When you were young, your mother wisely advised you not to talk to strangers. But what happens when you do? Stories included in this episode:

Joel ben Izzy

Story: Three Travel Tales

Teller:  Joel ben Izzy

Site: www.storypage.com

Notes: Traveling is one of the best ways to encounter the world. 

Lani Peterson

Story: In Search of Charles Dickens

Teller:  Lani Peterson

Site: lanipeterson.com

Notes: While trying to connect with this prolific author, Lani finds herself connecting with people and places, both past and present.

Geraldine BuckleyStory: Hitchhiking

Teller:  Geraldine Buckley

Site: www.geraldinebuckley.com

Notes: Sometimes in our lives, that which is familiar can seem strange.

Thomas Weller

Notes: Leslie Hurd is a Navy CACO, or Casualty Assistance Calls Officer. When active duty members of the Navy die, CACOs break the news to their families – and support them during their time of grief.

Site: storycorps.org/listen/leslie-hurd

Thomas Weller

Notes: Thomas Weller has spent the last 50 years helping strangers who break down on the highway.

Site: storycorps.org/listen/thomas-weller

Scott Macaulay

Notes: Scott Macaulay remembers how, 25 years ago, he started an annual holiday dinner for strangers who have nowhere else to go.

Site: storycorps.org/listen/scott-macaulay

Thomas WellerNotes: Debra Goodman interviews her friend Ed Trinka, a doorman at the Plaza Hotel since 1963, and who is in the business of making strangers and visitors feel right at home.

Site: storycorps.org/listen/ed-trinka-and-debra-goodman