The Moth’s podcast this week features a story told by the Reverend Al Sharpton. It’s funny, sad and moving, and one of the better stories that I’ve heard on the Moth podcast in some time. He’s an amazing speaker — I mean, he wouldn’t be who he is if he wasn’t — and the whole thing is a real joy to listen to. You can hear it yourself here:

Al Sharpton on the Moth Podcast: Conviction

I actually have a story about my own experience with Reverend Sharpton, which I’ve blogged about here before. But I thought it might be worth a repeat mention.

Essentially, I used to play the typewriter in a ridiculous performance art band featuring two keyboard-playing chickens. For real. That really happened. You can hear two of our songs here:

Royal Quiet Deluxe, April 1998
Exotic Newcastle Disease, by Royal Quiet Deluxe

I was at a dinner with Al Sharpton and a number of heavy hitters in Virginia’s African-American community, and someone made the terrible mistake of asking me what I did. I got way too into it and ran off at the mouth forever. And I could see Al Sharpton rolling his eyes and thinking what all black people think from time to time:

“White folks are crazy.”

Anyway, here’s the story. Hope you enjoy it: