MORNING STORIES TRANSCRIPT
Anger Boy: Tony Kahn makes a quick call to confront a holiday hacker.
Tony Kahn:
Hi, everybody! This is Tony Kahn, the producer and director of Morning Stories
from WGBH in Boston. A few days ago, we were getting ready to close up shop
for the holidays, and we had a break-in! Somebody named "Anger Boy" had
gotten onto our Flickr site – you know, we keep the pictures and the stories that
you send us – and he covered the face of one of our contributors, Richard Ferri,
not just with a mustache, but with a full white beard and Santa Claus hat.
Richard, who's an AIDS nurse, had told us the story of the recent death of his
partner and his husband of twenty-six years, John. And since nobody else's
picture had been defaced that I could see, it looked to us like a pretty clear act of
gay bashing.
So we emailed Richard [at] once to tell him that the beard and the hat were being
removed and, since Anger Boy had boldly left an email address, we sent him an
email too, asking if he'd take a phone call from me before we closed him off the
Flickr site. Well, we had misjudged everybody. Turns out that Richard was
delighted – he said that the prank had picked up his spirits, and Anger Boy?
Anger Boy turned out to be a rabbi in Dallas, Texas!
[the Rabbi speaks over a phone line]
Texas Rabbi:
You know I'm a, a big fan of the show, and I've also been visiting your, your
page on Flickr, where you show the photographs of some of the people that have
been involved in the stories, and you've had on the show, and you know, in one,
in a lovely, what we call, "Easter Egg" that, that the administrators of Flickr have
placed on, on the website, any visitors of Flickr site can add their choice of either
a red-and-white Santa hat or a big fluffy Santa beard to anyone appearing in a
photograph on Flickr. You know, it's just a way of, of hopefully sharing a little
bit of a smile. And Richard had the best, the best full- faced portrait on your site,
with or without the beard. [laughs] Well, , I apologize for, for adding hats and
beards willy-nilly without your permission.
Tony Kahn:
We got in touch with Richard –
Texas Rabbi:
Uh-Oh.
Tony Kahn:
– and we told him about this, and – let , let me just read you an email. He says,
"This is just great! Tell the rabbi he has made my day! Does Texas allow Jews?
[Rabbi laughs heartily] He asks, you, you are in Texas, you, you're in Dallas, he
says –
Texas Rabbi:
That’s right.
[Laughs heartily]
Tony Kahn:
Would this be an appropriate occasion to say, "Oy vey!"
Texas Rabbi:
I think that fits just fine!
Tony Kahn:
[Laughs] And then he says, "You tell the rabbi, he gave my tired and true
Episcopalian soul a lift!"
Texas Rabbi:
[Appreciatively] Awww.
Tony Kahn:
" I plan to say the act of contrition tonight as I light the candle on my menorah.
Yes, I do celebrate Hanukkah also, tonight, in his honor!
Texas Rabbi:
[Appreciatively] Awww. What a wonderful story!
Tony Kahn:
Tell you what. I have his phone number and I'll give it to you once we've
finished talking, okay?
Texas Rabbi:
Terrific!
Tony Kahn:
I know he'd love to hear from you.
Texas Rabbi:
I'd love that as well. You know, apropos of the candle lighting, one of my, one of
my favorite lines from the proverbs says, "Neir Adonai, nishmat adam" – that
God's candle is the human soul. So, you know, the way that, you know, that the
real spirit of lighting candles – at least for us, this time is to try to illuminate
somebody else's soul. You may even be pleasantly surprised!
Tony Kahn:
Well, I certainly am.
Texas Rabbi:
As am I.
Tony Kahn:
I will give you Richard's phone number; I'm sure he'd be delighted to hear from
you –
Texas Rabbi:
Terrific.
Tony Kahn:
– And, and what is a Jew doing in Texas?
Texas Rabbi:
Well, you do know we have pretty strict border policies here, but one of the
things – I grew up in Ohio, but I had spent some time here; my mom grew up in
El Paso, so I'd been in and out of Texas, growing up, and really just fell in love
with it. Fell in love with the people, and, and the spirit, and you know, when I,
when I came to, to visit Texas for the first time, it struck me as being the only
place (aside from Israel) where the residents fly their flag at every available
opportunity and space. Everywhere you turn there are, there are Texas flags,
and I, I really love that sort of togetherness and cultural collaboration. And, and
oneness. It's really a terrific place. And yes, they do allow Jews here, and we do
quite well.
Tony Kahn:
We very humbly ask for contributions [both laugh] on the – on the webpage –
Texas Rabbi:
I think I can handle that!
Tony Kahn:
– and only if you're not motivated by guilt.
Texas Rabbi:
[Chuckles] Heh! Listen, what's, what’s so wrong with a little Jewish guilt at this
time of the year?
Tony Kahn:
[Chuckles] Well, I figure you want to take a couple of weeks off.
Texas Rabbi:
Well, okay.
Tony Kahn:
Rabbi, what a pleasure. Thanks, thanks a lot, and I, I hope we'll hear from you
again.
