On the Run

Follow this link and listen to act one of This American Life. Ira Glass, in his mastery, unwinds the story of a family of eight who, after living relatively isolated on an 140 acre farm in West Virgina spend 7 years on the run from the law. They live in an old boat, not too far from where my parents live in Maryland and a tree house in a the swamps of Florida. Somehow, their unusual childhoods didn't mess them up or make them resent their parents. The children sound relatively normal. And sweet.

And if you have time (because its about 20 minutes long), you should listen to this short story in Act Five of this show, called Numbers. The show is about people trying to put things into numbers, that they just shouldn't. This story is called Break it Down and its about a man who is trying to break down his relationship into how much she cost him, but can't make sense of it.