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
Chapter 1: What is the theme of The Moth Radio Hour's 'Rites of Passage' 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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Chapter 2: How does Jennifer Cohen cope with becoming an empty nester?
And then oddly, over the course of the next few sessions, I started doing strokes in the pool that I had never done before, and it was coming almost naturally to me. I was seeing progress in something that I had never seen before, and it felt good. It felt really good. From where I stood, the fear seemed like it was gone. But it wasn't. It was just waiting.
Because on the last day, graduation day, the instructor took a ring and tossed it into the deep end of the pool and everybody had to go down and get it. I started freaking out. Just like a best friend I hadn't seen in a long time, fear and I picked up right where we left off. I leaned over to the kid next to me and I was just like, hey, how are you feeling about this, dude?
Like, I'm about to shit my pants here. He was 13, by the way. He just looked at me with a blank stare, and he was like, well, my mom said that if we all do it, she's gonna get us all pizza afterwards. He dove in and popped right back up with the ring, and it was my turn next. I stared down through the water at the ring and whatever demise waited for me down there. And I was like, you know what?
I'm good, I'm good. Like I'm gonna pass on this. And I went to the instructor and I was just like, hey, I'm good. I've come further than I ever thought I could with this. And I could be perfectly satisfied to walk away not diving down there. And then oddly a couple of the parents off to the side were like, come on, Justin, you got this. And I was like, no, no, I don't want to do this.
And this isn't a Disney movie. So I grabbed my towel, and I grabbed the keys to my locker, and I told the instructor, thank you so much for everything that you've done for me to get me to this point. And he's like, listen, Justin, don't worry about the ring, okay? It's fine. What you should be worried about is the keys to your locker.
And then this jerk grabbed my keys and tossed them into the deep end. I dove in. I could barely see, but I felt those keys, and I bolted straight back up to the surface, came out of the water unscathed, baptized anew by chlorine. I showed those keys to everybody, and I said a lot of things I probably shouldn't have said in front of those kids, and they all cheered.
I can't describe to you the wave of satisfaction that came over me and the feeling of relief that I had finally slayed this fear. I never told anybody about what I had achieved that day or the awesome pizza party we had afterwards. That summer, I swam in the ocean for the first time. Thank you very much.
That was Justin Hawkins. When this story took place, Justin was a 30-something living in New York City and working in television. But a few years ago, Justin moved to Hollywood to get out of the entertainment industry. Now he and one of his closest friends fabricate furniture together. He still swims, and he jumps in the pool without having to think twice about it.
To see photos of Justin in the pool, go to themoth.org. After our break, a young woman in Nairobi, Kenya goes against the grain when the Moth Radio Hour continues.
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