(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's Friday, the end of an eventful week, and time for StoryCorps. Natalie Parsch and Kellsey Jane are best friends, even though they differ by decades in age. Parsch is 79. Jane is 31. They were next-door neighbors for years before they met, and when they finally did, they discovered something that connected them, which started with a chance encounter. This is a moving story, as StoryCorps always is, and also a story that may not be appropriate for children. It's about two minutes long, and here's their story.
NATALIE PARSCH: I was out in the yard just petering around, and I met you at my front gate because our dogs had met.
KELLSEY JANE: You saw me with my girlfriend, and you wanted to know some stuff about the queer community, if I remember correctly.
PARSCH: I wanted to know how to talk to my grandson...
JANE: (Laughter).
PARSCH: ...Because I offended him right and left.
JANE: You knew just what to say to get me hooked into a conversation.
(LAUGHTER)
PARSCH: What was going through my life at that time was realizing I was alone. And then you just came in, and I wasn't so alone anymore. I realized that I had somebody that wasn't afraid to talk. I shared that I was molested when I was 8 years old. And it was said that it was a misunderstanding, and nobody ever said anything more to me about it. I got to where I didn't trust anybody, and things went dark. I got married when I was 15, and I had my third child when I was 19. I became a violent drunk and drug addict till I got sober. The worst part is I was not a good mother. And I loved my children.
JANE: Is it heavy to look back on that in your older years?
PARSCH: If I touch the pain, it's as intense as it ever was.
JANE: I think a lot of what brought us together was having that shared experience, you know? I was sexually abused as a child by my father. What was it like for you to hear my story?
PARSCH: It was heartbreaking. But to listen to you and be there for you, it just felt like an honor. I guess the only thing I want to tell you is you just made a difference in my life. You know, I was planning on dying within the next couple of years 'cause I knew I was through, and then you just got me excited again.
JANE: I'm so thankful you're still around.
PARSCH: Oh, me too. I would have missed a lot.
(SOUNDBITE OF BLUE DOT SESSIONS' "COME AS YOU ARE")
INSKEEP: Darn it. Natalie Parsch and Kellsey Jane for StoryCorps. Their interview is at the Library of Congress.
(SOUNDBITE OF BLUE DOT SESSIONS' "COME AS YOU ARE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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