One of the things you end up doing a lot of as a storyteller is going back over your life to look for more stories. For some reason, the memories I always seem to focus on are breakups, failures, and death in that order. Breakups and failures being infinitely more painful than death. I only throw death in there to lighten things up.

I used to dredge up the same memories before I got into storytelling but it was only to reinforce my belief that misery was the mortar that held my life together. But once I started looking at those experiences as the basis for stories, I began to realize how often something good came out of those terrible times. It wasn’t until I started looking at certain moments as starting points instead of ending points that I was able to see all the good places I had been led to. Breakups led to new love. Failures led to new perspectives. Death often led to freedom.

I would love to hear some stories about how tragedies and disasters in your life led to something good. The tragedies don’t have to be big. They can be a small as a wrong turn that led to the place you should have been heading to all along. Or they can be as big as falling in love with the dentist who gave you a root canal. I don’t recommend that as a way to find a mate but it could be the only dating site covered by insurance.

We did a show on this theme five years ago and I think it’s time we brought it back. The show is February 18th at 7 pm PST on Zoom.

Remember to practice out loud on as many people as possible, and time yourself when you’re doing it. All stories have to be under 8 minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. The rest of the rules and guidelines are below:

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here are two I highly recommend:

https://www.meetup.com/Stay-Awesome-Storytelling-Virtual-Workshop/

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

Both are free and run by experienced tellers who have told many times at FGS. I’m also available to help on stories. Send me an email and we can set up a call.

If you want to tell a story at the show, email me at freshgroundstories@gmail.com as soon as possible so I can get you on the list.

I send out the Zoom registration link to everyone in the Meetup group the Monday before each show. You must register for the show in order to attend. After you register, Zoom will send you a link to the actual show. Each link is unique to the person who registered so you won’t be able to share it with anyone. 

Feel free to RSVP on Meetup if you want the automatic reminders, but I’ll be sending the Zoom link to everyone in the group regardless of your RSVP.

We only have 100 spots in each show (98 actually since me and my assistant each take one spot) so the first 98 people to register for the show will be the only ones who can attend. 

Hope to see a bunch of you on the 18th!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

Thank you everyone who came out and supported our tellers Thursday. We had folks from California and eastern Canada join us. I have to admit that I was very skeptical of bringing FGS to Zoom. I didn’t think we’d be able to connect over such a flat, glitchy, accidentally-mutey thing. But it turns out that we can not only have great shows on Zoom, we get to hear stories from all over the world. 

Tracey kicked off the show with a story about going from being an English major to working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the mid-80s. Did she have the cold heart and killer instinct that traders need to succeed in the world of bears and bulls? Of course not. It turns out that if you cry when your stock goes down your boss gives you a stern talking to in the women’s restroom.

Danielle called in all the way from three time zones away in Canada to tell a story about a friend she made in grade school who always had her back. Where do these wise nine-year-olds come from? Do they keep that kindness and grace when they become adults? I hope so. 

Simar, in his first story with us, talked about a trip to Europe that involved a heartless German ATM, trying to bribe a bank teller with a demi-baguette with pumpkin seeds, and being mistaken for an international PayPal scammer. For a storyteller, you really can’t ask for a better vacation.

Sooz, our other first-timer that night, told us what it was like being married to a wonderful man who happened to live and work in a junkyard. Personally, I can’t think of a more magical place to grow up than a junkyard but I’m willing to accept that I might be in the minority. I bet Sooz has a lot more stories about the years she spent helping to run that business. I hope she comes back and shares them with us.

If you’d like to know more about Sooz and how she’s helping small businesses in Seattle you can read this article from the Seattle Times: 
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/close-to-south-lake-unions-high-tech-bustle-a-retired-recycler-runs-a-blue-collar-preserve/

Cara, who was telling with us for the second time told a story about spending Christmas dinner with her dad and his sixth wife who was taking some time for herself at a sober living facility. Halfway through her story, I realized how little drama I have in my family life these days. I kinda miss it. Not sixth-wife-Christmas-dinner-in-rehab miss it but in my own slightly less madcap way I do miss it. Thank you Cara for sharing a little family history with us. I hope you told your sister that story and that she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Yousaf’s story about all the upside-down feelings he had over turning 30 made me remember all the times I hid my age from people after I turned 50. Is there any age that we’re excited about turning besides 18 or 21? Thank you for that sweet, vulnerable story about the crazy standards we set for ourselves. I didn’t feel like I was worth anything until just a few years ago. I wish my 30-year-old self could have felt better about himself.

Behnaz returned to us after a few months off to talk about the time she and her parents were almost crushed by a giant throng of shoppers in a mall in Dubai. Can you imagine dying under a pile of shopping bags full of Gucci loafers and Vera Wang totes? Killed while shopping is right up there with falling in the tub or choking on a sandwich. There’s no good way to spin that for the eulogy. What we learned from Behnaz’s story, though, was that almost dying can lead to profound changes in how you think about life. That’s one of the things I love about storytelling. It makes us reevaluate little moments from our lives and get a bigger perspective on them.

Our next show is February 18th. The theme is one we haven’t done in almost exactly five years. “The best bad thing that turned out good.” Look for the invite sometime this week.

Thanks again to not only the tellers but everyone who came out to support them. This is hard stuff. Speaking to a room full of strangers is terrifying for most people. To do it while being honest and vulnerable about a time in your life when you were struggling is a thousand times harder. Thank you for always showing kindness and patience to the people who are willing to walk up the microphone and do that.

