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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's Friday, when we hear from StoryCorps, and we have a story about Hawaiian pizza - not the kind with pineapple, but a pizza restaurant that is in Hawaii. Chad Machado and his son, Xavier, opened JP's Pizza at the height of the pandemic, even though they'd never worked in a restaurant. Xavier was still a teenager, and Chad was worried about his son's future.
CHAD MACHADO: You reminded me of myself going through school. It was fun, except I didn't really like the school part.
XAVIER MACHADO: Yep, not a school guy. I settled for B's and C's and sometimes D's.
C MACHADO: And you weren't involved with any of the physical activities, like football. You hated basketball that Mom put you in, but I couldn't get you away from the kitchen.
X MACHADO: You have to eat a lot in order to learn how to cook, you know?
C MACHADO: Right. Right.
X MACHADO: So I did a lot of eating back when I was a kid.
C MACHADO: (Laughter) Yeah.
X MACHADO: I would spend countless hours watching guys on YouTube making pizza. And I remember I was really hungry one day, made my amateur pizza crust, and that was a start.
C MACHADO: Yeah. I'm thinking, like, you got a great idea. Let's go for it.
X MACHADO: But I think Hawaiian pizza shouldn't be a thing.
C MACHADO: (Laughter).
X MACHADO: And I think pineapple does belong on certain pizzas, but not our pizza.
C MACHADO: Not our pizza, yeah.
X MACHADO: The flavors don't match.
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C MACHADO: I mean, you know, you making the pizza is the special thing. It's not because of the tomatoes or anything else. It's the way you make it.
X MACHADO: So what is the hardest part working together, me and you?
C MACHADO: That I can't keep up with your speed at your age.
X MACHADO: Yeah. We butt heads because, you know, I'm fast and you're slow.
C MACHADO: Yeah.
X MACHADO: Are you proud of what I've done, you know?
C MACHADO: Oh, I'm ecstatic. Your commitment, how you dedicate yourself to something is better than I ever did in my entire life. And if you didn't have that, I wouldn't speak so highly of you. I don't blow smoke up people's butts. So...
X MACHADO: Oh, thank you for not doing that. I'm just the muscle in the back. I have a little brains, but, you know, the muscle helps.
C MACHADO: Well, I think that you're going to have to use that brains when I'm gone. I don't know when I'm going to not wake up, but you got to know what to do. So keep on doing what you're doing, just stay in a groove.
X MACHADO: Yep. I don't tell you, but I learn from you every day, every word you say, you know?
C MACHADO: Thank you. It's a real gift to me. I always wanted to have children. That was my only hope in my whole entire life. Then you came along. I was so happy. So like I always say, I could die today a happy man.
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INSKEEP: Chad Machado and his son, Xavier, in Kekaha, Hawaii. Their interview is archived in the Library of Congress.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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