In this 7 Minute Stories episode, Aaron reflects on a season of life that felt like too many trains trying to squeeze through one tunnel, and the small decision that helped him step off the track for a moment. What he found at Roxboro Elementary School in Cleveland Heights was a young poet named Kody, an orange poem, and a reminder that some of the best stories are the ones we almost miss.
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The Team:
Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato
Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt
Additional vocals: Cori Calafato
Art: Pete Whitehead
Original Theme Music: thomas j. duke
Additional Soundscape Design: Isaac Gehring
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TRANSCRIPT
I’m going to read you a poem that is one of the best poems I have read in a very, very long time.
And it was written by someone you will not expect.
And I almost didn’t allow myself the chance to read it.
You’re going to want to lean in for this one, right after the music.
Sometimes it feels like there are periods of life that are so busy, so overwhelming, that everything feels like it is happening all at once.
That sense reminds me of when I commuted from New Jersey into New York City on New Jersey Transit.
I’m picturing myself right now sitting on that train and having this question pop up in my head.
How many people are on trains?
And how many people from across the entire New York metro area are all converging on Manhattan in these trains and buses?
And all of that busyness and all of that humanity and all of those people end up going through just a couple of really small tunnels.
It’s all of this energy being pushed through something that feels like pressure.
It felt like it when I was on the train, and sometimes that feels like life.
And similar to a train, life seems to operate in two modalities.
When you’re on the train, things are in motion. Things are going fast. You’re heading through a tunnel, and there’s all this energy.
And then the train stops.
And there’s calm at the train stop.
There are periods where you can breathe, have conversations, and reflect.
And then you’re back on the train again.
At least that’s how I’ve experienced it.
Sometimes those busy periods can feel very short, or they can feel like a lifetime.
Sometimes those calm periods can feel very short, or they can feel like a lifetime.
And I know some of you right now are listening, and you’re in it.
So for me, starting at the beginning of this year, I have found myself in one of those busy train seasons.
All those train cars trying to go through one tunnel kind of thing.
And I’ve been trying to manage it.
I’m not complaining at all.
It’s just that I know myself and my strengths, and logistics? Not one of them.
I mean, there’s a reason why I have the best wife in the world, who handles a lot of things for me, because I am a disaster logistically.
I have people who are freelancers who handle a lot of the parts of my business from a coordination standpoint, because logistically, there’s so much going on that I had to sort of scale out.
And right around that time, at the new year, when the busyness really started to increase, and my mental capacity and capability started to become challenged, I committed to something.
And that something was an event I really wanted to do because it had to do with storytelling, and education, and kids who were creative.
And it was a great honor.
This woman named Jennifer reached out to me, and she was coordinating this program called Children’s Ink, which is part of Roxboro Elementary School in Cleveland Heights.
It is this amazing event that is predicated on hundreds of students submitting poetry, and then they select a handful of kids to honor these poems and their creative vision.
And the kids get to sit in this chair, almost like a throne, uplifting their accomplishment.
Then they are paired with different creatives, leaders of the community, influencers, artists, and people making a difference in their field in Northeast Ohio.
And then the guests go on stage and read the poem out loud in front of the entire auditorium while the writer of the poem, the student, sits there and listens to their work in front of all of their peers, teachers, parents, and community.
It is phenomenal.
And I had never done anything like this before, but when I heard about it, I was like, “Yes.”
But you know when you say yes, and it’s your heart saying yes, and then your brain kind of follows and goes, “Oh, gosh. I want to, but…”
And I found myself on that train car of busyness in life.
And honestly, it was looking as if it was going to be really hard to make this event.
And I was close to canceling it.
And Jennifer, who is hearing this now because I know she listens to the podcast, didn’t know this.
And not to be overdramatic about this, but I was sort of stuck on what to do.
Should I cancel or should I not cancel?
Should I cancel? Should I not cancel?
And it’s weird because I knew it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but there was something else at stake for me.
And I don’t even know what that is.
But I know all of us face little moments like that.
But they’re not really little moments.
And sometimes, maybe even often, when facing those decisions, I’ll choose wrong.
But this time, luckily, I talked to my wife and I prayed.
And at least on this day, I decided to get off of the busyness locomotive train that was heading for the pressurized tunnel, walk through the train station, take a breath, and make my way to Roxboro Elementary School in Cleveland Heights to read a poem.
And I’m going to bury the lead here.
It was one of the best decisions I have literally ever made.
And then I met Kody.
The smile on his face.
It was our turn to go up on the stage, and Jennifer called us up.
He sat in that throne where he deserved to sit.
And prior to walking up, he told me, “I’m a little nervous.”
I said, “You have nothing to be nervous about. This day is about you. And wait till you see the smiles on the people and their faces in the auditorium when they hear your words. You won’t believe it. This is your day.”
We went up on stage.
He sat down.
And I’m going to read you Kody’s poem.
Orange Poem
I’m poured orange in a juice glass.
Mmm.
Refreshing orange taste.
I hear a bouncing basketball in the yard.
Children calling me,
“Come and play. Come and play.”
Halloween is the orange-colored time of year.
Leaves turn orange in fall.
Pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns are everywhere.
And Grandma fills jars with homemade marmalade,
bakes a carrot cake with four orange layers.
We go trick-or-treating.
I’m dressed as a tiger with a long tail.
Nixie, the cat, is in a fox costume.
We’ve got candies wrapped in orange foil,
some apricots,
some jelly beans,
and a lot of lollipops are also orange.
The Orange Poem
Thanks, Kody.
And I’ll talk to you all next week for the season finale of season six of 7 Minute Stories.