This is an iHeart Podcast. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
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Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions. may apply. Good morning, welcome to Today. From back to school to tackling your to-do list, the Today Show is your best start to the day. It's a new season, and every morning, we're here to help you take it all on.
As the forecast calls for football all across the country. Blockbuster stars, live concerts, and so much more. Wake up to where it's all happening. We're getting back to all of it, and the best way to start is together. Watch The Today Show, weekday mornings at 7 a.m.
on NBC. This is Danielle Fischl from Pod Meets World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day, I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest-level snack and He traded it for a Mott's applesauce pouch.
I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no-sugar-added applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples, packed in a super easy pouch, perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C, and kids love them. Win-win!
Make sure your kid wins snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more at Motts.com. God bars through crypto, it's on cracking my crypto, it's on cracking my XRP, it's on cracking. I'm part of the XRP army.
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Discount taken at time of purchase. See Sales Associate for details. Offer valid 821 through 93. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star. and the American people.
And to search for the Our American Stories podcast, go to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Anyone who's lost a parent knows the sense of loss it engenders, but for people who never knew their parents or one of their parents, the feeling is quite different. Karen Olson grew up never knowing her father, but her mom was reluctant to share any information about him. This developed a deep curiosity. And she had a drive to know Who was her dad?
Karen tried to fill in the blanks that her mother wouldn't Despite her efforts, she came up empty. until a chance encounter with a stranger. Here's Karen to tell us the story. When I was growing up in Chicago in the 50s, I lived with my mother, her two sisters. and my grandfather.
We lived in a six-flat. apartment building. We weren't very wealthy. In fact, we were pretty darn poor. When I went to high school, I realized that my life wasn't like everybody else's.
It was an all-girls' school run by the same nuns that I had had for.
however many years in grade school. It was a familiar situation. What wasn't familiar? Were things like the father-daughter dance. What does this mean?
I didn't even have an idea. But when I found out that You had to have your father bring you to this dance. I was just... Lost. I had no idea what that meant.
So I asked my mother. Everybody at my school. had a father. And for this dance, I was expected to bring my father.
Well, that was kind of a foreign concept to me. I had cousins with fathers, but they were never around, they were always at work. There was my grandfather, but he wasn't my father.
So where was mine?
So I asked my mother, Mom, where is my father? Who is my father? Why isn't he living here with us? And she got on what I... used to call her Madface.
And it was pursed her lips and kind of looked. Very angry. It took her well to speak, but she said that my father had been in the war, He was a soldier. He was French. A was killed in the war.
End of discussion. She wouldn't tell me anything else.
So I had. the opportunity at least to tell people where my father was. He was dead. Time went on, and that just didn't sit well with me, so I needed to. find out more.
I had a name for my father. I knew that my father had been a soldier. I knew he was dead. End of story. But something just didn't sit right with that story.
There weren't enough details.
So, when everybody was gone at work, I made it my business to become a Nancy Drew detective. She was my heroine. She was a person who would find the tiniest little detail. and was able to solve mysteries with it. and talking about the mystery.
So in my own house, I looked in every drawer. in every Corner. Under the rugs. Under the padding of the rugs, And finally I got to this old cedar chest where my mom kept Some pretty interesting things. One of them was One of these fox boas where the foxes' mouths were made into little clips and they clipped together, it went around.
her next and she knew that I didn't like that so she put it on top of everything. knowing that I wouldn't go near it.
So that made it even more alluring. I just kind of toss it aside and just rummage through this cedar chest full of old clothes and things. And then I found them. I found a little packet. of a few letters One of them had a picture of my father in it, and it was the first time I saw the face of my father.
And of course, I had to read those letters. I know they weren't meant for me. and I know she was hiding them for a reason. But in reading them, I found out that yes, he was in the war. Yes, he did suffer some injuries in battle.
And yes, he never married my mother. He was my father, but she told him that unless he did, that he needed to stay away from all of us. and that he need never see me or have anything to do with me, again.
Okay. But what about the dead part? I kept looking and kept looking and kept trying to find some evidence. He had actually been killed in the war, as she said. but it never ever came up.
