Thanks everyone for making last Thursday such a sweet night. We had our biggest Zoom show ever, with 83 people tuning in. We had folks from California to Alaska joining us. As weird as it is to do these virtual shows, I love that we’re able to reach people all over the world now. I get to say world because last month we had someone tell a story from Germany 🙂

We started off the evening with Silvana telling us about how her dog became a movie star. I wish I had asked Silvana to be my agent when I was doing comedy because her dog has more screen credits than I do. And I don’t even shed.

Marte was next with a story that I think resonated with a lot of people. She grew up in a home where it wasn’t safe to express your emotions. When she was a kid she channeled all that pent up energy into dancing. Angry dancing. My only wish is that Marte could have shown us some of the angry dance moves she invented as she stomped upstairs into her room. New rule: if you have a story about angry dancing to The Beatles you have to do a few steps.

Bruce followed with a great story about having to steal his own truck back from a guy who gave him a bum check for it. Bruce had about a dozen things come together in some sort of karmic truck magic that enabled him to find that truck and take it back. Sometimes the universe takes care of us. Thank you, Bruce, for just the kind of story we needed to hear right now.

Tracey shared a story about how she suddenly became a judge at the Olympic trials for whitewater kayaking. Had she ever been in a kayak before? Of course not. Was she even aware of the rules for Olympic whitewater kayaking before she found herself standing on a rock in a river judging athletes as they swept past her? Nope. Didn’t even matter. Remember, if you’re thinking of dedicating years of your life in pursuit of Olympic gold, your fate may rest on a random human being getting shoved into a river with a clipboard.

Yousaf told the most amazing story of planning a Pakistani wedding. Will someone please invite me to a Pakistani wedding? Apparently, it involves elephants. Yousaf, let me know if you need an usher. Seriously, between the food and the wildlife I’d really like to attend at least 3-4 weddings a year. Seriously, though, it was clear to all of us how much work went into crafting this story. There was a lot going on in this story and Yousaf did a fantastic job putting it all together in a way that kept us leaning in.

First-timer Rebecca came to us all the way from Oakland to tell us about falling off a cliff with her horse. Did you know horses can fall off cliffs? I didn’t either. But they can and they can also survive. Luckily, horse and rider both got home without injuries. This is good because I don’t think I could handle a broken horse story right now. Last night I swerved just in time to save a squirrel that wandered out into the road. For some reason, it was really important that I didn’t have a dead squirrel on my conscience. 

Zoe, one of our regulars, told us about a bottle of scotch her father was saving for her wedding. You wouldn’t think a decades-old bottle of scotch would lead to a story but it did. And it was a beautiful one. Zoe, thank you for telling such a sweet and vulnerable story. It was the kind of story a friend shares that deepens your relationship with them. 

Sam was our final teller and it was so good to have him back onstage with us. He’s told many stories at The Moth, often on their mainstage. So any time he stops by our show it’s a treat. That night he told the story of what great things bike shorts and puddle of sweat can lead to. I haven’t worn bike shorts in over 20 years but your story made me want to dig around in my closet for my old pair from the 90s.

Thanks to all the tellers who worked hard on their stories and everyone else who powered up their laptop to support them. 

Our next show is October 15th at 7pm. The theme is “Starting Over – Stories of picking up the pieces.” I’ll get the invite out as soon as I can. 

In the meantime, check out the new show from one of our regular tellers, Melissa Reaves. She’s looking for stories for the latest https://melaninstoriesmatter.com/ show. Click on the link for more info and how to get a hold of her.

See you next month!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com