This is the Moth Radio Hour, true stories told live.
I'm Catherine Burns, and this is the Moth Holiday Special.
The spirit moves in a megachurch, a Jewish girl from Canada pines for Christmas,
a kid's terror of Charles Manson almost ruins the holidays, and first,
this story from one of our longtime Moth storytellers, Simon Dunan.
With his holiday story, he told at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in New York City.
Here's Simon, live at the mall.
Jackie Kennedy's crystal balls were up here.
Nancy Reagan's luscious red ribbons were down here.
Barbara Bush's dangling orbs were over here.
Yes, you've guessed it, probably, right?
I was in the White House holiday storage facility.
They keep all the holiday decor from White House past.
It was just beyond Pat Nixon's little beaded orbs.
It was amazing.
So how did I get there?
In January 2009, I get a phone call from Desiree Rogers.
Hello, bonjour, Desiree Rogers.
And Ellie dropped the phone.
And I thought it was one of my friends pretending to be Desiree Rogers.