From PRX, this is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm Sarah Austin-Ginness. This episode is all about

calls. Literal telephone calls and one story about a man's true calling. I must say,

I don't love talking on the phone. I'm a much stronger in-person kind of friend, but I've

been practicing phone conversations more. So when I do call my best friend, well, after

she picks up the phone and says, wow, I say, we're doing our favorite thing. We're talking

on the phone. So we're doing this hour because when the phone rings, it's like a great mystery.

And remember before caller ID, we didn't even know who was on the other line. Phone calls

can change the direction of a story in an instant. They reveal things, like in this first

story from Susan Fee. Susan told it at one of our open mic story slams in Seattle, where

we partner with public radio station KUOW. Her little appetizer of a story really sets

the tone for this hour. You'll see what I mean. Here's Susan Fee live at the Moth in Seattle.

So I'm a mental health counselor. I work with families and teens and one of the biggest

questions you get is, how do you know what your teenager is really thinking about you?

And I'm here to tell you I have the answer. You don't have to go through their room. It's

not about reading texts or going on the computer. I found out the hard way. So I'm out buying

a car with my 17 year old daughter, a counselor. So I had what I call the counselor car for

many years. They don't make it anymore. A Honda Insight. It's a pretend Prius. So strip

down. There's nothing in this car. And I'm kind of used to that clunk and a wrong,

long, just gas mileage and all. But we're going to bump it up a little bit. And I'm going

to buy this new car. My daughter is with me. We're going to learn how to buy a car. This

is going to be cool. And who do I get? It's a sales guy. It's Chris, the college kid.

Chris, the college kid showing us around showing me the new things that you can get in

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