MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from Elizabeth Vaughan. Sometimes just a few words offered at the right moment can alter the direction of someone's life. For Vaughan, that moment happened after a painful experience during a high school choir performance. She and her classmates had just started to sing in front of the entire school when she noticed a single microphone on stage, lit by a spotlight. It was waiting for her and the solo she was going to sing.
ELIZABETH VAUGHAN: Now, I had never had any experience with a microphone, and yet it was my turn to sing. My teacher motioned for me to go up in front of the stage, and so I walked right up in front of that microphone. It went pretty well until the end of the line when I had to hit the high note. And I heard it - as the air escaped my lungs, I could hear how loud it was. I looked out at the audience and every single person, involuntarily, their head snapped back in their chair. Some of them had their jaws dropped wide open, and some of them even put their hands up to their ears. I was totally humiliated. I wanted the stage to open up and swallow me whole.
I had to return to my class, of course. So shuffling through the hallway with a hall pass in my hand, I remember just having my eyes downcast, and I saw a pair of rather large athletic shoes. And I stopped, and I looked up into the face of the new guy. He was a senior, and I'd never met him. But I was just bracing myself for the embarrassment of what he was about to say. He looked down at me, and he smiled. And he said, you have a very powerful voice. And it probably was several years before I realized exactly what that moment meant for me.
(SOUNDBITE OF ELIZABETH VAUGHAN SONG, "WHERE ARE YOU NOW")
VAUGHAN: I went from deciding I would never sing in front of people again as long as I lived to considering that maybe I could sing, and, yeah, I had a powerful voice. I went on and studied music at the University of Kansas and cannot imagine how much less rich my life would have been if I had followed my initial instinct to quit.
(SOUNDBITE OF ELIZABETH VAUGHAN SONG, "WHERE ARE YOU NOW")
VAUGHAN: That kid could have said anything in that moment, but he chose kindness instead of an insult. I owe him a great debt of gratitude. You really made a difference at a critical moment, and I can't thank you enough.
(SOUNDBITE OF ELIZABETH VAUGHAN SONG, "WHERE ARE YOU NOW")
KELLY: That's Elizabeth Vaughan of Chandler, Arizona. The song you're hearing is called "Where Are You Now." Vaughan wrote and performed it with her husband, Ted.
It turns out that Vaughan's unsung hero is quite well known. His name is Rodney Peete. He went on to become a quarterback for 16 seasons in the NFL. You can find more stories of unsung heroes and learn how to submit your own at hiddenbrain.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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