GERALDINE BUCKLEY: And then the man said to me, I've got a glass eye.

And he took out his eye and he put it on my shoulder.

(laughter) NINA LIVINGSTONE: You mentioned libraries and bookstores, and quite frankly, I think you should live a little bit.

(laughter) TONE NUNES: So, they call an ambulance, and they strap me to this gurney, and then they wheel me through where I told people not to worry.

(laughter) WES HAZARD: Tonight's theme is "Life Is a Laugh."

♪ ♪ We've all lived many moments that we wish we could forget.

And I'm talking like, you know, embarrassment on an epic scale, anxiety flashbacks that haunt us for a lifetime.

But no matter what, when we have those experiences, they can not only instruct us and provide us with perspective, they can also provide us with stories that we share with a laugh for the rest of our lives.

♪ ♪ BUCKLEY: My name is Geraldine Buckley.

I am originally from England, from the north of England, and I now live in Maryland.

I'm a naturalized citizen and, and very proud to be so.

And I am a professional storyteller, but I'm also a chaplain.

Do you find yourself using storytelling in your work as a chaplain?

Storytelling is very, very powerful because it bonds people.

When you hear someone's story, you never look at them in the same way again.

So, by telling stories, it, it put a bridge between us, an understanding between us.

What kind of stories do you most enjoy telling?

I tell true stories that make people laugh and think.

Humor is very, very powerful.

And what humor does is it opens people up.

So often, they're, they're watching you, almost as though they've got their arms crossed, going, "Well, could I trust this person?"

And if you make them laugh, then they relax and think, "Oh, we've got something in common."

And then you can get some serious points across.

And the thing about that kind of stories is it bypasses the brain and goes into... deep inside someone, into their spirit.

And so, they remember those things when they need to.

♪ ♪ I was terrified, absolutely terrified.

The kind of feeling that starts deep in the pit of your stomach and goes up until it feels as though a hand is 'round your neck and you can't get anything out.

I was that terrified.

Let me explain.

It was the late '70s.

I was 18, standing by the side of a road in Canada, a long way from home.

I was wearing a blue circular, uncrushable skirt and holding a sign that said, "the border."

(quiet laughter) I was about to put my thumb out and hitchhike for the very first time.

And that's why I was so terrified.

Now, you might be asking, how did I get myself in such a predicament?

Well, I blamed the whole thing on my mother.

(laughter) You see, my mother had a great love of adventure.

But when she was 14 and growing up in Liverpool, the Second World War broke out and England stayed at war until she was 20.

So she said her best adventuring years were swallowed up by bombs and fear and rationing.

So, she was determined to relive them now vicariously through me.

So, while other mothers were urging their only daughters to read, to study, to go to college, My mother was saying to me, "For goodness sake, Geraldine, you study far too hard.

Put away those books and go out and party."

(laughter) It's absolutely true.

In fact, I'm the only person I know who got a master's degree out of sheer rebellion.

(laughter) (chuckles) So when I was 18, I told her that I was going to go to the Olympic Games in Montreal with my boyfriend.

And then, we were going to hitchhike from Montreal to New York, and fly back to England from there.

Well, on that occasion, I wanted my mother to be like other mothers.

I wanted her to forbid me to go, so I wouldn't have to.

(laughter) And I could tell her she ruined my life.

But this was my mother.

And she said, "Darling, let me help you pack."

(laughter) So that's how I found myself by the side of a road in Canada with my thumb out and my knees shaking.

But at least I had my boyfriend standing next to me.

He'll keep me safe, I thought.

My boyfriend, Ivor, was very respectable.

He was five years older than me.

He traveled extensively, so he explained the rules of the road.

"Geraldine," he said, "you always wear good clothes.

"That way you get a better class of ride.

"You never get in a vehicle where you're outnumbered.

"And when you're in that vehicle, "you always chat to the driver "to build up a rapport.

"And if you do those things, you're less likely to be murdered."

(laughter) Murdered?

I have a vivid imagination.

And I could just see my murdered, mutilated body being tossed out of a car on the outskirts of some exotic American city, like Akron.

(laughter) I pray, "Lord, please watch over me."

And then I wanted to thank every car that whizzed past.

But, finally, an ancient two-door rusted old Chevy skidded to a halt.

Now, I could see through the open passenger window that the driver was alone, which was good.

But he had long, unkempt hair, a missing front tooth, and dirt etched in the deep lines of his face.

And he said, "I can take you 40 miles."

And Ivor said, "Thank you, sir," and got in the backseat with the backpacks.

And whispered to me, "You get in the front, "you're good at talking.

Build a rapport."

(laughter) So despite my misgivings, I had to get in.

I reach for the seatbelt.

It wasn't there.

"Oh, it's no use you going for that," said the man, "that dropped off months ago."

And he started that car.

Well, it looked like a rusted out old jalopy, but he had something powerful under that hood, because we went from zero to 80 in seconds.

And the man only had one hand on the wheel because with the other he was chain-smoking.

And he was lighting the new cigarette with the burning butt of the old one.

And he didn't have an ashtray.

Well, he didn't actually need an ashtray because right in front of the gear stick, there was a rusted out hole that went down to the road.

(laughter) And that's where he was flicking his ash and the still burning butts of the cigarettes.

I was focused on that hole.

I was waiting for a spark to hit the engine and the whole car to explode.

And I was just thinking, it's all right for my mother, encouraging me to go on this trip, but I bet she's at home now in a nice comfy chair with a cup of tea, which is exactly where I'd like to be.

Oh, for a comfy chair and a cup of tea.

You see, I never, ever thought there'd be so many ways to be killed hitchhiking.

(laughter) And then the man said to me, "I've got a glass eye."

(laughter) "Would you like to see it?"

(laughter) And he took out his eye and he put it on my shoulder.

(audience groans, laughs) I froze.

I didn't want that eye going into my lap or down, down by the floor.

I didn't want the man grabbing for it, particularly not as we were going so fast.

And then I slowly turn my head and I wasn't quite sure what to say.

I mean, really, what is the protocol... (laughter) ...when you're eyeball to eyeball with an eyeball?

So I turned my head a bit further to see what Ivor's reaction was.

His eyes were closed.

He was taking a nap.

I finally managed, "That's fascinating."

And that seemed to placate the man because he didn't say anything else until he dropped us off about 20 minutes later.

But I was very relieved that from that moment onwards, he kept both eyes on the road, even though they were three feet apart.

(laughter) I was so glad to get out of that car.

I watched it disappear until it was just a speck in the distance.

But all that time, I felt that eye, now back in the man's head, staring at me through the rear view mirror.

But then I remember something my mother had told me while she was helping me pack.

She said, "Darling, don't worry.

I've prayed."

"So everywhere on this trip you'll be safe.

"Because the Lord, he'll keep his eye on you."

(laughter) (chuckles) Thank you.

(cheers and applause) (chuckles) Thank you very much.

♪ ♪ NUNES: My name is Tone Nunes.

I live in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and I live with my husband and our zoo of animals.

I currently am the director of North American support for a software company.

How did you get started on your journey in storytelling?

Theater was my major in college, and I didn't realize that there was also storytelling.

Like, I thought, you either do stand-up or you do theater.

So, a friend said to me, "Hey, I'm doing this thing.

You should try it."

So I tried it, and then just kind of fell in love with it.

How did you discover your own voice?

I think it was, it was acting school, and it was a very specific moment.

I had grown up being very shy, trying to be as small as possible, right?

Being a kid that grew up being picked on and things like that.

So, I tried to take up the least amount of space possible.

And I was in an acting class, and this is right when I started college, and a teacher came up to me when I was trying to do a monologue, and she just spread my feet apart.

And said, "I want you to take up more space than you're comfortable with."

And it changed the world for me.

