Thanks to everyone who came out last night and supported our tellers. We had our biggest turnout since we moved to the Chabad, 88 people! I suspected we’d have a good turnout from the number of RSVPs so I borrowed 20 chairs from my buddy Ruben, asked my girlfriend to drive those up, then shoved 16 chairs and the PA system in my car. What a shlep that was! But we made it and had just enough chairs for everyone. Anyone know if a Prius can pull a flatbed trailer full of chairs?
As many of you know, my favorite part of FGS is when we have new tellers show up. Last Thursday we had three new tellers and I’m so happy they told. They brought us stories from all over the globe. Sean told us about the time he got off the train in Moose Pass, Alaska for a quick ski into the wilderness and missed the train back. Do you know what it’s like to be caught at night in Alaska, miles from anywhere with no map, no phone, and an iffy sense of direction? I do because I grew up there so I understood exactly what Sean was going through as he skied toward what he thought and hoped was civilization.
Molly, another first-timer, told us about living with her boyfriend in NYC while acting in plays and enjoying her new favorite hobby, smoking. I have to tell you, Molly did make smoking sound pretty cool. There came a point, though, where she had to make a choice between smoking and true love. I’d love to tell you what she decided but then you wouldn’t feel a burning urge to come to our next show on March 20 to see how our next stories turn out. And I really want to give you a burning urge to come see the shows live instead of reading about them afterward.
Mary, our last first-timer, told us about moving from New Zealand to Britain and what happened when true love popped up in her life. It was a story about love, travel, and discovering that there can be more than one place where you feel you belong. Instead of giving one place up, she added another. Tūrangawaewae is the Māori word Mary taught us that night.
Big FGS hugs to our three new tellers. I hope you come back and tell more with us.
Our regular tellers were sprinkled all through the room that night. David shared a story about going to Russia to walk for peace in the late 80s and the good friends he made on that trip. It’s been years since those beautiful moments he shared with the Russian friends he made there and he still prays that one day they’ll be able to leave and he can see them again.
Gretchen told us what it’s like to stare down the barrel of a gun in the middle of the night. If you’ve ever met Gretchen, you wouldn’t think she had that kind of story in her. That’s good in a way. It means the experience doesn’t define her. But those moments never leave us no matter how well we’ve dealt with them. I know there were people in the room that night who knew exactly what Gretchen was talking about.
Bob told a story from one of his trail-running adventures where he met an overly honest three-year-old. Are there any other kinds? Probably not. I don’t know at what age we all decide to not say out loud what’s on our mind, but I know for sure it’s after three. Sometimes I think I still haven’t reached that age.
Kate, Bob’s sister, is also an accomplished teller and shared a story of a friend’s betrayal. We’re not talking about dating someone she broke up with or staying friends with someone who done her wrong. This was big. It involved lawyers, kids, and a lot of money. It’s always heartbreaking when you find out that someone you trust isn’t worth that trust. It’s even worse when it ends up in court. Turns out you never really know what the person across from you playing Mah Jongg is really thinking.
Deborah shared the story of finding out the difference between heartburn and heart attack. Apparently, one can sometimes feel like the other. Who knew? We also learned it doesn’t matter how much kale and chia seeds you eat. Heart attacks can still get you. Now I need to find a use for the three-pound bag of chia seeds I got at Costco last week. Deborah is one of the wonderful people I’ve met through FGS and I don’t know what I’d do if her husband had to call me and say I wouldn’t see her walk through our door anymore. Basically, what I’m saying is call your doctor if the heartburn doesn’t go away.
Cliff, one of our new regular tellers, shared a wonderful story of connection during Covid. Remember the people who volunteered at the vaccine places during those years? Cliff was one of those people. He met and helped thousands of people move through lines, get to where they needed to go and get what they needed. He didn’t get to have long, involved conversations with anyone, but he got to share some moments with human beings in need and it changed him. It was a sweet story of just the kind of thing I see so often at FGS but without the respiratory illness part. We show up, listen to moments from people’s lives that changed them, and go home feeling a little more connected to the world.
Brian shared a story of his old friend Norm back in Louisiana who was always there for him, even in death. In a way, it was the opposite of Kate’s story. It was an elegy to a man who few people knew outside of the little town he lived in. But he made a difference in the lives of the people he touched and what more can we ask of anyone, including ourselves? In my experience, the people who go out and do Great Things for the Commonweal are sometimes not pleasant to be around in real life. We need them, of course. But we also need people who make their own corner of the world a kind and loving place for the people around them. We can’t all bring down the Berlin Wall or create a polio vaccine, but we can all be kind and helpful to the people around us.
Emily closed our show with a story about how she cooked up batches of wine-scented body lotion to sell at farmer’s markets. Her mom thought this was crazy. Her sister did too. In fact, almost everyone did. Who wants to smell like they just plowed through a couple quarts of merlot? Well, it turns out the people in one western Washington town love smelling like that. Who are those people and where do they live? You’ll have to go the The Moth Grandslam on March 3 to find out. I’m so happy that Emily and Kate are both in the grand slam that night. Here is my promise to you. If you’re working on a story for another show, you are always welcome to tell it at FGS. Don’t worry if it doesn’t match the theme for that night. There aren’t too many places to work out stories in front of a live audience, so if you need stage time with a story that still follows our usual rules, you are welcome to tell it at FGS.
Thanks for reading this far. I know my thank you emails run long. It’s the last chance I have to thank the people who got up and told, and I want each of them to know their stories meant something to me.
Our next show in March 20. The theme is Connections – Stories of friendship. I’ll get the invite out as soon as I can. In the meantime, take care of each other. Call me if you want help on a story. Pop into our free monthly online workshop on Sunday, March 2 if you like. It’s run by two great tellers, Dave and Colleen, who give excellent feedback. It’s also a good place to meet other tellers and see how different people go through the process.
Don’t forget about our friends at 7 Stories in Burien this Friday. The suggested theme is “The Kindness of Strangers.” 7 Stories is run by good people who love supporting storytellers. It’s my go-to show for new stories I’m working on.
Bar Stories Live on Stage is another story show we love. They run multiple shows a month so check out their main Meetup page for times, dates, and places. Nick and Rebecca are lovely people and their shows are amazing.
That’s all for now. I hope to see you on March 20!
Paul
freshgroundstories at gmail dot com
Fresh Ground Stories 