Hi, I'm Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps.
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Hey folks, this is Max Young -Rice from the StoryCorps podcast. Just wanna remind you that you can tell us your personal stories by calling our voicemail at 702 -706 -TALK.
This week, tell us how you came to the United States, or how a friend or loved one did.
That's 702 -706 -TALK.
What was your first impression when you came to America?
I'm Jasmine Morris, and this is the StoryCorps podcast from NPR, where we bring you into our archive, the largest collection of human voices ever recorded, to find the big moments hidden in ordinary lives.
What was it like for you to come here to the U .S.?
How did you get by when you first arrived?
What was the hardest thing to adjust to in the U .S.?
When you came, you were only 18 years old, and you went through so much. But is it worth it?
After 20 years, I feel like I'm a part of this country, you know?
You would do it again?
I would definitely do it again.
At StoryCorps, we really hear the full spectrum of the American experience.
And the United States is, as the saying goes, a nation of immigrants.
So this week, conversations about finding your way in America.
First up, a love story.
In the late 80s, Tariq Shaikh was working the front desk at a hotel in New York City when he first laid eyes on a woman named Tabinda, who had just found a job there in housekeeping.
keeping. She'd recently moved to the U .S. from the Dominican Republic, and Tariq had recently arrived from Pakistan.
Do you remember the first time you saw me?
You have yellow gloves on, and I could not say hello, hi, nothing.
Oh, I thought you was rude and mean.
I said, oh my God, this guy don't even say hi.
You are just staring at me.
Yeah, because you was the girl who was in my dreams. Yeah, but I didn't have that dream.
You remember I asked you, do you want to go with me for coffee.
You gave me answer after two days.
Because I didn't know how to speak English.
I remember you have a small dictionary in your pocket, Spanish to English, and on that like a paper, napkin, you write, okay, yes.
Language is not a barrier for the law.
After that, I bought a yellow cab.
I was a driver, you know.
One day I said, you know your address where you live.
Let me drop you your home.
You say, I live in New Jersey.
Just New Jersey. I said, oh, my God, today I'm going to have a long night.
When I went there, it was YMCA.
I said, why you don't tell me you live in YMCA?
You say, I don't know.
YMCA is like a famous thing.
I didn't have no family here.
He didn't have no family here.
And when I called back home and I said, I am in love, I have a gordito.
They say, gordito? Shobby man.
You don't like fat man.
I was not that fat.
Just shabby, yes. I know sweetheart, but for us this was fat So I was working like 72 hours continuously I was very tired, and I remember there was a park over there nearby.
We went, and there was a bench, and I put my head on your legs, and I slept I don't even want to move.
If I move, he's going to wake up.
It was beautiful looking at the moon, the stars I woke up morning time and you were still sitting there And I say, what?
That was the moment I fell in love with you.
Love is a wonderful thing.
This is my man, and we're going to be married 23 years now.
She's telling me it's 23 years.
For me, it's like yesterday.
That's Tariq Shaikh with his wife, Tabinda Shaikh, in New York City.
Our next story is about a man who made music legends look the part.
Johnny Cash sang he wore black for the poor and beaten down, But the man who dressed him in black was Manuel Cuevas.
Manuel moved to the U .S. from Mexico in the late 50s to become a tailor and went on to make iconic outfits for Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, and of course Johnny Cash.
He told his daughter Morelia how he first picked up a sewing needle when he was just seven years old.
The guys at school were more about playing ball and the slingshots.
That never interested me.
I was really an outcast. I'd go to bed and I'd dream about fabrics and leathers and about the things that I'm going to make the next day.
Do you have a general philosophy behind all this work that you do?
Well, you know, a pretty dress is not necessarily a pretty dress.
It's a person that's carrying that dress.
I remember this guy wanted a John Wayne shirt, and the guy says, I don't see John Wayne in the mirror.
I said, neither do I.
I can make you a John Wayne shirt, but I cannot make John Wayne out of you, you know.
And I always done only one piece.
I don't want to make two of anything.
That's why I don't make socks.
So it's like history written again every day.
So what would you say you're most proud of?
Well, I grew up in love with the Lone Ranger.
And I was five years old walking six miles from the little town where I was born to the big town.
to see the episodes of The Lone Ranger.
And then as an adult, I got to make his uniform, his mask.
That was the most glorious moment of my life.
Would you ever think about retirement?
Yeah, I retired this morning.
I put new tires on.
No, I don't believe in that.
I'm enjoying life, and people keep giving me checks for it.
You know, if I was away from my shop, I probably wouldn't be able to last more than 15 days.
The sewing machine and the needle and the thimble, that's it for me, you know.
Manuel Cuevas and his daughter Morelia in Nashville.
film. Manuel is in his 90s now, and still sewing for the stars.
