Anita
Appearances
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
I was in the car. I was in the front seat. You were in the back seat.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
For me, it was such a shocking event. It permeated every cell of my being, meaning, like, I just remember it all very clearly. We were in the car. My mother was driving. She was always impeccably dressed if she was going out. And it was raining that day. My mother exited the freeway. And she spotted this young man hitchhiking. He was tall and lanky and he had long blonde, dirty blonde hair.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
Well, because it was wet, it was raining, you know, and his beard was just like down to his chest. And he had his shirt inside out and misbuttoned. And she said, oh, he has such kind eyes. And I was like, no, he doesn't. You can't see his eyes. It's raining.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
And then, of course, I was protesting loudly, don't stop the car. And Cecilia even said, no, Manuelita, don't do it, don't do it. Manuelita stopped anyway. the man came to the window. And he had to talk through the passenger side window where I was sitting and kind of like freaking out that he was in my face now.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
And my mother didn't speak very good English, neither did Cecilia. But guess who did speak Spanish?
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
And Cecilia, you know, she was all dressed prim and proper and she even had little white gloves on. And he had a booming personality to match a booming voice. He had a great voice. He got in the car and everybody calmed down when we heard him speak to Cecilia so kindly. And my mother introduced them and she pointed out that, you know, she had just come. Cecilia had just come to the U.S. from Peru.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
And this is how the story started. Their life changed. Our lives changed. It was like a meteor hitting the earth when we met Brian. Brian.
This American Life
850: If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away
I can remember even the knock on the door. And I ran to open it, and there they were, standing there. I yelled to my mom that they were here, and she came running. Her mom, Manolita. She welcomed them in, and I don't know what happened next, but they came back married, and they loved each other till the end.