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Monthly Archives: August 2019

FGS: From Out of Nowhere – Stories of unexpected help

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Paul Currington - Fresh Ground Stories in Uncategorized

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I’m always suspicious when I hear people say, “I earned everything I got. No one ever gave me anything.” They’re probably saying that right after someone stopped to let them into traffic or they’re snapping up a maple bar from a box of doughnuts someone brought into work. I am happy to say that lots of people have helped me get to where I am today. I would be leading a terribly lonely life if I couldn’t look back and remember all the help I’ve received from family, friends, and strangers.

Knowing that I’ve been helped by others keeps me humble and appreciative. It also reminds me that I’m not alone. This morning one of my best friends asked me if I thought he was compassionate enough when he saw his male friends struggling with something. He was worried that he was too jokey when he saw one of us breaking down a little.

When I was growing up, no man would ever ask that. Most men wouldn’t even have cared. Suck it up and walk it off was all I ever heard growing up. I was touched that Mark was worried he wasn’t being helpful enough when one of his buddies needed someone to talk to. I was happy to tell him that he was just fine. He’s one of two men I trust to open up to when I’m in a riptide of emotions and getting pulled out to sea.

There is no way any of us would be here without a lot of help. Every time someone at FGS asks if they can help me set up chairs or move the furniture I feel blessed by the universe. Whenever I hear that there’s less money for community service programs I feel gratitude for all the food stamps, rental assistance, and WIC coupons I was given when my son was small and we were broke.

When I was 10, my mother took me back to St. Paul Island, Alaska, where I was born. My parents had just split up for the umpteenth time and for some reason Mom wanted me to see the rock in the middle of the Bering Sea where I came into the world. At a time when I was feeling about as lonely and dadless as a little boy could feel, she took me to one of the loneliest places on earth. I’m sure she had a good reason for doing it but my 10-year-old self couldn’t fathom it. While we were there, one of her male friends took me down to the rocky shore to go fishing.

I remember him showing me how to bait a hook and cast it out into the sea. It was the first time anyone had ever taken me fishing. I caught my first fish that day, a 21-1/2 inch dolly varden. The man had me sling it over my back so I could carry it back to the village. I was so short, the fish was half as long as I was. Until I started writing this, I was always sad that my dad wasn’t the one who helped me catch my first fish. Looking back now, I’m grateful that it was someone I had never met before who did that for me. My dad was a good man. He did lots of great things for me. But parents can’t be there for everything. Sometimes we have to rely on the rest of the world to help us. That guy on St Paul, whose name I can’t remember, reminds me that people show up all the time to help each other. He also reminds me that sometimes it’s my job to be the one who shows up.

Not all help comes with a story but some of them do and that’s what we’re looking for this month. Come tell a story about a time when you were failing, flailing, or just beat down, and someone or something helped you. It could be a person, an organization, an idea, or anything else that helped you pull it back together.

Remember to keep it clean, and practice out loud as often as you can. All stories must be under 8 minutes. It can be as short as you want but not over 8 minutes. We’re getting more names in Mr. Coffee and some folks aren’t getting to share their story because we run out of time. Thanks for understanding.

Here are the rules and guidelines for telling: https://freshgroundstories.com/2013/01/22/storytelling-rules-and-guidelines/

I hope to see you all Sept 19th at 7 pm at the Olive Way Starbucks 🙂

Feel free to email me if you have any questions

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

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19 Monday Aug 2019

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Well, you did it again. You got me out of my funk and reminded me of how lucky I am to have this show to come to every month. From the tellers who share their lives, to the people who show up and offer to help with the audio (Matt), to my friend Kris who helps in too many ways to list, to the Starbucks staff and management who make me feel so welcome, thank you for making this a place for people to connect and feel a part of something. I wish everyone had a Fresh Ground Stories to remind them that the world is often kinder and more generous than we think it is.

We began the evening with the perfect opening story. After a year of my nudging (or possibly nagging), Kent finally returned and told the best almost-killed-by-the-Yugoslavian-militia story we’ve ever heard. I’m glad those guys don’t have itchy trigger fingers and that Kent was able to come back from Prague with a great story.

I was super happy to see two first-timers get up and do such a great job. Sue showed us how the stress of planning your wedding can put you in the hospital just days before that very wedding. If I ever get married, I’m going to take her advice and let Cupcake Royale decide the flavors of my mini wedding cupcakes so I can stay home and get some rest. Our other first-timer David W went up a few minutes later and showed us why you should never take marriage advice from an Uber driver. This night was so informative!

Sara told us how easy it is for a herd of buffalo to sneak up on you, and Bruce laid a story on us that made me wonder what UFO’s are doing in New Jersey. Don’t they usually show up in a potter’s field in Kansas somewhere? Bruce is pitching that story to Risk! next week and I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll hear it on the podcast. 

Thanks to Colleen, we now know what it’s like to wake up from a car crash to see a priest administering your last rites. It was hysterical for us, but I’m pretty sure that priest is still in therapy 🙂

Carl told us how frustrating it can be when you’re trying to help someone escape from a bully when you can’t let anyone you’re trying to help them escape. And David T shared what it feels like when your kidney explodes. (Please let me never get anything that puts me in the hospital for 131 days) And Stephanie showed us what can happen when you put too much faith in Yelp reviews. On a serious note, I’m grateful to the woman who reached out to her after reading her review on couchsurfing.com. She let Stephanie know she wasn’t crazy and that she didn’t misread the situation. There are some bad people out there and we need to support the ones who have the courage to stand up and say something. Thank you anonymous woman on the internet.

One of our new regulars, Melissa, closed the show with a beautiful story of how she’s helping her daughter get through OCD therapy. It was funny and touching and in the end, full of hope. Thank you Melissa, for sharing you and your daughter’s journey. I know there were people in the audience that night who needed to hear it. 

The storyteller who surprised me the most that night was from my son, Taran. He told the story of what it was like to be eight years old and watch your parents fight for custody. It was hard for him to tell and harder for me to listen. Even though it happened 20 years ago, his story brought back all those old emotions. It was a terrible time in everyone’s life. I’ve never asked him what it was like for him to go through that because I didn’t think I could handle the answer. Now that he’s told the story, there’s no need for me to wonder anymore. All I can do now is be grateful that he still loves his parents and that storytelling is helping him explore those memories. 

Our theme for September is, “From Out of Nowhere – Stories of unexpected help.” It’ll be on Sept 19. I’ll get out the official invite as soon as I can. Look for it in your inbox next week. 

In the meantime, be sure to check out Auntmama’s Storytable, the other amazing storytelling show at the Olive Way Starbucks, on August 29. Auntmama’s show has storytelling, live music, poetry, fiction stories, and all sorts of wonderful stuff. This month’s featured performer is the poet, Marshay Mitchell. I saw Marshay perform a few months ago at another show and she was fantastic. 

That’s all for now. Thanks again to all the tellers who walked up to the microphone and everyone in the audience who supported them.

See you on the 19th

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

 

See you tomorrow!

15 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by Paul Currington - Fresh Ground Stories in Uncategorized

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Hi All,

Just a quick reminder of tomorrow’s show and a wonderful Moth story I just stumbled across. I hope you’re all having a great week 🙂

Here’s the link to tomorrow’s theme: Escape – Stories of breaking free https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories/events/263413411/

The rules if you want to tell a story:
https://freshgroundstories.com/2013/01/22/storytelling-rules-and-guidelines/

And my new favorite Moth story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sGmJMgGDU8

See you at the Olive Way Starbucks tomorrow at 7:00!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

 

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