♪ ♪ So I'm standing in the waiting room of my doctor's office, because a week earlier, I was at work, and all of a sudden, it felt like someone poured cold water down my spine.

And I thought, what is that sensation?

So, when I'm, I'm actually at a waiting room, I always think, all these people are so nervous, I've got to help them, right?

I want to take away the anxiety that they have.

So sitting and standing, waiting for the doctor, I make an announcement to them.

I say, "Hi.

Um, some statistics for you.

Um, just so you know, 98% of the time or higher of the times you come to the doctor, there's nothing wrong.

And that's actually a made-up statistic, that I made up.

(laughter) But, but here's the good part.

Numbers help people.

So I do it, like I'm a helper.

(laughter) And the doctor finally calls me in, and she says, "Why are you here?"

And I said, "Well, you remember, like, last time, "I told you I was in a meeting about a meeting, "regarding another meeting at work, "which was very productive?

"And it felt like someone poured cold water down my spine?

"Well, I went to the emergency room, "and, you know, the emergency room doctor "said it was probably my back.

"And he was handing me some samples of some tablets.

"And before he could tell me what the tablets were for, I had taken them."

(laughter) And I said, "You realize if I find a pill in a parking lot, "I will take it.

Like, so let's not divvy it out too much, right?"

So she said, my doctor, a wonderful woman, said, "I'm going to have you go down and get an X-ray."

So, I go down to get an X-ray, and it's a Friday, very, you know, not crowded.

And the X-ray technician is making small talk like they do, like, "You loving college?"

I'm like, "I'm not in college, but..." And we get there, and she takes the X-ray and, um, she says, "Are you going to go home?

"Or are you going to go back up and talk to the doctor?"

And I said, "Oh, it's Friday.

They're going to call me if there's anything wrong."

And she says, "You're not going anywhere."

I thought, what, what is it?

And she turns the screen around to show me I have no left lung.

Absolutely zero.

So, I said, "Where's my left lung?"

(laughter) And she said, "Oh, it's probably up here somewhere, but, you know, it's all collapsed, 100%."

Happy.

(laughter) So I thought, I've gone seven days like this?

Now the next couple of minutes are a blur, to be honest.

She's whisking me away and she's telling me what's going on, but in terms I can't comprehend.

She says, "It's called spontaneous pneumothorax.

"It can happen to anyone at any time.

"Sometimes it happens to boys "because when they go through puberty, "they grow really tall and fast, like, really quickly.

Were you that person?

Were you skinny all your life or no?"

And I said, "Oh, I, I guess..." And she goes, "But what's happening now, "is it's called tension pneumothorax.

"So, it's actually crushing your esophagus and your heart.

"And if you had gone home you would have died this weekend.

But good luck with everything you've got."

(laughter) Uh, thank you?

I don't...

So, (exhales) my doctor sees me and goes, "What is this?

You're not presenting as someone that has this."

And I said, "I'm sorry?"

Like, I'm apologizing to everybody at this damn place.

So, I'm like, "Okay."

She says, "We have to call an ambulance for you."

And I was like, "Oh, how embarrassing."

Right?

So, they call an ambulance, and they strap me to this gurney, and then they wheel me through where I told people not to worry, right?

(laughter) Nice.

Karma.

So, I wave.

(laughter) (murmuring) How are you doing?

That's good.

I said, "It's just my lung.

"Don't believe statistics.

(laughter) "It's just 100% collapsed.

Don't worry about it, right?"

So, I'm in the ambulance, and I realize I have to do the worst part, right, is I have to call my husband.

And...

So, my husband was working in D.C. at the time, and the thing to know about him is he's a lovely man.

And I only say that because he might be my ride home, but I, I, I...

He's a lovely man.

But he is a worrier, right?

He constantly thinks I'm on the edge of death, somehow, because I'm six years older, right?

A day doesn't go by where he doesn't say, "Do you smell burnt toast?"

(laughter) And I say, "I'm not having a stroke.

I'm hiccupping, right?"

