What a great show we had last Thursday! The theme was “The Kindness of Strangers” and it was just the kind of show I needed to see right now.

Marte and David told stories of taking spills on their bikes where strangers stopped and took care of them. I didn’t mention it during the show, but bike crash stories always get to me. After the show that night I decided next time I get on a bike I’m wearing two helmets and a mattress strapped to my chest.

Bev told us about a house fire where all the neighbors showed up and took care of a family who was suddenly homeless. It made me think about all the people I’ve lived around in my life and how maybe they were kinder than I thought they were. I’ll never know for sure because there was no catastrophe to help out with. It made me wonder if there’s some small act we could all do for our neighbors to let them know they aren’t alone. 

Gretchen reminded us that some people will show up in the middle of the night to dig your car out of the snow and then make snow angels in your front yard. Nothing says, “I’m glad you’re here” like a bunch of people flapping their arms and legs on your lawn after they push your car down the street in the middle of the night. Who wouldn’t want to live near people like that?

Yousaf told us how important the kindness of coworkers is when you have a horrible job. I especially loved that he worked in references to Leo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga, and Mary Tyler Moore 🙂  Behnaz made me smile with her story of working late on a newspaper project and a friend coming over late at night to surprise her with pizza, cake, and salad. Is that the perfect combination for weird dreams and heartburn? Yes it is. But it also shows that kindness doesn’t have to be perfectly conceived to be worth doing.

Emily showed us what can happen when you stop and talk to a stranger on the street. It may not always be the smart thing to do but every now and then it can lead to something magical. I wish I had written down all the times I talked to a stranger and it changed something in me. I know it’s happened more than once. 

Chris closed out the show with a beautiful story about hitchhiking one night in Japan. You don’t need to share a language to help people out. Although it’s always good to have an A+ pantomime game to rely on. If you have good pantomime skills you can go to a lot of places in this world and meet a lot of good people. 

Thanks again to all the tellers and everyone who showed up to support them. Extra special thanks to anyone who left sweet comments in the chat room. I love getting to send those to each teller who asks for their recording.

Next months’ theme is “Changing your mind.” The show date is November 18. I’ll get the invite out as soon as I can.

Take care, everyone. 

Write me if you have any questions or want help on a story. Dave’s monthly workshop is coming up on November 7 if you’re looking for a great place to get feedback on a story you’re working on. 

https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/events/281193465/

See you next month!

Paul

freshgroundstories@gmail.com