Walk in Another’s Shoes

by Judy Thibault Klevins
Originally Published In 2003

“The trim, silver-haired man sits ramrod straight, a legacy of his former military training. Sitting close by, not quite as still or straight, his eight-year-old Swapping Stories partner’s smile reflects his own. After the storytelling session, the former Mr. America finalist states, ‘Even though there’s a 75-year difference in our ages, we’ve had very similar experiences.’ His young African-American female partner describes their exchange as ‘talking to him like he was my father.’ How did two former strangers build a bridge of understanding that spanned their cultural, racial, age, and gender difference? They participated in Swapping Stories, an intergenerational/intercultural project I created for….”