Some things are hard to forget.

Tom Sitter won The Moth in Madison StorySLAM at the High Noon Saloon February 13, 2017. Tom scored our first ever 10 with his winning story tonight. The memory of the girls he carefully selected to give his five valentines to in 1933 was strong enough that 84 years later he still knew their names.

The Moth StorySLAMs are open-mic storytelling competitions. Storyteller hopefuls put their names in a hat. During the evening ten names are picked, and one by one, storytellers take the stage. The ten featured stories are scored by teams of judges selected from the audience. Each StorySLAM generates a StorySLAM winner. After ten SLAMs, the winners face off in our GrandSLAM Championships.

I think we can all remember some of the first girls or boys that stole our hearts, or distracted our minds. Unfortunately, some of us even have names burned into our memory that we'd like to take for walks, next to busy intersections.

I don't have any such names. But sadly, I think I am several people's name.  

And that's pretty embarrassing. 

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Superheroes hold umbrellas and cut hair

Ivy a few months post surgery with Avery and Melanie (photo from The Moth)

The Moth has recently published two powerful stories of kindness and love. Of the kind that boost our spirits and remind us of the beauty of humanity - even in the midst of darkness.

(Click on the links to listen to their stories.)

In Tim Manley's roughly eight minute story, A Super Hero Gets Sick, he tells of when, as a boy, he become deeply sick. He was terrified of needles and didn't quiet understand all that was happening, as most young kids don't. But what he does know keeps him calm: his mother is at his side because she is his faithful sidekick - as any good superhero must have. 

Told several years after the event, Tim provides a beautiful picture of parents and the storms they shielded from their children, while we play with the raindrops that fall gently from the rings of their umbrellas, completely unaware of their fears, their pain, and their tears. 

A picture of Tim in his superhero outfit, hanging in his mother’s house. Photo courtesy Tim Manley.

The second story is from Melanie Kostrzewa. Told from a parents perspective, Melanie shares of the time her young daughter must undergo a craniotomy, the frustration of not being able to do anything, and the unexpected kindness of a doctor who did more than just save her daughter's life, he saved her hair.

Ivy a few months post surgery with Avery (photo from The Moth)

Ivy post surgery at home a few days later (photo from The Moth)