Moth stories have the power to bring you into a world that is often not your own and leave you wishing that you could live in that world

Just a little bit longer since 1997 the moth has shared more than 50,000 stories with audiences around the world through shows,

workshops and on the moth podcast and the moth radio hour once the curtains have closed the rooms emptied and the voice is

Quieted it's the stories still ringing in our ears that whisper over and over we are all of us more alike than we are different

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Personal storytelling in their own lives. Thank you.

This is the moth radio hour from PRX and I'm Suzanne Rust the moth's Curit oil producer. The theme for this hour is pleasantly surprised.

Those moments that make you pause and say well I wasn't expecting this but in the best possible way. We'll be hearing from a Harlem comedian who discovers a new passion,

a man who got in some good trouble during the civil rights movement and a love affair so special that it needed two moth stories to tell it.

First up Rudy Rush. He told the story at the players club in New York. Here's Rudy live with them all.

Three years ago, fourth of July weekend I was performing at Caroline's comedy club and I was opening up for Tracy Morgan from sat in that live and I had a great show.

I mean not you know happens all the time but just this particular time. Everyone was you know after the show everybody came up to me and it was telling me how much of a good job I did but there was these two ladies straight leave it to cleaver.

You know leave it to be the mother's they came up to me and tell you how much I watch that show.

They came up to me and they were like oh my god you did such a great job. This is our first time in New York as our first time here is our first stop.

He did such a great job and I was like you know thank you very much and they were like well you know using like you know what's going on in the city.

Can you kind of like point us in the right direction as to what we can go do and hang out and see.

I'm saying to myself I'm looking at both of them and I'm like whatever direction I point them in. They're going to be in the newspaper tomorrow morning.

I said I'm going to take these two ladies out and show them a nice time now most of us in New York is in here.

I didn't take them to too many crazy places I took them to a couple places where they had music and probably eight to ten people but they enjoyed it.

They were from always in Portland Oregon and they were here for the first time so reluctantly I became the tour guide for the rest of the weekend.

There's two other sisters flew in actually the daughters were performing at the UN but they were really appreciative we had a really great time.

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