St.

Paul, Minnesota.

Here's Javier, live at the Morgue.

That was Javier Morillo.

Javier grew up on army bases in Texas, Germany, and Puerto Rico.

He now lives with his husband, John, in the cold north of Minnesota.

Javier says that the greatest gift his mom gave him was her constant insistence that being different did not make him less than others.

It actually meant that he brought more to the table.

I asked Javier if he could say something to that teacher now, what would it be?

To see photos of Javier and his family, and yes, he's wearing a cute little suit, go to themoth.org.

Courage shows up on the battlefield, sure.

But sometimes it also shows up in more humble places, like an amusement park.

Our next storyteller, David Levy, shared this story at Cincinnati's Anderson Theater, where we partner with 3CDC.

Here's David.

That was David Levy.

David is the co-founder of a storytelling show in Cincinnati called True Theater that he says was 100% inspired by his love of the mall.

Tyson is now 21, and although David says that their amusement park days are mostly behind them, he admits that that day not only cured him of his fears of adventure rides, but turned him into a fan.

And while that great adventure didn't necessarily make him more fearless in other areas of his life, David says spending time with Tyson on the parks helped them form a special bond.

To see photos of David and Tyson on their big day, go to themoth.org.