I took my search to the telephone book. In Chicago we had these giant volumes six inches thick. With page after tissue paper page of names, addresses, and phone numbers. of just about everybody who lived in Chicago.
Now my mother had somehow, through my uncle, who was a lawyer. taken my father's name. although they never married. And so my name was his name, Torme. And I looked it up in the phone book.
And there was my mother's name. Torme wasn't a very common name. At the time there was a famous singer out there whose name was Mel Torme, who was very popular, but he had nothing to do with me. I was just looking for a soldier. I looked in these phone books and there in teeny tiny print was my mother's name, Loretta G.
Tormay, with our phone number and address. Right above it, was Arthur Tormay. Lawyer. And his address, the address of his business. and his phone number.
And I asked my mother about him, and she said, he was your uncle. That's all she would say. I knew my father's name was Al because that's how he signed his letters to my mother. His name wasn't in the phone book.
So who is this Arthur person? I found out later that he was my uncle, But apparently he wanted nothing to do with us.
Now there was no internet in those days. I couldn't look up death records. I couldn't look up any records. The only thing I could do was look at that phone book, maybe go to the public library, which still didn't have any records, or contact Art Tourme, which I wasn't about to do. because I knew that the wrath of my mother would fall down upon me.
So I just forgot about it. and went on with my life. Fast forward to college. I ended up going to to Loyola downtown, an easy commute. Nonetheless, I came home every night from college.
I joined a sorority when I was at Loyola, but toward the end of my school years at Loyola, the sorority decided to go national. When the sorority decided to go national, The sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha scheduled a great big gala. to welcome us into the national group. It was to be A group of about 200 people. All women coming from various chapters of the sorority to see us get pinned.
The night of the big event came and I was assigned to Take care of one of the illustrious guests who was to be the keynote speaker.
So I had to sit with her, and I had to not just sit with her, but talk to her. Keeper amused. It turns out her name was Adeline Giokaris-Lambrose. I had never heard of her before, but she was a pretty big deal in Illinois. She was at first just someone on the Supreme Court of Illinois and then later a state senator.
So what was I going to talk about with this woman who knew all about law and I was just an English major from Loyola.
Well, we all wore name tags and we had some small talk when we sat down to dinner. And all of a sudden she stopped. And she stared at me. And she looked at my name tag. And she said, oh.
Tourme. Is art Your dad? And I, with all my knowledge about my father and my uncle, said. No, Art's not my dad. He is my uncle.
My father's name was Al. But he was killed in the war. And the whole conversation. stopped, and she stared. And I stared.
Did I say something wrong? All of a sudden she said Art and Al live on the north side of Chicago. My life was about to change, for good or for bad, for better or for worse, I had no idea. And you've been listening to Karen Olson. Her maiden name is Karen Tourme.
What a story you're hearing, and what a discovery. It had been haunting her. She'd been wanting to know what any kid would want to know. Who's my dad? Where is he?
Well, she was about to find out something she'd not been told. She was about to find out her mom had stone cold lied to her. When we come back, more of the story of Karen Olson's search for her father here. on our American stories. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange any time. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off site-wide at washablesofas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. God bars with crypto, it's uncracking. My crypto is on cracking. My XRP is on cracking. I'm part of the XRP army.
Dave Portnoy trusts Kraken with his crypto.
So do millions of clients around the world. Ranked best crypto platform of 2025 by Forbes. Download the app today. Get $10 in Bitcoin after your first trade of $10 or more. Just enter code iHeart10 under Add Invite Code when you sign up.
Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss and is offered to U.S. customers through Payward Interactive Inc. Terms and Conditions Apply. You heard it before many times.
Water is life. But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo Reservation do not have clean running water? With your support, St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is ready to give water to Navajo families.
So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. Good morning.
Welcome to Today. From back to school to tackling your to-do list, the Today Show is your best start to the day. It's a new season and every morning, we're here to help you take it all off. as the forecast calls for football all across the country. Blockbuster stars, live concerts, and so much more.
Wake up to where it's all happening. We're getting back to all of it, and the best way to start is together. Watch the Today Show, weekday mornings at 7 a.m. on NBC. In a time where money often feels disconnected from meaning, It's rare to find a place where your savings can actually reflect your values.
