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[00:04.748]Welcome  to  the  StoryCorps  podcast.Often  at  StoryCorps  people  come  into  our  recording  booth  and  ask  big  questions.That ’s  what 11-year-old  Sam  Goetz  did  when  he  talked  with  his  mom  P.J.in  Tampa.He  asked  about  the  meeting  that  shaped  both  of  their  lives.
[00:32.683]"How  did  you  meet  dad?”
[00:35.559]"Well,you  know  that  my  mom  dead  when  I  was  seven.”
[00:38.371]"Yes.”
[00:47.875]"And  you  know  that  I  was  on  my  own  when  I  was 16,so  what  I  did  and  what  you  get  to  do  are  gonna  be  two  different  things,because …”
[00:50.375]"Right,I  always  have  somebody  looking  out  for  me,like  you,dad  and  pretty  much  everybody  else  in  our  family.”
[00:52.623]"So,I  was 18years  old  and,um,I  had  a  fake  ID,and  I  was  at  this  bar …"
[00:55.869]"You  had  a  fake  ID.”
[00:57.431]"Uh-huh,oh  my  goodness,I  can't  believe  I'm  telling  you  this.And  I  was  sitting  at  this  barstool,and  your  dad  sat  down,and  I  said  to  your  dad,I  said 'there ’s  somebody  sitting  there.'And  he  said ‘I  don ’t  care;I  just  have  to  meet  you.’And  he  made  me  laugh,and  that's  what  I  needed  right  then -I  needed  to  laugh  a  little.We  talked  for  about  four  hours,and  then  he  walked  me  out  to  my  car,but  he  never  asked  me  for  my  phone  number,and  I  got  home  that  night  I  was  writing  in  my  diary ‘very  good-looking,but  insecure.’
[01:24.990]The  next  day,I  was  on  my  couch  watching  some  afternoon  TV,folding  laundry,and  I  had  told  dad  what  apartment  complex  I  lived  in,but  I  didn't  tell  him  what  apartment  or  where  I  lived.So  he  drove  me  into  the  apartment  complex  and  just  laid  his  hand  on  the  horn.”
[01:42.242]（Sam ’s  laughter）
[01:42.992]"And  he  just  was  driving  through  the  complex,and  I  went  out  on  my  balcony,and  I  saw  him,and  I  said,'Oh  my  God,that's  that  guy  from  the  bar  last  night,'and  he  was  like,'Oh,hi,there  you  are,I've  been  looking  for  you!'And  that's  the  way  he  found  me.”
[01:56.681]"Over  the  best  times  and  the  worst  times  in  marriage,did  you  ever  think  of  getting  divorced?”
[02:02.365]"You  know  over  the  years,I  have  thought  about  getting  divorced,me  and  your  dad  were  separated  once  for  two  years,but  we  got  back  together,and  we  never  did  get  divorced,we  came  close  a  couple  of  times  during  that  time.”
[02:13.617]"I  remember  like,you ’re  like  yelling,and  you  said ‘You  want  me  to  leave  with  the  children ’,I  was  like,in  my  bed  and  I  just  heard  that.”
[02:20.869]"I ’m  sorry  you  had  to  hear  that  sweetie.Marriage  isn't  always  pretty.I  think  sometimes  we  act  like  little  children,and  we  need  to  be  more  mature  about  it,because  it's  a  privilege  to  be  married  to  somebody,and  you  need  not  to  disrespect  it  like  that,like  sometimes  we  get  angry,and  we  do.But  we  bound  together  for 23years  now,and  I  think  your  dad  has  taught  me  the  meaning  of  love.
[02:40.429]Love  is  as  much  a  feeling  as  it  is  an  action.You  see  what  I ’m  saying?”
[02:46.114]"I  see  what  you  are  saying.”
[02:51.300]"To  love  somebody  is  not  just  how  you  feel  about  them,but  what  you  do,also."