If you're a Catholic, non-practicing Catholic, occasional Catholic (you know you are if all you do is pray when you get on a plane and do the sign of the cross when you test a broken toilet), gay, or if you simply love your own mother, this blog entry is for you, so listen up.
Today, I want to share something really cool with anyone who's willing to participate. I know many of you run busy lives, but if you have enough time to buy a song on iTunes, you have enough time to download this free podcast for something really rewarding to your life. The internet (especially blogs) is nothing but a collection of recommendations, and this is no different.
See, iTunes has a section where you can search the most popular and downloaded free podcasts. Ranking number one is "This American Life" which is a weekly recording off WBEZ, Chicago's Public Radio. As you can see, it has 2,625 reviews and it averages 5.0 out of 5 stars. All it is is people coming to talk in first person- an open mic of sort, but it has to be first person. You can tell a fictional story, non-fictional story, experience, thoughts- anything. But being this is a bigger stage than your local coffee shop, the shit is good.
This week's episode is only AIGHT. Except there's this one 15-minute monologue given by Dan Savage.
Who is Dan Savage? Google him and you'll find that he's a columnist for The Stranger in Seattle writing about sex advice. A Carrie Bradshaw, really. Except he's a gay man living in North Carolina with an adopted son. Hardly the person you'd think will help you rekindle your relationship with your mother and the Catholic Church. But he does because he doesn't encourage you. He simply talks about his experiences- and it is his speech that made me text my mom that I loved her.
If you had already read this far and decide to give it a try, start at this week's podcast called "Return to the Scene of the Crime" and start at 39:30. You won't regret it.
I hope you guys enjoy it. Subscribe to podcasts!
