John Curtis and his adopted son John
Wikiera discussed their dreams in this week's StoryCorps interview
heard on NPR's Morning Edition.
The long-running series features
everyday folks sharing the stories of their lives.
John Curtis and his husband, David
Wikiera, have two sons. They adopted their first son, John Wikiera,
from Vietnam when he was a baby.
Eleven years later, John Curtis sat
down with his son at a StoryCorps booth in Rochester, New York and
asked, “What are some of your dreams?”
“I kind of want to go to Mars and be
an astronaut,” the
younger John said.
“What do you think it's going to be
like on Mars?”
“Red. Yeah. … So, do you remember
what was going through your head when you first saw me?”
“I had always wanted to be a parent.
So it was a dream I had but I never dreamed would come true, because
Pop and I are gay. But we had some friends who started thinking
about adoption and that got us thinking. So we started into the
process and one day a FedEx truck came down the driveway,” the
elder John said, his voice breaking up. “And they had a little
picture of you and I knew that I was going to get to be your dad.
And it was wonderful.”
“And the first time I ever go to hold
you, when I got to feed you your first bottle, I guess in a way I was
concerned that you might be scared or nervous with these new people.
But holding you up against my chest, it was just like you fit. Like
we fit.”
“How has being a parent changed you?”
“Oh, it changes everything. Do you
think about having a family of your own?”
“Yeah, sometimes. And like when I
have kids, you'll get to meet them.”
“That's my dream, too. I love you
very much.”
“I love you, too.”
“We were always meant to be
together,” the elder John added. (The audio is embedded on this
page. Visit
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