The recording starts out with Frank talking about his home – how he and his family moved here after his dad left, and it was completely junky and run-down, but now it’s like new. You can hear his little sisters in the background, and he then introduces you to his car. He has a Cadillac that used to be his dad’s, that he got when he was sixteen, and he intends to get it painted next summer. Frank talks about how he takes pride in his appearance, and dresses nicely for school – how, in middle school, he was wimpy and called Francis, but now played sports and was popular. The story transitions to the present, where he discusses how he goes to travel to Chatanooga every weekend with his father to sell stuff, and you can hear them playing guitar. Eventually, Frank gets into the actual story of how his father was convicted of stabbing a man, even though it was only in self-defense, and was sentenced to fifteen to twenty years in prison. Rather than facing these undue charges, the family ran and moved to the South. They stayed, undiscovered, for fifteen years, until one day the cops show up. Frank’s dad spends two years in prison before getting his case appealed, and, in the meantime, gets his GED and can now legally have a Driver’s License. He thought he’d be in jail forever, but is now thankful he was turned in - they feel that it all turned out for the better. Frank closes the story saying how people take their families for granted, and that he is now more appreciative.
I chose this story because the description was interesting, but wasn’t immediately intrigues at the audio. In my opinion, the story starts too slowly and is a little boring. The scene is set well, yes, but you lose interested because you aren’t hearing anything pertaining to what you expected to hear. Eventually – maybe halfway through – Frank tells the story of his father’s conviction, and it becomes a much more interesting listening experience. This story held your attention, and made the beginning worth sitting through. Additionally, the cuts and transitions are very smooth, and external audio (such as his sisters singing, or his father playing guitar) make the story easy to listen to, with a natural feeling. I found it interesting that Frank’s father ends up being grateful that he was turned in, and even shook hands with the man who did it. It makes you wonder how the man even knew that Frank’s father was a wanted man. Also, I was curious how he got out of jail so early – you’d think that a man who had run for fifteen years from a fifteen year sentence would have to spend quite a while behind bars. Ultimately, despite a slow beginning, I enjoyed this story, and thought that it was told well.
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