Hidden Brain - My Unsung Hero: Terri Powers' Story

Episode Date: November 12, 2021

Today we're sharing another episode of our new podcast, My Unsung Hero. To hear more stories like this, subscribe, and enjoy! It's a few days after her mother's death, and Terri Powers is at the checkout line in a grocery store. As she turns to leave, the bagger stops her, and asks a question.

Hi there, Shankar here. Today we're sharing another episode of our new podcast, My Unsung Hero. We'll be occasionally dropping stories from that show into the Hidden Brain Podcast feed. To hear every story in that series, please head over to My Unsung Hero and subscribe. One of my hopes is that you'll listen to these stories before starting your day. I promise it will get you off to a good start. From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is my Unsung Hero. Stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need. Hi Shankar, I would like to talk about my heroes. My unsung hero is the man in the Panama hat on the flight to Boston, as the plane you're touched out. And if I could see them today, I really wish I could thank them. I have a feeling that they have no idea how much they did for me. Today's story comes from Terry Powers.

In 2018, just before Christmas, Terry lost her mom Durey. She was 72. A few days later, Terry went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. And I was, of course, feeling lots of emotions, but there was this numbness that prevailed over everything just so I could get through the day and take care of the tasks I needed to take care of. So I go to the checkout and the cashier greets me with how are you? And I just couldn't say fine or good and brush it off like that. I just felt I needed to say, you know what? I'm not doing great.

My mother just passed away. And she responded expressed her sympathy and we finished up the transaction. So I turned to get my bag to leave and the young man who had bag my groceries looked me right in the eye and said, was it. Just a hug. But it wasn't just a hug. This man stood there and observed and listened and then reacted and gave the one thing that is most beautiful expression of comfort

and caring that he can give another person. And I want to tell him, thank you so, so very much for making a difference for me that day with that one simple, powerful gesture. Thank you. Terry Powers of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She tells us that one of the lessons her mom taught her is that when someone is very ill, don't just ask how the sick person is, ask how the caregiver is. For more stories like Terries, be sure to listen to our new podcast, My Unsung Hero. We publish new episodes every Thursday. I'm Shankar Vedantim. See you next week. you