So I call him, and I decide to reword it.

So I say, "Hey!

Um... "Hi, um...

I'm going to visit the hospital."

(laughter) "I, um, seem to have misplaced my lung.

(chuckles) "Um, they think they know where it is.

"Um... brrr.

"I need you to come home and take care of the dogs.

Thanks so much.

Can't talk."

Slam.

(laughter) Because I don't want to get into it.

So the next day, my husband came.

And, again, God love him, um, his anxiety also makes him a little self-obsessed.

Uh, I'm saying that politely.

And, like, it's so cute, but, ultimately, it will be in the divorce papers.

But right now, it's still cute, right?

But I'm keeping a note.

And he comes in, and this is the first thing he says to me, "Hey, how you doing?

"I stubbed my toe so bad at the house today.

(laughter) It's, like, all bruised."

And I said, "Oh, my God."

"Do you want me to ring the surgeon?

(laughter) Because I have a hole in my lung."

(laughter) So, surgery was the only way I could go to fix this.

And let me just say one thing, nurses rock.

Because if you... (cheers and applause) All right.

They...

I tell you, they're the ones that run this stuff, right?

And if you're nice to nurses and respect the work that they do, they do fun things for you.

Like, like, they would all hang out with me after the shift, and we would watch, RuPaul's Drag Race.

Perfectly fine, right?

(audience reacts) But one time, I needed help bathing, and the nurse said, "Let's get Ricardo to help him."

(laughter, cheers and applause) Right.

And I thought, that, whatever that is, that sounds like me.

Like, whatever it's going to... And here's the thing about Ricardo you need to know.

He is so muscular and beautiful that they don't have the scrubs that fit him just there.

So, he's got to remove his shirt to help me bathe?

So difficult!

(laughter) So sad.

So I say, um, you know, "Okay, sounds good.

Let's do it."

Back at home, I thought it was odd that there was an emotional toll of the surgery.

I thought it was weird.

So I was in the bathroom about to hop in the shower, and I looked at all the scars, and I just kind of teared up for a moment because I felt very broken.

And just then, my husband knocked on the door and he poked his head in, and he could see that I was kind of having a moment.

And he just knew what to say.

He said, "How long are you going to be?

There's a sale at Target."

(laughter) Thank you.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ LIVINGSTONE: My name is Nina Livingstone.

I'm a writer, interviewer, storyteller, with a book, Are You There?, in progress.

And I live in Massachusetts.

And how did you get started in journalism?

It actually started when I was in my early 20s.

I interviewed Marlee Matlin, an Oscar-winning actress, at the time.

I think when I lost my sight and hearing completely, I had a setback for a while.

And then, I decided to come back with my one cochlear implant in one ear, still deaf in the other.

But I'm good.

And I decided to go back to writing my book, my memoir, and to putting myself out there.

And do you feel that humor is an important part of your work?

I love humor, and I think it's important, at least from my perspective, than to delve into something that might be or has been, like, negative in my life.

I like to focus on the positive because, you know, when you're done, you want to feel good about it, you want to laugh about it.

♪ ♪ The doorbell rang.

This would be my first applicant for an ad I had put out there looking for someone to help me get to um, grocery stores, libraries.

At the time I was in my 20s.

I had tunnel vision, like looking through a pipe.

I couldn't see on the side.

I was legally blind.

I also wore two hearing aids.

I was very hard of hearing, but I was a good lip reader then.

The combination of both is Usher syndrome, a hereditary disease that leads to total deafness and blindness.

So I open the door to see my first applicant, and it was a young woman with purple lipstick, facial jewelry, long hair, chewing gum.

And she said, "Hi."

She said, "I love your ad.

"I mean, deaf, blind.

I thought it was so cool.

(laughter) So awesome."

I said, "Thank you for responding.

So how many years have you been driving?"

"Um, I would... "Oh, let me see.

"About two-and-a-half years.

Yeah.

"In fact, why don't you follow me?