See you next month 🙂

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

This is a great story from one of our tellers, Paul Barach. It was recently featured on the outdoors podcast, Out There. The producers did an amazing job adding a soundscape to Paul’s words.

http://www.outtherepodcast.com/episodes/2020/12/14/back-to-the-real-world

Paul wrote a book about an earlier adventure which you can find here. I always love reading about where our tellers have been in the world. I’m happy that some of them have written books about those adventures.

If there’s one good thing I’m taking away from this year, it’s realizing how many people have played a part in keeping me safe and sane over the course of my life. From David K and his mom taking me in when I was 17 and had nowhere else to go, to my friends Emily and Amanda who shove cookies through my cat door when they think I’m running low on treats. I’m always surprised to find out that people are thinking of me.

Not every moment of kindness has a story behind it. But some definitely do. I’d love to know who had your back when you were knocked down and nearly out. Did they pick you up? Or were they already down there in the muck and for a moment they just made you feel like you weren’t alone?

Our next show in January 21, at 7 pm. Come tell a story about a time when someone had your back. Did they offer you a couch when you were living in your car? Did they stand up for you at work when it was dangerous to do so? Maybe a bus driver let you on without paying when you were broke but on your way to a job interview. We’ve all been helped out in the moment by friends, family, or strangers. We’d love to hear about a time when that happened to you.

Remember to practice out loud on as many people as possible and time yourself when you’re doing it. All stories have to be under 8 minutes. Stories also have to be pretty clean in both language and content. The rest of the rules and guidelines are below:

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here are two I highly recommend:

https://www.meetup.com/Stay-Awesome-Storytelling-Virtual-Workshop/

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

Both are free and run by experienced tellers who have told many times at FGS. I’m also available to help on stories. Send me an email and we set up a call.

If you want to tell a story at the show, email me at freshgroundstories@gmail.com as soon as possible so I can get you on the list.

I’ll send out a Zoom registration link to everyone in the Meetup group the Monday before each show. You must register for the show in order to attend. After you register, Zoom will send you a link to the actual show. Each link is unique to the person who registered so you won’t be able to share it with anyone. 

If you know someone who wants to attend but isn’t a member of the Meetup group you can share the registration link that I send out. That way they can register and get their own unique link to the show. Sorry if that’s confusing. Email me if you have any questions.

Feel free to RSVP on Meetup if you want their automatic reminders, but I’ll be sending the Zoom link to everyone in the group regardless of your RSVP.

We only have 100 spots in each show (98 actually since me and my assistant each take one spot) so the first 98 people to register for the show will be the only ones who can attend. 

Hop to see a bunch of you on the 21st!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who joined us last Thursday. I hope you had as much fun as I did. It came at the end of a rough week for me and it was just what I needed. The theme was “What was I thinking??” and I was happy to find that I’m not the only one who is constantly saying that to myself.

Colleen started us off with the story of her mother’s final days.  I know it was familiar to anyone who has lost a parent. Each scene had me nodding my head as I thought, “Yes, it’s just like that.” The guilt you have leaving them each day not knowing if they’ll be there when you return. Trying to communicate with them when you’re not sure they understand you. The phone call you get when you don’t have to pick it up to know what it means. Thank you, Colleen, for trusting us with that story.

Yael’s story about learning to become a storyteller had a twist in it that I didn’t see coming. Her story was about how she learned to become the characters in her stories and ended up meeting the woman who inspired her. It turned out that the woman who inspired her was Ingrid Nixon, an amazing teller who has told at FGS. Now I have to talk Ingrid into tuning in from Alaska so she and Yael can share the stage with us next year.

Silvana told a story I’m still laughing about three days later. I don’t want to repeat the story here but if you run a Christian children’s camp, you should really hire Silvana and her husband to work there. You’ll find out what the Bible would have been like it if was written by George Lucas and Dr. Who. Why didn’t I ever get invited to camps like this??

Cara told a story about almost being swept out to sea because her grandma once got angry that she complained about ants as a kid. How do those things connect? Well, you shoulda been at the show. It all made sense when she told it. Cara’s first story with us was wonderful and I hope she comes back and tells with us again. 

Melissa, who doubles as my assistant during the shows, told a fantastic story about lying to her daughters about Santa Claus. I love stories about the uncomfortable choices we have to make as parents. Melissa’s story reminded me that there’s no one way to raise a kid and we’re all doing the best with what we got.

Chris closed the show with a quintessential Chris story. If you’ve spent much time with her you’ll realize that she’s basically at the beck and call of her avian overlords. None of her pets live inside, of course. The hummingbirds demand that their sugar water be the proper sweetness. The chickadees tap their beaks to let her know the seed level is a little low. And the crows outside her front door buzz past her like evil spirits in a drive-thru when she forgets to feed them that day. Whenever I think of Chris now I’m going to picture her running a wild bird buffet. 

I think the recording turned out ok so let me know if you told a story that night and want the audio. Some of you already have and I’ll be working on getting those to you this week. Our next show is January 21. The theme is “Who has your back??”

I’ll get the invite out as soon as I can. 

Have a great holiday and rest of the year. Thank you all for supporting FGS through the worst year ever. Sometimes hearing one story is all it takes to help someone get through a hard time. I’m grateful for every single person who has shared a story with us. 

See you next month 🙂

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com