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So don't wait, lock in your rate before it drops. Visit America's ChristianCU.com and get started. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA. And we continue with our American stories and with Karen Olson's story. We had just discovered that Karen had learned her father was still alive.
from a chance encounter with a stranger. Let's pick up. where we last left off. All of a sudden she said, Art and Al live on the north side of Chicago. She didn't have to say any more than that.
I knew what she was telling me. And she stopped talking because she was trying to figure out How to tell me? and how we would both process this.
Well, we processed it by not saying anything more about it the entire evening. I'm thinking Jeez, I was put next to this woman. Not only did I have to sit there, I had to talk to her. and she was probably the only person in the room. Maybe the only person in the city of Chicago.
Besides my mother and my uncle, Who could connect me to my father? How did this happen? I went home. And I wrote a letter. A letter to my uncle.
Saying Look. This is what happened. I don't want to hurt anybody's family. I don't want to destroy anything. But I can't be put in this position again.
I need to know. The truth. I need to know What happened between my mother and father? and who my father is. and I mailed a letter to my uncle's law office.
So I waited and waited and waited, thinking that he would either call me or write me back. And I had instructed him to write me back or call me. At school, at Loyola. Because I knew. that if something like that appeared in my house, My mother would take it and tear it up and I would never see it.
A month went by, and there was nothing, and I figured, well, Okay, he knew where I was. I knew where he was, but. He didn't want to have anything to do with me. And then one day, while I was in the Loyola Student Union, A voice came over the loudspeaker. Kieran Tourmey, come to the dean's office.
You have a phone call. And I'm like, whoa, wait, a phone call.
Something's happened.
Something's wrong.
So I went down to the office, and by that time, the person at the other end had. hung up and the dean gave me a phone number to call. And it turned out to be my uncle's law office. It took a while for the secretaries to find him. And he got on the phone and apologized for not getting back to me sooner.
The next words out of his mouth were Would you like to meet your father?
Well That didn't take me long to answer. But then I had to figure out how am I going to pull this off. If my mother finds out, it's gonna be the mad face for weeks.
So I did make arrangements to meet them. at a place called the Little Corporal. Downtown Chicago, a time when I could tell my mother that I was doing something with the sorority. I you know, I did have to lie to her about this, but I did. When I arrived at the Little Corporal, There was my father and his brother Art, Probably as a buffer in case something was amiss.
They had no idea what I was going to ask for. Was I going to hold them up for money or was I going to scream and yell at him? because they both knew the story. We had a dinner and I asked all kinds of questions, all kinds of things that I wanted to know. But it was a pretty low-key dinner.
All I really wanted to know was: who am I? Who are you? Why did this happen? And it turns out my father never married. I didn't have any brothers and sisters.
But I did have a whole family. A whole family that I didn't know anything about. A whole family that I later found out. had lived about six blocks away from me for the first 11 years of my life. My other set of grandparents My Aunt Bae and her husband and their three children.
And even Mel Tarme had lived. in that area as well. And we apparently were running circles around each other in the same neighborhood going to this same.
Soda shop going to the same Grocery stores for 11 years. None of us knowing that the other existed. I did find out about them, and my uncle at that meeting said, Would you like to come to Thanksgiving dinner and meet all those people? I said yes.
Now When I went home after that, I realized that my father had given me his card, I put it in my wallet so that I could contact him. And the next morning it was gone. My mother did have this little habit of going through all my things to see if I was doing something nefarious, and she had taken the card. And I knew she had taken the card because her mad face was on, and she was sitting at the kitchen table and smoking cigarette after cigarette after cigarette. That was something she did.
Anyway, but not to that degree. And I said, okay, I know you've got it. I know you took it out of my purse. And she just told me, you had no right. And I said, oh yeah, I'm 18 now.
over eighteen. I had a right and I'm going to see him. And furthermore, I'm going to go to Thanksgiving dinner with them and meet all the rest of them.
Well, I thought she was just gonna stamp herself into the ground like a rumble stillskin. But eventually she cooled down and the next words out of her mouth were What did he look like? How did he look?