I'll show you my car."

So I followed her towards the car, and I noticed at the back of the car, there was a huge dent.

So I said, "What happened?"

She said, "Well, actually, "it kind of happened, like, last week.

"I hit a tree.

(laughter) "The tree's okay.

"I'm okay.

No one was hurt.

It's kind of like one of those freakish accidents."

"How many accidents have you had?"

And she put her fingers in the air.

"Um, three.

Yeah, I had three."

"Okay, thank you."

The next applicant.

I open the door and I see a woman with disheveled hair, crooked glasses, and, um, she said to me, "I have four children with me.

"One of them just threw up in the back seat.

(laughter) I'm really sorry about that" I said, "No, no, don't worry."

And she said, "So, I just need to tell you that "my four kids will travel with me at all times.

(laughter) "And if you come with me, "you'll be sitting in the front seat of the van.

"Um, I hope you won't mind the noise.

"I mean, sometimes it's noisy, "actually, all the time.

"So, and I'll be taking my children, "um, you know, the library.

"I'm not really sure the library is going to work "because I can't guarantee they'll be quiet.

"Tommy!

"Tommy, what are you doing?

"I'm so sorry, my-- I don't know if you can see him, "but Tommy is down on the floor "and he just drew a happy face with the blue crayon.

I'm so sorry."

I said, "No, don't worry about it.

I'll take care of it after you leave."

And I said, "Besides, he's a happy child."

She said, "Oh, oh, oh!"

She said, "You're right."

So, off they went.

(laughter) I was at the wall and I wash off the happy face.

I had a little bit of a worried face myself because I'm thinking, I'm looking for someone, I want to get out there.

My sight and hearing is diminishing slowly.

This is like up against an hourglass.

So, the doorbell rings.

The next applicant.

I open the door and I see is a woman with a short leather skirt, tight blouse, ample cleavage, full red lips, with lipstick over the dotted line and platinum hair.

She said, "Hi... (laughter) "I saw your ad and, you know, let me say something.

"You mentioned libraries and bookstores, "and quite frankly, I think you should live a little bit.

(laughter) "I know every bar in town.

"In fact, I know ever... every bar across the state.

"On a hot summer day, when you're in my convertible car, "you're going to sit on that red, supple seat and go, "Ooh... What a sensation."

(laughter) I said, "I bet."

She said, "Call me."

After she left, I thought, you know, I really want to be... um, I'm an outdoor person, an extrovert.

I love people.

And I wanted to avoid ever being isolated, I didn't want to be trapped in the house.

The doorbell rang.

The next applicant.

I look and I see, she's neatly dressed and she has a pleasant smile.

I said, "Thank you for coming."

(deep voice): "You're welcome."

I said, "Are you cool with reading the New York Times and other material to me?"

"I am."

(laughter) "Do you like driving?"

"I do."

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"I don't."

Okay!

(laughter) So after that, I started to think about all the applicants I interviewed in person and on the phone.

I opted for Gail, the woman with two words.

And for the next decade, every week, one hour, two hours every week, she would take me on my errands to the grocery store, to all the places I need to go.

She was great.

She was punctual.

She was dependable.

Everything was fabulous.

Except I talk too much.

The car was filled with my own words.

I thought I got to go on a loquacious diet.

I wanted to hear her talk.

Most of all, I wanted to hear her laugh.

So one day in the car, I said, "May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

(laughter) I said, "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?"

Big question.

She said, "Your guess."

"I'm going to say Republican."

And she burst out laughing!

I succeeded.

She was absolutely hysterical.

(laughter) Then, the year 2000 came.

I lost my sight and hearing completely.

I was in bed for the next 14 months, day and night.

I was frightened.

I felt claustrophobic.

I couldn't sleep.

I couldn't eat.

And the isolation was profound.

And one day I felt someone approaching me and I felt Gail finger-spell into my hands.

Two words that broke the silence.

"I'm here," she said in sign.

"I'm here."

Thank you.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