In this episode, milestones and new phases of life. Achieved in a pool, on stage, and in the wilderness of Alaska. This episode is hosted by Moth Executive Producer Sarah Austin Jenness. The Moth Radio Hour is produced by The Moth and Jay Allison of Atlantic Public Media. Storytellers: Jennifer Cohen contends with her children leaving for college. Justin Hawkins finds himself a fish out of water in swim class. Susan Mweni goes against cultural norms. James Dommek Jr. reconnects with his heritage and the land through moose hunting. Podcast # 907 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Sarah Austin Janess. In this episode, stories told on moth stages around the world. We'll bring you to the coast of Kenya, a remote island off Anchorage, Alaska, a stage in Burlington, Vermont, and a swimming pool in Logan, Utah. All are stories of rites of passage.
Our first storyteller, Jennifer Cohen, shares what it's like to live through the empty nester phase of life. She told this at an open mic story slam in Burlington, Vermont, where we partner with Vermont Public Radio. Here's Jennifer Cohen live at the Mock.
So when my kids were little, the go-to movie to watch when they were sick or it was raining was, for some reason, Annie the Musical. And I would watch them sitting close together, three pair of bright blue eyes, watching Carol Burnett sing, little girls, little girls, again and again and again. And I told them, I said, you know, when you grow up
and you go off to college, and I'm all bored and lonely. I think the Flynn Theater should do the musical Annie, and I could be in it because I know all the songs, like every word. And so this kind of bolstered me into this pretend auditioning for the show that I would do for the kids when I was in the car or on the beach or in the shower.
I would sing, little girls, little girls, and they'd say, getting ready for the show, mom? I'd say, yeah. So it's just like a weird family joke. So the years just went by, and the first one went off to college, and that was horrifying. And the second one went off to college, and that was horrendous.
And it was the third one's senior year, and I was sitting at the Flynn Theater in January, and a woman comes to the podium, and she says, I'd like to announce that in the fall, we'll be doing the musical Annie. I was like, oh my God, this is so weird. And right at that moment, my phone rang, and I pulled it out.
It was my friend from California, and her name was across the screen, and her name was Annie. I was like, God, this is bizarre. And it didn't stop. I went to the grocery store on my way home, and in the checkout aisle, there was this little retrospective of Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan.
And then, this is all within three hours, I got home and I was exercising and I was watching the show Shameless. And you can check in episode two, season three, they refer to the musical Annie. So I thought, this is just weird. I'm getting these signs from the universe that I should be in this show or something. So I called the kids and I told them and I said, oh mom, you gotta do it.
You gotta do that real audition now. Like, do it, do it. And I thought, like... You know, being in a musical wasn't really my vibe, but I thought, you know, I'm going to be so devastated once that third one leaves that I thought maybe this would give me something fun. And, you know, because I'm pretty sure you can't sing, dance, and cry all at the same time. So I thought it could be fun.
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