1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: Hello, friends, Welcome to Story Behind podcast. This is the 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: show for people who love hearing a good story and 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: who believe the world could use more positivity. We're the 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: team behind God Updates and God Too, and we hope 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: these weekly short stories will brighten your day. 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 2: Nearing one hundred, Dick Van Dyke says the secret to 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 2: his long life is simple, never stop singing. Written by 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,639 Speaker 2: Julie Provost, Bread by Julie Provost. Dick van Dyke will 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 2: be celebrating a significant mouse on this year. On December thirteenth, 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 2: the after an entertainer, will be one hundred years old, 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 2: and he has lived quite the life in those years. 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 2: He was born Richard Wayne van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, 13 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 2: on December thirteenth, nineteen twenty five. His brother Jerry Van 14 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 2: Dyke was also an entertainer, but passed away in twenty eighteen. 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: Dick Van Dyke married his first wife, Margie Willett, in 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 2: nineteen forty eight, and the couple had four children, Christian, Barry, Stacey, 17 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 2: and Cariebeth. They divorced in nineteen eighty four. He then 18 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: had a long term relationship with Michelle TROYA Marvin who 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 2: passed away in two thousand and nine. In twenty twelve, 20 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 2: at the age eighty six, he married his current wife, 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 2: Arlene Silver, and he has seven grandchildren. Dick started to 22 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 2: gain popularity after starring in the Broadway production of Bye 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 2: Bye Birdie in nineteen sixty. That musical is also where 24 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 2: he learned to sing and dance. Teita Rivera was so 25 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 2: sweet and nice. Knowing that I didn't dance, she was patient, 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 2: and she also helped me sing. Because I wasn't a 27 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: singer either. I had to learn a lot fast, he shares. 28 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 2: The actor's most popular roles were as Bert The Cockney 29 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 2: Chimney Sweep and Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews the sixty 30 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 2: four and as Ron Pittree and The Dick Van Dyke 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 2: Show alongside Mary Tyler Moore, which premiered in nineteen sixty one. 32 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 2: He also revived his role from Mary Poppins in the 33 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen film Mary Poppins Returns. Overall, he had eighty 34 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 2: three acting credits on his IMBD dating back to nineteen 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: fifty six. As his son birthday approaches, one can only 36 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: wonder how he is feeling about this significant milestone. I 37 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 2: didn't expect to get past eighty at the most. The 38 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,679 Speaker 2: fun thing is, I don't know what I did right. 39 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 2: I have no idea, he shares about his long life. 40 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 3: He is and has been committed to staying active. 41 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: It doesn't says still and dances with Arley and as 42 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 2: often as he can. I've always loved the old soft shoe. 43 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 2: It's just something about it, the old soft shoe. It flows, 44 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 2: and my wife and I do it together, he shares 45 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 2: on today. In addition to dancing, he and his wife 46 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 2: also sing together. Singing is, of course, still a big 47 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 2: part of his life. I'll broke over today, asked him 48 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 2: what people ask him the most as he approaches his 49 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 2: one hundredth birthday. 50 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 3: Why are you still walking around? He answers. 51 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 2: His answer to that question is never to stop singing. 52 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 2: Singing is the best thing you can do for yourself. 53 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 2: Usually I wake up with an old tune going through 54 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 2: my head, he says. When it comes to what his 55 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 2: legacy might be, the movies in the TV show kind 56 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 2: of speak for me. I think it's about an attitude 57 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 2: toward life to look at. 58 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,279 Speaker 3: The bright side. The actor shares, Happy birthday. 59 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 2: Dick Van Dyke, we hope you well and hope you 60 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 2: have a fantastic time turning one hundred never stop singing. 61 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 3: From a DNA match. 62 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 2: A woman meets her biological father for the first time. 63 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: Written by Heather Riggomann, read by Dully Provost, Grab a 64 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 2: tissue and watch now. From a DNA match. A woman 65 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: meets her biological father for the first time. There are 66 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 2: moments in life when the ache you've carried for decades 67 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 2: finally exhales. With thirty five year old Sarah Pinkleton, that 68 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: moment came wrapped in a simple notification on her phone, 69 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 2: your DNA results are ready. For most of her life, 70 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 2: Sarah longed for a father. She had never known, a 71 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 2: man who could have taught her how to steady her 72 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 2: bike on a gravel road, had a plant, tomatoes and 73 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 2: straight rows, how to unravel the knots of fifth grade math, 74 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: and have hold her clothes for a daddy daughter dance 75 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: on our wedding day. She says she always felt the 76 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 2: quiet emptiness of the absence miss see peace she could 77 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 2: never quite name. After her mother became pregnant at twenty 78 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 2: paternity was never confirmed. Life moved forward, and her mother 79 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 2: raised Sarah and later a stepfather she never truly connected with. 80 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 2: Though she cherish shabon with her mom, she often felt, 81 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 2: as she said, like a large part of my identity 82 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 2: was missing. And yet even in the pages that felt torn, 83 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 2: God was already writing a story that would one day 84 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 2: make her whole. 