Jovahn Walid Thomas, Contradictions

The April 2016 Contradictions show carried the overall theme of the contradictions of the human condition, and no story embodied that theme better than Jovahn Walid Thomas' extremely heartfelt tribute to his grandmother, a story about family and tradition, about triumph and tragedy, about life and death. It's not an easy story for Jovahn to tell, but his raw emotion is as beautiful as the story itself, which has been left almost entirely unedited. From Jovahn's Odyssey bio: Jovahn Thomas was born and raised in San Diego, California. His family came to the United States from Baghdad, Iraq 35 years ago. He speaks fluent Neo-Aramaic, which is the endangered language historically spoken by Jesus Christ during his time, over 2,000 years ago. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a major in philosophy (aka, unemployment), just kidding! He's a distance runner, martial artist, tea lover, and foodie that likes to try new things! His sole mission in life is to meet as many canines as humanly possible. This episode was performed and recorded in front of a live audience at The Screening Room in Tucson, AZ, on April 7th, 2016, and was curated by Sarah K. Smith. For more information about Odyssey Storytelling, please visit www.odysseystorytelling.com