So she Kind of reconcile the fact that this was going to happen. And then I really didn't care what happened then, I only cared what happened now. I went to Thanksgiving dinner There were two girl cousins about my age, one a little older, one a little younger, Barry and Susie. And All of us had taken ballet lessons. All of us.
had majored in English. All of us were going to be teachers and we even looked alike. But my aunt and uncle I had never met me, had no idea. that I existed, none of them knew I existed until that very moment. And eventually we all became friends, and I am still friends with Susie and Barry.
To this day, After that meeting, My father was a frequent visitor at my house. He came and took me and my mother to dinner often. He came and took us to plays, to performances when Mel was in town at the London House. He and I often went to dinner downtown because by that time I was working downtown, at least in the summers. And we became friends.
I can't say that he was the dad I'd always wished for because. There was just too much water under the bridge for that. But he was in my life for fifteen years. before he died. At first he would take me to many different brunches with his cronies who were in their 60s and 70s.
He was showing me off, I think. But after all, he had no family. Just me. I met someone, got married. At that time, my father was very much in my life.
He paid for the wedding. He walked me down the aisle. And then when his grandsons were born, He couldn't have been a prouder grandpa. He took them everywhere. He took them to restaurants to meet his friends, and then it was my grandson this, my grandson that.
So he had a family. He died 15 years after that day in Chicago where I met him at that big dinner. We all have really fond memories of him and my uncle Art. My mother had a relationship with him after that. I guess they were friends.
They went out occasionally. I always had a fantasy of them getting married, finally, but that wasn't to be. It turned out The big reason that kept him from marrying her was that He came from an ultra-Jewish religious family. And as long as his parents were alive, he could not marry a Gentile without being thrown out of the family. Completely.
I didn't know that. until much, much later. But that was the story and that was the truth.
So, I lived most of my life without knowing my father, and then all of a sudden, This string of coincidences happened. They were small things that I could have responded to or not. I didn't have to join a sorority, but I did. The sorority didn't have to go national. But it did.
Then. Came this big gala. There I was. seated next to perhaps the only woman in the city of Chicago, who could connect me with my family, and yet... In this room of 200 people, We were somehow put together.
This is how I found my father. Was this Just coincidence? Was this a string of random happenings? Or was this a plan? A plan that God had all along?
This could have been A coincidence, a pretty big string of coincidences. But I don't think so. I think it was meant to be. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by John Elfner. He's a high school history teacher and frequent contributor here.
on our American stories. And by the way, if you have stories to tell, Send them to our American stories. A lot of you are historians about your family, historians of your local town. You don't have to have a PhD in history or storytelling. To share your stories with us, send them to ouramericanstories.com.
and click the Your Stories button. Your stories are some of our favorite. And by the way, thanks also to Karen Olson for sharing her story and what a story it was. Imagine that moment when she found out her father wasn't dead.
Well, she got to know her father better, understood her mom was probably just trying to protect her. Karen Olsen's story about the father she never knew. The father she thought was dead. Here. on our American stories.
This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange any time. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off site-wide at washablesofas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. The day begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club at Boston Logan Airport. You get the clam chowder. In San Diego, it's Tostadas. New York, Espresso Martini.
It's 10 a.m. Why not? It's the quiet before your next flight, the shower that resets your day, the menu that lets you know where you are. This is access to over 1,300 airport lounges and every Sapphire lounge by the club. And one card that gets you in: Chase Sapphire Reserve, the most rewarding card.
Learn more at chase.com/slash Sapphire Reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, and a member of FDIC, subject to credit approval. Fox One is now live. It's the new way to stream all your Fox favorites all in one place. That means NFL Sundays and college football games, breaking news with the Fox voices you trust, and your favorite shows streamed as they happen so nothing gets spoiled.
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streaming now. This is Danielle Fischel from Pod Meets World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day, I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest-level snack and He traded it for a Mott's applesauce pouch.
I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no-sugar-added applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples, packed in a super easy pouch, perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C, and kids love them. Win-win!
Make sure your kid wins snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more at Motts.com. You heard it before many times. Water is life.
But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo Reservation do not have clean running water? With your support, St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is ready to give water to Navajo families.
So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. This is an iHeart podcast.
