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This They Believe

By JENNIFER BARRS jbarrs@tampatrib.com

Published: Oct 7, 2005

TAMPA - At first, it rings plain. Such a simple statement.

Yet the declaration "This I Believe" has triggered a cathartic avalanche of essays by everyday Americans puzzling life's path.

In three minutes or less. Five hundred words or fewer. And they haven't all been somber.

A woman from Port Orchard, Wash., reminds us to be nice to the "pizza delivery dude," while Microsoft founder Bill Gates mulls the computer's relationship to creativity and intelligence. A Brooklyn resident describes the importance of attending funerals, while Gloria Steinem ponders the "nature versus nurture" argument.

And then there's the gentleman from Denver who says it's barbecue that makes his world go 'round.

Since the series' introduction on National Public Radio in April, submissions have topped 5,000. An inordinate number of those listeners tune to an NPR member station in Tampa, WUSF, 89.7 FM. We're talking more than Chicago. More than Los Angeles. More than New York City. In fact, the Bay area is among the top four markets where folks really got into it. (Austin, Texas, Seattle and Louisville, Ky., keep us company.)

WUSF news director Steve Malave says the area's cultural mosaic may be the reason, as opinions and style vary widely between transplanted Northerners and Caribbean immigrants. Or, he says, it may be a sudden search for community in the wake of hurricanes and terrorists.

Series host Jay Allison, a radio documentary producer, has no answer for "Why Tampa?"

"Clearly, there are people in the area with a lot of life experience," he says during an interview from his Massachusetts office. "Retirement may be relevant as a suitable time to reflect."

Among those sharing life's lessons are four local residents far from retirement: oncologist Vik Malhotra of Spring Hill, student Andrea Shimko of St. Petersburg, homemaker Lindy Davidson of Lakeland and oceanographer David Niebuhr of Sarasota. Though the group just missed the national cut, two of the four were invited to the WUSF studios recently to record their missives. Malhotra's piece will air today between 7 and 8 a.m. and and again between 5 and 6 p.m.; Shimko's will air around Thanksgiving.

'Another Person's Prayer'

Fundamentally, says Allison, "This I Believe" essays convey the power of radio: to force people to listen, quietly, as another human being makes an unguarded statement of a closely held conviction.

"They just seem to cut to the core of someone's heart and, you know, you don't often see or hear someone's heart," says Davidson, who holds a degree in theology. She writes about her elder son, Will, who recently underwent a kidney transplant. "It's like hearing another person's prayer."

Adds Niebuhr, a jovial oceanographer who confesses to "thinking too much and worrying too much about how selfish and momentary we sometimes seem," the pieces express profound thought.

"Almost all of them are so powerful," he says. "Most of the time, you listen to the radio and hear the news or the politician du jour. There is so much cadence in those sound bites. But 'This I Believe' essays contain wisdom instead of just passion."

That's exactly what Allison and his producer colleague Dan Gediman hoped for when they stumbled across the original "This I Believe" series. Broadcast by legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955, the commentaries created a media maelstrom of newspaper stories, international coverage and book compilations that Allison says rivaled sales of the Bible.

After tracking down hundreds of original pieces, Allison and Gediman realized that the 1950s series reflected an era -- and issues -- eerily similar to the present. Essayists wondered about patriotism, about America's place in the world, about race and class and nuclear annihilation.

"It was another kind of turning point then, when people felt a keen responsibility to set a course for their own lives and for the nation," he says. "We were a country divided. And we felt coming into this, that our country was fundamentally divided by what we believe now. We are not really talking about the problems, but fighting about them. And everyone is dug in. That's what happens when you don't listen."

What happens when you do, Allison says, is an eager conversation, not a heated debate. "Happily, the spirit of the project seems to discourage argument. Most people say they were inspired by listening, and that does not create a reactive response but a meditative one."

Lessons From Our Neighbors

That's certainly true of the Bay area essayists. Malhotra, whose career as a cancer specialist often prompts curious, "How do you do that?" questions, had experienced a particularly rough day when he decided to write. He'd lost a couple of favorite patients and was feeling blue when he put pain -- and hope -- to paper.

"It helped me feel more clarity of purpose," Malhotra says. "I'm a regular NPR listener but ... I don't recall the details of the essay that day. Just that it was about life choices, something close to our hearts."

Shimko's piece was assigned by her English teacher at St. Petersburg Catholic High School, Jack Mullarkey. And though she loves to write, Shimko says she initially muddled through the homework.

"I read some other ones, and they were important people talking about important things. It's hard to look back on life when you're only 17 to see what you've learned or done," says Shimko, who volunteers at All Children's Hospital. "I just thought about how I had friends who wouldn't buckle up [in my car] and I refused to move. I wanted people to know and understand that."

NPR reports that Mullarkey's move has been a popular one, as teachers, bloggers and ministers have created environments for penning similar columns. Meanwhile, the St. Pete teacher says the verbal prompt -- "This I Believe" -- suggested a truly free-form task, requiring students to use real personal initiative. And the results were a fascinating look into his teenagers' heads, hearts and home lives, he says.

But what gets essays on NPR's cross-country airwaves? Allison says the producers and staff strive for diversity and stay away from repetition. Thus, it isn't just a matter of quality but a keen interest in wanting to represent all ages, races, regions and professions.

"It's almost like people are writing a challenge to themselves when they say, 'I believe this.' And, interestingly, a lot of people recognize that they fall short of their beliefs," Allison says. "It's a little spot for reflection ... where folks often say they 'had' to do it or 'needed' to do it for themselves or their children. And they don't seem to care if it airs. It's just to know that one person is reading."

ON THE AIR

This I Believe

WHAT: National radio project based on an Edward R. Murrow series from the 1950s

WHERE: Airs on National Public Radio stations nationwide; locally, it airs on WUSF, 89.7 FM. WHEN: The national pieces air Mondays, alternating between "Morning Edition" one week (5 to 9 a.m.) and "All Things Considered" (4 to 6 p.m.) the next week. Vik Malhotra's piece will air today between 7 and 8 a.m. and again between 5 and 6 p.m.; Andrea Shimko's will air around Thanksgiving.

TO READ, HEAR or SUBMIT ESSAYS: Excerpts from four local entries appear with this story. To read the full essays, go to TBO.com, Keyword: Essay. To hear entries that have aired on NPR or to submit an essay, go to www.npr.org/thisibelieve.

ON THE AIR