# 374 - Somewhere Out There

I hope the novelty of my new USA Spec iPod interface for my Toyota is not influencing this post. This new device has jump started my access to my favorite radio show, This American Life. I baptized my new interface with show #374 and although I had a hard time tonight explaining the acts to my family at dinner, they seemed engrossed in the terribly long, to them, yet, to me, brief synopsis of the show.

I tried to relate the experience of Eric and Yen Yen to my daughter who happened to be home from college on spring break. Eric, the young American, and Yen Yen, the beautiful Chinese dancer, tried to build their marriage in the United States on a fairy tale story of how they met during Eric's early visits in China. People always ask, "How did you meet?" They never ask, "How did you two stay together?" How does a couple, who hardly know each other, learn to love and stay together? This act does not answer the question but tells the fairy tale story that builds the couple's foundation.

Act 2, how does a parent raise trans-gender children? Being gay is easy. It's accepted. What do you do when your 5 year old boy wants to wear a dress to school and change their name. Fascinating look into a world I knew nothing about. This is why I listen to Ira Glass and his coleagues.

Thanks to This American Life and the after-market electronics automobile part industry for increasing my standard of living.