After a short break, a friendship that stretched from sea to shining sea.
I know you are in America, but there's a big question mark in my mind.
Where is Zhou Jian?
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Pakyon and Joe Chan grew up in Hong Kong and were inseparable as kids.
They learned to ride bikes together, walked each other to school every day.
But in 1962, when Joe was 13, his family moved to the U .S. to escape the Great Chinese Famine.
At StoryCorps, Pak talked with Joe about the moment they parted.
I vividly remember that night you left. I saw the ship in the harbor.
And I remember when the ship is moving out, you got a roll of paper.
Streamer. Streamer.
And you throw it to me.
I hold it in my hand and we hold the streamer together.
And these details is always in my mind.
After you left, we sent letters to each other About one letter per week Those were the days before email and instant messages So these are one -page letters that we sent by airmail But then gradually, as time passed I think we sort of lost contact I thought that my best friend was lost forever Actually, I kept every letter you sent to me And remember, I work in a Christmas tree factory.
Yep. I do the packaging.
All those artificial Christmas trees, they all ship to America.
So I hope, oh, maybe Joe Chen will get one.
So what made you decide to look me up?
When I was 30 years old, I came to the United States too.
I know you are in America, but there's a big question mark in my mind.
Where is Joe Chen? But America is so big.
One afternoon, type your name, Yahoo search, I found 108 Joe Changs in America.
So did you call every Joe Chang on that list?
Yes, I left a lot of messages.
And I hope one of the messages is you.
Yeah, I remember that day real well when I heard your voice.
I got really excited, so I called you back right away.
I was overwhelmed when you called me back.
I just can't believe I finally found you.
I was very happy. And since that time, we try to find time at least once a week to have a bite right.
And we'll have dinner together.
It's like we just picked up where we left off.
You have less hair, that's about all.
I think as we get older, I think there's a part of our wisdom is to realize that friendship is one of those things that you cannot put a price tag on.
Best friends, Joe Chan and Pacquiao in Reno, Nevada.
For our last story, we go to California's grape fields in the 60s.
That's where Johnny Itliong grew up.
His father, Larry Itliong, was one of many Filipino migrant farm workers who worked for less than minimum wage.
In 1965, Larry helped lead the Delano grape strike to improve labor conditions that united Filipino and Mexican field workers.
Johnny came to StoryCorps with his own son to remember Larry.
One of his nicknames was Seven Fingers because when he was up working in Alaska, he lost three of his fingers.
He was small in stature, but he was a very, very strong man.
He always wore pocketed shirts, thick Ray -Ban glasses, and he would always have his cigar, his Gowanos.
I remember I would have to get up at 3 o 'clock in the morning and we would jump in the back of his truck, loaded up full of boxes, and you stack them maybe 10, 12 feet high.
I could carry about 8 of them stacked up.
There were so many good men living in boxcarts, sheds, whatever they can make out of the elements and i remember maybe one guy had one suit and whoever would get a date would wear that suit so they would share the suit 20 30 guys you know that's that's the brotherhood and when they would pass they didn't have family in the united states they had no one to say goodbye to them and it was just us me my father my brother The only time they ever received flowers was at their funeral.
Men who worked the fields, they fed the United States.
What memories do you have of the picket lines?
At five years old, I remember running around getting the sticks.
You know, I would bring sticks to the ones who were nailing the picket signs.
I think that was probably like my earliest memory.
memory. You know, my father stood up for the people who need help.
He sacrificed a lot of his family time to make a better world for us.
We have big shoes to walk in, man.
I don't feel like I'm even close.
But your demeanor reminds me of him because he was very calm.
He always He always listened.
When it was time for him to speak, what he said was important.
And already, you followed those footsteps.
Johnny and Alex Etliong remembering Johnny's father, Larry.
After five years, the Delano grape strike eventually succeeded in raising labor standards for American farm workers.
You can watch an animated version of this story on our website, StoryCorps .org.
That's all for this episode of the StoryCorps podcast. We love hearing from our listeners and our voicemail line is always open.
This week, tell us how you came to the U .S. or how a friend or loved one did.
Leave us your answer in a voicemail.
It's 702 -706 -TALK. That's 702 -706 -T -A -L -K.
The stories on this episode were produced by Lina Unwer, Emily Martinez, Esther Honig, Jay Bourne, and myself.
They were edited by Von Diaz and Annie Russell.
Special thanks to Delilah Ryder and StoryCorps facilitators Chela Herrige -Meyer and Geraldine Asu.
This podcast is produced by Max Young -Rice, Our senior producer is Judd Esty Kendall.
Amy Drozdovska is our executive producer.
Our technical director is Jarrett Floyd.
The artwork for our podcast is created by Liz McCarty.
I'm Jasmine Morris.
Thanks for listening.
Support for this podcast comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