85 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 3: In August twenty twenty five, after. 86 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 2: Years of believing she might be a burden, Sarah did 87 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 2: something brave. But until that point, I was always so 88 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 2: afraid of being rejected by whoever my father was, she shared, 89 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 2: But I finally felt like I had the support to 90 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 2: go look for him and handle how it played out. 91 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 2: With the sun warming her shoulders and a surprising peace 92 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 2: settling over her, she ordered an ancestor test. Three weeks later, 93 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: everything changed. I got an immediate close family member match, 94 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 2: and it happened to me, my aunt, she said. Her 95 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 2: sister looked up the woman on Facebook and sent photos 96 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 2: one of a man with deep brown eyes. Sarah immediately 97 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 2: recognized in herself, and I just knew despite having been 98 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 2: off Facebook for years. Sarah reactivated her account and message 99 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 2: the woman. Her arm responded right away, open kind and 100 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 2: eager to help. Within days, while Sarah was out of 101 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 2: state for a wedding, she got on the phone and 102 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 2: heard the voice she had wondered about her entire life, 103 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 2: her father, Greg. 104 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 3: Michols fifty five. 105 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 2: My dad and I spoke on the phone almost daily 106 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 2: once we connected, she said, it just felt natural. Then 107 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 2: in October, Greg and his wife flew from Wiltemore, California, 108 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 2: to Seattle, then drove to Vancouver, Washington to meet Sarah 109 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 2: face to face. Sarah describes feeling numb, racing for every 110 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 2: possible emotion until the moment she opened the door. I 111 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 2: had my dad, she said. He cried, I cried, We 112 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 2: all cried. He is, honestly such a kind person. The 113 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 2: tenderness between them settled quickly, like long lost puzzle pieces 114 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 2: clicking into place. My dad is just like me, or 115 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 2: I'm like him. We're both tender hearts, big softies. He 116 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 2: is better than I hoped for it, She said. What 117 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 2: Astana share at most wasn't simply finding him. 118 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 3: It was how. 119 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 2: Effortlessly everything unfolded, as if the door God opened had 120 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 2: been waiting on its hinges all along. I've heard these 121 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 2: searches not going anywhere nearly as smooth this did, she recalled. 122 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 2: I did not think I would find him this fast 123 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 2: or that it would be this easy. Some of that 124 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 2: self esteem comes into play, not really believing he would 125 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 2: want anything to do with me. 126 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 3: Boy, was that wrong. 127 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 2: Now Sarah is looking ahead with a heart finally at rest, 128 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 2: Halliday plans long conversations reclaiming years she once thought were lost. 129 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 2: I feel a level piece I can't quite describe, she said, 130 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 2: And for anyone afraid to begin their own search, Sarah 131 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 2: offers this encouragement. My family, friends, and partner helped me 132 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 2: feel safe enough to take this step. Without that support, 133 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 2: it would have taken me much longer. Sometimes God slips 134 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 2: miracles into the most ordinary places, a test kit, a 135 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,160 Speaker 2: Facebook message, a phone call, until suddenly the missing piece 136 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,119 Speaker 2: doesn't feel missing anymore. Sometimes the door you've been afraid 137 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,479 Speaker 2: to knock on swings wide open. Then the father you've 138 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 2: always longed for is standing right there, with tears in 139 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 2: his eyes, arms ready, heart already yours Psalm one hundred. 140 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 3: And forty seven three. He heals the broken hearted and 141 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 3: bides up their wounds. 142 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Story Behind podcast. 143 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story. 144 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: To see photos and videos that may have been referenced 145 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: in this episode. Check out the links and the show notes, 146 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: and if you enjoyed what you heard today, subscribe to 147 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: our podcast and please tell a friend about us. We'd 148 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: also love it if you'd rate us and leave us 149 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: a review. It really does help more people find us. 150 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: Story Behind is a Salem Web Network production.