Thanks to everyone who came out to last week’s show. I was worried the Seahawks game would keep people from coming but we had over 100 people in the audience and a lot of beautiful stories on stage 🙂

If you’ve been to one of our shows before you know I always tell people that the most difficult spot in the lineup is the first one. People are still getting their drinks and settling into their chairs. They’re trying to finish up that last email or text and their attention isn’t always completely focused on the first storyteller.

Last Thursday David was the first teller of the evening and it didn’t take more than a few seconds for the entire room to stop what they were doing and listen. David has been a doctor for many years and some of long-time patients are now in their 70s and 80s. When their lives are coming to a close and they don’t have much time left he often goes to their homes and sits with them. He said you can’t take care of someone for 30 years and not be there with them when they’re dying. It was a wonderful story that I wish everyone could have heard live. Luckily, David has given me permission to post it online so look for it on our Facebook page in a few days.

We also had two first-timers, Louisa and Sasha, and both of them just knocked me out. Louisa’s friend put her name in Mr. Coffee and I’m not sure he bothered to tell her or that he had a firm grasp of the rules. I called Louisa’s name just as she was coming out of the bathroom and when she walked onstage she whispered to me, “What am I supposed to do?” I told her that she had to tell a story. She asked if she could read something. I said no way. No notes allowed. So she pulled a couple of pages out of her pocket, threw them into the audience and told a completely different story that she pulled from her memory. Perfect storytelling moment!

Sasha, the other first-timer, told a heartbreaking story of her brother’s descent into mental illness. It was funny and touching and reminded me of how strong a family’s love can be for each other. I know I’m not the only one in that room wondering if we would do for a brother or sister what she did for hers. Thank you Sasha. I hope you and Louisa come back and tell more stories with us.

Thanks to all the people who stepped up to the microphone that night: David, Cathy, Louisa, Chris M, Chris S, Bill, Connie, Sasha, Zoe, Jonathan, and Brian.

Next month’s show is on Thursday, November 12. During November and December we hold the shows on the second Thursdays instead of the fourth Thursdays because of the holidays. The theme for November is “Change of Heart.” I haven’t written the official invite yet but I’ll try to get that out next week.

The recording came out fine so I can give each of the storytellers a copy of their performance if they want it. I only give them to the people who told a story and it’s only the audio of their own story. Most performers don’t want their personal stories online so that’s why I only give copies to the people who told them.

If you can’t wait until the 12th to hear a great story there are two great shows where you can catch some of our regulars.

I’ll be watching Bill Bernat perform his one-man show “Becoming More Less Crazy” on Nov 7 at the Jewelbox in Belltown: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1984619

Our good friends at A Guide to Visitors are running their annual ghost story show next Friday on Oct 30: http://www.agtv.org
Lots of tellers from FGS end up telling stories at AGTV and it’s always a fun show.

That’s all for now. Thanks again to everyone who came up and supported all the tellers that night. I hope to see you on the 12th!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com