Thank you so much for supporting all our tellers last week and helping us have such a great show. It was a wonderful evening. Send me an email If you told a story and would like the recording of it. I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.
If you want to catch another great story show, and maybe even tell a story yourself, our friends at 7Stories in Burien are doing their show tomorrow, Friday, at the Highline Heritage Museum. They still have room for 1-2 more tellers.
They have two themes for the night. “Brush with greatness” and “You only live once.” Go check them out! Meetup is the best way to get their invites and upcoming themes.
If you’re still working on a story don’t forget about our free monthly workshop. It’s a great place to get feedback whether you’re just starting one or looking for ways to polish one. Their next Zoom call is Sunday, February 4, at 1pm.
≈ Comments Off on FGS: In Retrospect – Stories of things you didn’t want to do but now are glad you did
I love not doing things I’m supposed to do. I’ve been told it’s my superpower. I like to think of myself as a prodigy. A prodigy for not doing things I have no good reason for not doing.
For years I didn’t have a microwave. Partly because I had other things I needed to spend that money on. But also because I didn’t grow up with a microwave so it never occurred to me that I needed one.
When I was a kid, the only people I knew who had a microwave were David Mason’s family. It was one of those giant 1970s models with a big dial as a timer and one temperature setting – volcano. David and I would put two slices of American cheese between two slices of Wonder bread and press our noses against the glass to watch everything melt into liquid rubber. I’m sure we were irradiated. It was the 10-year-old’s version of the Manhattan Project.
When I started living on my own in the 80s, my apartments never came with a microwave and I never got around to buying one because there were always diapers to buy or a car to fix. So I ate all my leftovers cold and thought nothing of it. Of course, I saw people using microwaves when I was in their homes but I probably went years between the times I used one myself. Most of those times were at quickie marts heating up frozen burritos. In my mind, microwaves were invented for 7-11’s and Circle K’s. Anyone who had one in their home must have money to burn. It seemed like the least necessary home appliance, right up there with pasta makers and pizza scissors.
After a while, I started taking pride in not having a microwave. I’d boast about it when it came up, “I was into slow cooking back when that was the only speed we had.” My lack of microwave paired well with the old typewriters and fountain pens I had lying around the house. I was proud of my analog kitchen and the cast-iron pans I inherited from my dad. I didn’t even have Teflon pans! I had a frying pan, a Dutch oven, and a couple of pots. What more did I need? Did everything stick to the frying pan and have to be scraped off with steel wool and blow torch? Yes. Did I try 42 ways to season those cast iron pans and fail each time? Of course. Did it ever occur to me to buy a Teflon pan? No.
Four years ago, I bought my first house. People started bringing over food as a housewarming gift. When they’d set the casserole dish on the counter they’d always do a slow turn and say, “Where’s your microwave?” When I said I didn’t have one they looked like I’d just admitted that I didn’t have a toothbrush. The look was somewhere between confusion and pity. So I finally bought a microwave. A used one. I did it so people would stop asking if I’d like the spare one they had in the garage. I’ve probably reset the clock on the thing more often than I’ve used it to heat anything up.
My four-decade cold food diet was going great until I started going out with Marni. Watching me eat leftovers without heating them up drives her crazy. I think it activates her Neanderthal DNA (verified by 23-and-me). I can hear the voice in her head saying, “We go through the trouble of discovering fire and you’re not even going to use it??”
So last month I started using the microwave. I was beginning to wonder if I was missing out on something. Are leftovers that much better hot? It turns out they are! Has everyone been heating up their leftovers this whole time? I had no idea hot food was so much better than cold food. I’m like Oppenheimer in the kitchen now. I put everything in the microwave. Buttered toast? I nuke the butter first. Baked potato? Into the magic box it goes. Am I a Victorian dandy? No, I’m a 21st-century man. I’m saving thousands of dollars on tin foil alone! You have no idea how much this has changed my life. Hot food, people. That’s where it’s at. I feel like I just invented the light bulb, the printing press, and heated car seats.
Deep down I know why I kept putting off buying a microwave. I was attached to the identity of Analog Man. I thought doing without a simple convenience gave me integrity. Sometimes ego looks like integrity. I didn’t have much but I could show people I could do without an affordable modern tool and somehow make that look like a principled stand against technology. But really it was just ego and arrogance. Twenty years in therapy and 11 years in a 12-step program and I finally figured that out. Turns out cooking isn’t the only thing I’m slow at.
And that’s the kind of story we’re looking for. Come tell a story about a time when you finally gave in to doing something and ended up being glad you did. What was it and why did you push back against it? Was it getting married? Going to school? Having kids? Maybe you quit your job to travel the seven seas. We’d love to hear the story.
Remember to practice your story out loud on as many people as possible and time yourself when you’re doing it. Please don’t get onstage if you haven’t practiced your story. The audience is giving you their time and attention. It’s not fair to them if you get up there and try to wing it.
All stories have to be under 8 minutes. Stories can be as short as you want but not over 8 minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email if you have any questions about that.
Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here is one I highly recommend. It’s run by two people who have told many times at FGS and other shows in the area:
I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Send me an email and we can set up a phone call.
See you on Thursday, February 15 at 7 pm, at the Chabad of Queen Anne – Magnolia. 1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Remember, no non-kosher food in the building)
≈ Comments Off on 4 great storytelling opportunities
Hi guys,
I hope all of you had a great holiday season and made it to 2024 with some things to look forward to. One of the things I’m looking forward to is our next show on the 18th. The theme is “Stories of finding what you love.” You can read the description at this link if you want all the info:
I also want to pass on four great opportunities to improve your storytelling. The first is a reminder that our free monthly storytelling workshop is coming up this Sunday, January 7. We’ve had some fantastic stories come out of this workshop. It’s run by two of our regular tellers and is a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on.
The second is a free PDF of Matthew Dicks’ storytelling tips. I guess it’s technically not 100% free. He will ask for your email address. For me, it was worth it. It’s basically a summary of the book he wrote on storytelling which is the best I’ve seen so far on the type of story we tell at FGS. Whenever I’m stuck on a story of my own I go back and review those tips.
He’s also running a contest this month where you can win a free coaching session from him by recording and posting an under- 4-minute story introducing yourself through a story. The idea is to have something to say next time you’re in a job interview, sitting next to someone on a plane, or get asked what you do for a living. It’s an interesting exercise and worth at least thinking about. I’m always stumped in those situations and would love to have something better to say than what I have right now.
Lastly, don’t forget to check out 7Stories, our storytelling friends in Burien. Their next show is a week after ours on Friday, January 26. They’ve been incredibly supportive of FGS and I love seeing folks from our show tell at theirs. Join their group and get on the invite list!
I hope some of you are working on stories for our show on the 18th. I’d love to hear how you discovered something that you love. Do you love running? Love writing? Love Seattle? Love the job you’re in? Come tell the story of how you discovered it and what it meant to you. I’m always available to help if you can’t make it to our workshop. Write me directly at freshgroundstories at Gmail dot com if you want to set up a call.
That’s all for now. Hope you’re all having a great week!
Fresh Ground Stories 