When I woke up this morning, I never could have predicted that one of my elementary school teachers, a Catholic nun named Dorothy Collins, would be introducing me to a post-op transexual named Cynthia.  Let me explain.

There are people in our lives who have a profound impact on us.  Sr. Dorothy was one of those people for me.  My family moved to Connecticut when I was 9 years old which meant my twin brother Jimmy and I would be starting the 1983-1984 school year in a new school.  I was entering 4th grade and I was nervous.  My nervousness turned to fear when I found out a nun would be my teacher because my prior experiences with nuns was not so good.  My first grade teacher, Sr. Peter Marie, made Joe Pesci’s Tommy Devito character from Goodfellas seem like a nice guy.  Luckily for me, Sr Dorothy was nothing like I expected; she had a big smile and an even bigger heart (and she never asked if she was there to amuse me).

We re-connected recently at a reunion and I asked to interview her for my podcast. She accepted on the condition that I help her serve guests at the Soup Kitchen where she works a few days a week.  Our interview picks up right after we served hot meals to approximately 1,200 homeless people in New York.  Listen to this interview and your assumptions of just what a nun is may be challenged.  Listen to the end and you will hear me drop the tagline, “looks like a pump but feels like a sneaker.”

I feel strongly that we should say thank you to the people in our lives who have had an impact on us. However, reflecting on this makes me realize that as people have an impact on me, I also have an impact on others.  This is something we should all remember whenever we are in the presence of someone whose life we may be touching.

As always, I hope you enjoy this podcast and feel free to join the conversation at http://www.uncorkingastory.com

As always, I hope you enjoy this podcast and feel free to join the conversation at http://www.uncorkingastory.com

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