Texas Rabbi:
I hope so too, and a happy Hanukkah, and a Merry Christmas to all your staff.
Tony Kahn:
Thank you very much.
Texas Rabbi:
Thank you.
Tony Kahn:
Bye.
Texas Rabbi:
B’-Bye.
Tony Kahn:
Rabbi Oren-Hayon with our completely unplanned holiday podcast, and my
unexpected gift from the rabbi, of a little bit more understanding. [laughs
heartily] Gary Mott's here with me. I'd asked him, where did this label "Anger
Boy" come from? And he responded, "I'll tell you, no problem. After all, if you
can't share a character flaw with 300 million of your closest friends, then who can
you share them with?" But you have the letter there, right, Gar?
Gary Mott:
I do. "My wife Julie was the one who gave me the nickname "Anger Boy"
because of my charming proclivity to fly into rage over petty and ridiculous
things. Saran Wrap that's stuck to itself; documents that were stapled off-center;
the thin strip of unused adhesive at the edge of a sheet of postage stamps. That
one was particularly galling!"
Tony Kahn:
[Laughing] Are you identifying with this, Gary?
Gary Mott:
I, I'm trying to channel the rabbi here –
Tony Kahn:
I see. Okay.
Gary Mott:
[Continues the rabbi's letter] – "You get the picture. I was what you might call
‘high-strung,’ well, you might call me "insane," but that wouldn't be very
charitable of you. Anyway, every time Julie noticed my face getting red, and my
hands balled up into tiny fists of rage, she would begin singing the first line of
the Shirelles' Soldier Boy with some slightly improvised lyrics.” Tony, take it
away!
Tony Kahn:
Julie, forgive me if I don't sing it in any key you've ever heard. [Sings:]
“Anger Boy, You're my little Anger Boy,
I'll be true to you-oo.”
Gary Mott:
[Continues rabbi's letter] "We kept playing our respective roles until –
Tony Kahn:
I'm keeping my day job. [both laugh heartily]
Gary Mott:
“– until just a few months ago. My dad was dying of lung cancer. And one of
the last things he told me was that he had noticed that Julie kept calling me
‘Anger Boy.’ ‘I know you're angry,’ he told me. ‘I am too! Life is too short.’ My
dad died at the beginning of August. Since he's been gone, I think I've gotten
better about knowing what to be angry about. Chronic illness, and death; lost
time, lost hope, lost love. Most of the other anger has just faded away, and I've
been pretty content to see it go. P.S. Thanks also for getting me Richard's info.
We've been in touch, and it's been wonderful. You're right! A few words do go a
long way."
Tony Kahn:
There is one more letter I do want to read, in the, in the spirit of the season. This
one came to us from a fellow named Chip, who lives in London now, but used to
live in Boston. He says,
"I moved here for work about three years ago. The idea is, I'll be back home in
Boston someday, just not sure when. I've been watching the podcast area since
the beginning. Back then, it was really only Adam Curry, Don and Drew, Dave
Slusher, I.T. Conversations, and you guys. Boston's always been a city on the
forefront, so I wasn't all that surprised that WGBH was there at the start. The
stories are great, and remind me that life is full of powerful personal moments, if
only you look for them. I must admit I've always been a freeloader in the past;
I've never given to public radio, and now I find myself in another country,
listening to more WGBH programming than I ever did when I lived in Boston.
So, where you guys put out the reminder that it actually takes money to create all
these great stories, well, I was more than happy to open the wallet and make
sure I did my part. And I hope others do too."
Thanks, Chip, for the contribution and for the encouragement to others. And
speaking about encouragement to others, taking a note from the rabbi's book, we
hope that all the candles that you light this season shed a little light on how easy
it is to get each other wrong, and what a gift it is to get each other right. And
thanks also to Ipswitch for another year of their support, and to all of you for
your stories, your kindness, and your contributions. And to you, Gary, a very
merry Texas and Boston Christmas to you and to your family!
Gary Mott:
And a Happy Hanukkah to you. <wgbh.org/morningstories> –
Tony Kahn:
Just don't break in, okay? [laughs]
Gary Mott:
– Just don't break in. You know, hang out, listen, enjoy –
[Light holiday instrumental music (Hark How the Bells) underlays rest of show]
Tony Kahn:
[Sings] “Anger boy, you're my little anger boy!”
Gary Mott:
– and contribute! Why not?
Tony Kahn:
That too! And we'll be back at the beginning of the year – very soon – so see
you then. Happy Holidays.
[End of Recording]
Notes from transcriber:
I liked [this one] more and more, each time I listened. I'd heard it when it was
originally podcast, but what it did then, mostly, was to stir up my (half)-Jewish
guilt (which seems to have come to me in full doses, despite the "half" part), and
which working on this transcript project is helping assuage. So, once again,
thanks for bringing me in on the project!
Also, I have been struck by how fine a singing voice Tony has. Something we
transcribed the other day struck me that way, too.
Transcribed by Liz Cooksey <transcripts_liz@bellsouth.net>