If I Could Talk to Anyone for One Hour, It Would Be My Parents

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you could spend one hour talking with anyone, living or not, who would you choose? For regular contributor Stephen Rusiniak, the answer isn’t a famous figure or historical hero. It’s his parents. In this deeply personal reflection, Rusiniak imagines what he would say, what he wouldn’t say, and why simply being together again would be enough. It’s a quiet meditation on love, loss, gratitude, and the conversations we wish we could have just one more time.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your story. Send them to
our American Stories dot com. There's some of our favorites.
And today we have a feature from one of our
regular contributors, Stephen Rossiniac. This piece is titled an Hour

(00:33):
to Chat and to read about the backstory of this story,
please visit Stephenarsiniac dot com. Here's Stephen sharing this story.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Can you imagine, if only it were possible, if only
it were true? A photo of a bench on a
grassy hill overlooking a place where an ocean's waves are
succumbing upon a distant sandy shore line showed up today
in my email inbox with a simple and yet thought
provoking question, if you could sit here and chat for

(01:09):
one hour with anyone, past or present, who would it be. Immediately,
a plethora of possibilities began flooding my thoughts. As an
unabashed history buff my mind immediately went into overdrive as
the faces of countless historical figures suddenly appeared in my

(01:31):
mind's eye, all of them vying for what I selfishly
saw as a coveted chance for someone of historical significance
to spend an hour sitting on this bench and chatting
with me. I imagined questioning any one of them about
their life, about their successes and failures, about their choices

(01:54):
that they had made that ultimately led to their fame,
their fortune, or in some case they're downfall. I considered
briefly the potential picks that others might have chosen as well,
and I suspect their answers would certainly have included the
rich and the famous actors, rock stars, revered religious icons, presidents,

(02:19):
or famous sports heroes, perhaps the likes of John Wayne,
John Lennon, John the Baptist, John Adams, or maybe even
pitching great Tommy John, each of whom a worthy selection
in their own right. But in the end, none of

(02:40):
them would have been my choice. If the idea posed
by this question were truly plausible, and if by chance
it was offered me admittedly, I would have the audacity
to request a small caveat before making my selection. I
would immediately request permission to double my allowed allotment. I

(03:05):
would ask a waiver be granted, permitting me two choices
as opposed to the originally offered one. I would defend
my request by noting that my two choices had been
one half of a team for more years than even
I have existed, and that together and forever, they are

(03:28):
in fact one. If only it were possible, if only
it were true. If offered the opportunity to sit on
this bench and chat for one hour with anyone, I
would choose my parents. It's been far too long, and besides,

(03:51):
I missed them. We lost Dad unexpectedly one night several
years ago, and twelve years later Mom joined him after
doing battle with a foe for which try as she did,
she simply could not defeat. If I were granted this hour,

(04:12):
I would probably ask permission for some time to prepare.
There are a few things that I would need to know,
like when would we be having our chat, or where
exactly is this bench? Anyway? Would I be allowed to
bring my parents a gift, maybe some current family photos,

(04:32):
or could we share a couple cups of coffee just
like we used to. I'm sure that they would like that.
One hour would clearly not be enough time to catch
the folks up on all of our recent family doings,
and so maybe it would be prudent of me to
prepare in advance a list of topics for us to discuss,

(04:56):
thereby initiating a strategy to best ut the limited amount
of time a lot at our chat. Or then again,
maybe not, Perhaps it would be best to forego the
preparation and planning and simply arrive at the bench at
the appointed hour, without my photos, without my pre planned questions,

(05:21):
bringing with me nothing more than my love and my
gratitude for being gifted with one more hour to spend
with Mom and Dad. If I were granted this time
to chat, chances are that as our bench reunion commenced,
I would probably just hug them, just hold them close,

(05:45):
incredibly thankful for the opportunity to once again do so.
Of course, I would tell them how much I love
them and how much I missed them, But beyond that,
I don't know what else I would say. I do
know that if nothing more were said, that would be

(06:05):
okay too, as I would be perfectly content for having
been blessed with our extra time together. If offered the
opportunity to sit on this bench and chat for one
hour with anyone, I would choose my parents. But to
be honest, I suspect a reunion like this will never

(06:27):
take place. My faith, however, reassures me that one day
we will indeed be reunited, maybe not on this bench,
but instead when I too have been called home to heaven.
It's going to be a joyous reunion of this, I'm sure.

(06:47):
And who knows, maybe we will still share a couple
cups of coffee together, just like we used to. I'm
sure that they'd like that. Oh, I will.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
Special thanks to Stephen rasiniac I know. I had had
this similar question asked about three months ago with some friends,
and I said it would be my mom, and they thought, oh,
how Sacharin. But I'd love to just share with my mom,
who is my best friend, the pictures of Reagan. That's
what I'd want to do, She'd ask, how's our little
girl doing? Stephen RACINIAX hour to chat here on our
American Stories Folks. If you love the great American stories

(07:33):
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(07:54):
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