Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday! I had a great time. I hope you did too.

We had a good mix of regulars and first-timers. We even had a second-timer I introduced as a first-timer. Sorry, Gretchen! 

We couldn’t have started off more beautifully with a story from Dave (who happens to run the monthly story workshop). Dave’s pacing and imagery were perfect. We were all right there with him as he took us on a journey through one year of a marriage that has now lasted decades.

Behnaz told us about surviving the first few dates post-marriage and I am happy to report that there is life after breakup. I might have to connect her with Renata, one of our tellers who wrote a book a few years ago called, “Around Seattle in 80 Dates.” Renata, if you’re reading this, send Behnaz an autographed copy of your book!

Beverly, our friend from upstate New York, told the first positive clown story I’ve ever heard. Honestly, has anyone ever heard a clown story that didn’t turn out to be something Stephen King would write? Well, Beverly met the world’s kindest circus clown one day and he made a whole bunch of kids feel very special. 

Gretchen told a story that had me spooked from the beginning. It had all the elements of another haunting story but in the end, turned out to be the exact opposite. Am I just in a haunted mood this week? Why is everything scaring me? I think someone could tell me a story about ice cream and puppies and somehow my heart rate would go up. Thanks for the soft landing at the end of your story, Gretchen. And I promise the next time I see you I’m buying you two Scones of Courage since I’ve introduced you twice as a first-timer 🙂

Simar was up next with a story I immediately identified with. He flew across continents for love. That’s exactly the kind of thing I would do! Of course, airlines and evil travel agents were working against him. But isn’t that how it should be? It wouldn’t be much of a story if Simar hadn’t had to summon his inner Liam Neeson to get to where he needed to go.

Danielle came right after Simar and it was good that she did because she was calling in from the wrong side of Canada. By wrong, I mean the east side and it was late over there. She told an amazing story of having a stroke at the shouldn’t-be-having-a-stroke age of 42. All I could think as I listened to her story was that no matter where this story goes I know it turns out ok. If you only listened to the first few minutes of her story you would swear she wouldn’t be healthy enough to tell it just months later. Yay for luck, faith, and the Canadian healthcare system!

Laurie was next with a story about a neighborhood bully and how she overcame tricycle shaming. Yes, trike shaming is a thing when you’re six years old and you aren’t riding a two-wheeler yet. There’s something about a person you don’t like daring you to do something that will get even the calmest person to do things they never would. I like to think I’ve gotten over that but I don’t think I have.

Emily told a story about the state of her eggs. Not the ones in her fridge. The ones in her ovaries. Apparently, most of the women in Emily’s family have babies in their 40s. Emily is in her 30s and is worried that her eggs won’t make it that long. Or worse, what if she dies before she gets a chance to use them? Should she freeze them and put them in her will? Should she name them so her name can live on? These are just some of the things we learned about Emily that night.  This is one of the many things I love about storytelling. We get glimpses into people’s minds we would never get otherwise. I really can’t imagine any other circumstance where Emily would lean over to me and say, “Did I ever tell you about the time I freaked out over my eggs?” 

Our final teller was Cindy, a first-timer, whose story I heard at a friend’s house during a storytelling night she held this summer in her back yard. It was a wonderful story about two people meeting by chance and discovering a connection they have through their experiences of adoption. It was one of those stories I wish all of you had been there for. I hope Cindy comes back and tells more stories with us.

Thanks again to all the tellers and everyone who came out to support them. I know it’s hard to go back to Zoom when we just started going back on stage. But we will outlast this pandemic! Delta, Gamma, Kappa, Harpo and Zeppo variants will come and go but we will be here when it’s time to back to Starbucks 🙂

Our next show is October 21. The theme is “The Kindness of Strangers.” I’ll get the official invite out as soon as I can.

Take care, everyone. See you next month.

Paul

freshgroundstories@gmail.com