Earlier this week, a StoryCorps' mobile recording booth left Charlottesville, Va., after a two-week stay. For Father's Day, we bring you an excerpt from a Charlottesville session, along with two bonus features.
John Heins was interviewed by his son, David, who recently became a father himself. The younger Heins says the experience has led him to a new appreciation for how his parents feel about him.
David Heins asks his father -- the man he always thought of as "the smartest man in the world" -- for advice on raising his own son, 8-month-old Conrad.
The conversation that ensues is a summation of the many things passed from generation to generation, and the love a father feels for his son.
Father's Day Special
StoryCorps presents two extra stories about fathers -- and how their children see them.
Howard Fisch, 76, grew up in upstate New York during the first part of the Great Depression. Back then, his father, Irving, was hard-pressed to find work as a pharmacist.
But the elder Fisch also become what his son still calls "my hero," for always making time for him -- even if it meant helping him avoid punishment.
And Dan Santy, a father, addresses his two sons in giving them tokens of his affection for what makes each of them unique.
Like Fisch, Santy recorded his thoughts at the StoryCorps booth at Grand Central Terminal.
Stories from the StoryCorps oral history project can be heard every Friday on 'Morning Edition'.
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