What a great show we had last week! We had a bunch of new tellers along with some old tellers who hadn’t been back in years. Once FGS gets its hooks in you it’s pretty hard to stay away forever 🙂

One of my favorite things about FGS is that I’m always surprised by the tiny details people remember that lead to stories. First-timer, Colleen, told a sweet story about cherry tomatoes that made me wonder how many things I’ve missed in my everyday life that could be turned into a story. Thank you, Colleen, not just for your story but for the lesson as well.

Melissa, in only her second time at Olive Way, told a hysterical story about being conned by a fortune teller and how she exacted revenge through her own sting operation. I have no idea what Melissa does for a living, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it involved bringing to justice everyone from illegal arms merchants to expired coupon passers.

Soren, another first-timer, told one of the most visually beautiful stories we’ve ever heard at FGS. Quite a feat since we don’t allow PowerPoints. He told us about a para-gliding experience that everyone was talking about after the show. It made me smile to hear people reciting some of his lines as they mingled afterward.

I wish you had been there to hear Vanda talk about her transformative experience in an Extended Stay America (why do people never have life-changing moments in a Hyatt?) Sam’s story about how a puddle of sweat led to finding true love is one of my favorites that he’s told with us. I’ll put a link to the version he told at The Moth at the bottom of this. Thank you, Sam, for staying out late and closing the show for us.

The story I really wish you had all been there for was Antoine’s. He told a beautiful story about his struggle to speak to women that was incredibly funny and also very touching. I’ll never forget the woman behind me whispering in my ear just before I went up after Antoine, “Would you please tell that young man there’s a 93-year-old lady over here who would love to talk to him?” Naturally, I had to tell the audience what she told me and got one of the biggest laughs ever. A few minutes later when it was Vanda’s turn to tell a story she began it by turning to Antoine in the audience and saying something in French that I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t be allowed to say if it had been in English. Antoine, I don’t think you’ll have any problem talking to women if you keep coming back and telling stories like you did that night. Thank you for being so honest and vulnerable up there.

I’ll stop here so you can get back to your weekend. Part of me wants to tell you about every story we hear at FGS but another part wants me to leave you hanging a little bit so you come out and see the show in person.

Thanks to all the tellers who shared their stories last night. Apologies to the two people whose names I had to leave in Mr. Coffee because we ran out of time. Bruce and Sara, I’ll do my best to get you on a show later this year. You’ve each told some great stories at FGS and I know you had some great ones prepared that night.

Next month’s show will be August 15. The theme is “Escape.” I’ll get the official invite out as soon as I can. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with two good resources for anyone working on a story, and a link to Sam’s Moth story that he told for us Thursday.

Excellent monthly workshop specifically for personal storytelling like we do at FGS. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s run by two FGS regulars who do a great job giving tips and feedback: https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/events/263317726/

If you’re in the south Puget Sound area, Vanda runs a memoir writing Meetup every weekend down here in Olympia. I’ve joined her for the last two weekends and gotten a lot of writing done. It’s just her and anyone else who shows up at a spacious Starbucks. You write for a couple hours (or however long you want) and if you feel compelled, you can share some of it afterward for feedback: https://www.meetup.com/Olympia-Memoir-writing-Lifewriting-Meetup-Group/events/bvrgdryzkbkc/

Here is the story Sam Blackman shared to close out the show Thursday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBHB5yyDW0U

Big thanks to all the folks who come out who don’t tell a story but support the ones who do. You are a big part of why FGS is so special. Thank you for all the patience, love, and support you give to everyone who walks up to that microphone.

See you all on the 15th!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com

Hi All,

I hope a bunch of you can make it to our show coming up this Thursday at the Olive Way Starbucks. The theme for the night is “Transformations – Stories that changed you.” 

https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories/events/262666615/

Sam Blackman, multiple Moth Slam winner and one of my favorite storytellers, will be our guest teller that night. He’ll be sharing a story I heard a few months ago and begged him to tell it at our show 🙂

To get you in the mood, here’s a sweet little story from Micaela Blei that had me smiling all the way through. It reminds me that great stories don’t have to be about great big things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vntNQLWK2Lk

See you soon!

Paul

freshgroundstories@gmail.com

Hi All,

I forgot to let you know about two great things coming up. The first is Auntmama’s Storytable, happening tonight at the Olive Way Starbucks. If you want a wider variety of stories than you get at FGS, this is the show for you 🙂

Theme: 50 Years of Pride
Time: 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Also, the big show we did with KNKX a few weeks ago will air this Saturday. All but one of the tellers you’ll hear has performed at FGS. I’m so proud of everyone who told that night! 

The show airs at 10am Saturday and 7pm Monday on 88.5FM. It can also be found online here: https://www.knkx.org/programs/sound-effect After broadcast, each story will have its own shareable post

You can subscribe to the podcast here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-effect-from-knkx/id967132009?mt=2

Thanks again for all the support you show us each month. Many people from FGS have gone on to do good things in the world and our stage was the place they first learned how to share their story.

