Ed Genesis asks his wife Patrese Griffin “Did you ever see me as like, less than, or a failure?”
Patrese says no, “because I watched you. Failure is not trying and not being successful,” she says. “I never saw you not try.”
Ed and Patrese recorded their conversation during the StoryCorps Mobile Tour stop in Kalamazoo. They discussed how they met over 22 years ago while working at a Taco Bell.
They talked about where they were then and how their life has changed since then.
“When we met I was a child, if you will,” she says. “I was young and guarded and thought I had things figured out.”
Ed says “I had just got my GED in jail.” He adds, “that was the first time my music was placed on a CD.” Genesis, now a professional musician, says, “I remember a lot of people saying, 'this is probably what you will end up doing,' and I didn’t know that for a fact at that time, I didn’t know that in me.”
Patrese Griffin and Ed Genesis recorded their conversation July 10th in Kalamazoo.
Other StoryCorps recordings in Kalamazoo, including some from the Mobile tour stop can be found here.
