I listened to Dick Gordon's "Walking Away" which included a story about Steve Walsh who chose to stop paying mortgage on his home due to the hopelessness of its lost value. This story was interesting and exposed the helplessness and desperation people have come to due to collapsing housing value. Dick Gordon was able to delve into not only the economic side, but the personal side of Steve Walsh's story. Gordon asked about the effects on Walsh's family, how Walsh's family coped with their housing situation, and the repercussions of choosing not to pay a mortgage.
This show was very informative and also daunting, as I will someday be looking for a home, and will have to face lost values and enormous mortgage payments. I appreciate that Gordon was able to ask Walsh about the economic and personal effects because this helped put into perspective that this story is from a real person, and Walsh and his family are actually being affected by this collapse in house values. Hearing from an everyday working class American is useful in applying Walsh's story to my own life.
The other story was about Christine Ferrera, a woman who has been writing a letter a day to Starbucks. This started from looking at a customer response card in the store, and became a creative process that included very personal and thoughtful, and sometimes random ideas she just felt like sharing. I enjoyed this entertaining story that shared a woman's story that was creative, refreshing, and inspiring. It allowed me to experience self-reflection and open-mindedness as I learned of this woman's unique endeavor. Why can't I do something so unique? This story was lighthearted and pleasant, and reminded me of the endurance of the sensitivity of humanity, and how humans like to reach out and touch eachother's hearts, even if it's just by "adding a little sunshine to one's day."