See you on the 18th 

Paul

Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday to our biggest show yet in the new place. Ben the manager stopped counting when we hit 120. We had so many people the staff had to bring in chairs from the patio. I never know how anyone finds out about the show but I’m grateful for all the positive word-of-mouth I hear 🙂

We had some amazing first-timers on the microphone that night and I hope all of them come back and tell again. Melissa, our Scone of Courage recipient, told a hysterical story about meeting President Obama in a hotel gym in San Francisco. Have you ever tried to stay on the elliptical while you’re nonchalantly sneaking glances at the guy on the treadmill behind you? Melissa has. Have you lifted weights with the Secret Service staring at you while they’re mumbling into their earpieces? Melissa’s done that too. What about slowly sinking into a former president’s sweat as you trade places with him on the bench press? Yes, Melissa has touched presidential sweat! And she was still pretty giddy when she told us about it. Thank you, Melissa, for giving us some of the biggest laughs of the night.

David, one of our regular tellers, sometimes calls me to say he can’t make the show because his volunteer shift at a homeless shelter across town doesn’t end until 7pm. Even though it’s always great to see him in the audience, I love knowing that when he isn’t there he’s doing good work. Last Thursday, he told the story of how he became friends with one of the guys who stayed at the shelter. It was a beautiful story of how this man went from client to acquaintance to friend and then roommate. We can’t build shelters and housing like governments and non-profits, but each one of us can lend a hand in our own way. David reminded me of how different it feels when you call someone a homeless person rather than a person without a home. That’s something I need to remember when I’m driving past certain overpasses.

S-, another first-timer, shared her story about loving someone enough to stay and then learning to love herself enough to leave. It was one of those stories that you can’t get without a lot of pain. She’d shared some early versions of the story with me so I knew what it took for her to get up there and tell it. Last Thursday was the first time she told it without crying. I’m always touched by how supportive everyone is when they see someone telling a hard story. It was only S’s third time on stage and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience to help her get through it.

I’m writing this on a plane and I just heard that we’re on our final descent. I’m running out of time! I haven’t told you about first-timer Greg growing up in Detroit and how getting into a stranger’s van can sometimes be the safest way to get home. There was a point in his story that blew the roof off the place with laughter. Thank you, Greg, for driving straight from SeaTac after arriving from Italy so you could share that story with us.

Sara shared a super sweet story about a pigeon family that made their home on her porch. My son and I were talking on the way home that night about how something as simple as a couple of birds sitting on an egg can make for a great story if it’s framed right. Sara’s only told two stories with us but she’s already an excellent teller.

I can’t keep this seat tray down too much longer so I’ll leave you with a couple of thoughts before I sign off. Our final teller that night was Bill Bernat. He shared the story he was telling the next night at the NAMI conference downtown. It was a tour-de-force story of his journey through bipolar disorder. You won’t find anyone who talks about mental illness with as much humor and insight as Bill Bernat. Everyone there that night will tell you it was a powerful ending to a great night of stories.

In my last email, I talked about all the things you can do with storytelling https://freshgroundstories.com/2019/06/16/what-can-you-do-with-storytelling/. I’d like to leave you with one more place storytelling can take you. In the links below are two stories from KNKX’s Sound Effect podcast. The first is by Sara, who told the pigeon story that I mentioned above. The first story she told at our show was about growing up without a sense of smell. Gabe Spitzer, the Sound Effect host, was so charmed by that story he decided to put her on his own show 🙂

https://www.knkx.org/post/woman-can-t-stop-smell-flowers-gross-port-potty-no-problem

The story below is from a woman who has been to FGS but hasn’t told a story yet. One night a couple months ago, we were standing in the parking lot after the show and she told me that it was the anniversary of a life-changing phone call she received seven years ago. The story of that phone call left me stunned. It’s one of the few times I’ve heard a story and not wanted to talk about it on the way home. When she was done, she told me that she wished she could help others who had experienced the same thing. I told her that I could put her in touch with people who could help her do that. Telling her story on the radio was the first step in turning that terrible experience into something positive. That’s the alchemy of storytelling. If she hadn’t seen how FGS audiences support their tellers I don’t know if she’d be on the path she is now. I’m sure she would have gotten there sooner or later but it wouldn’t have been now. And if sharing her story in public helps one young person feel like they’re not alone then we’ve done our job. Even if you never get up and tell a story at Olive Way, you’re still making a difference by listening to people tell hard stories and letting them know you’re glad they made it.

https://www.knkx.org/post/seattle-woman-learns-her-childhood-home-away-home-was-really-house-horrors

Our next show is July 18th. The theme is “Transformations – Stories that changed you.” I’ll get the official invite out as soon as I can.

Take care everyone. See you on the 18th.

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com