C = Civil Rights: A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015: History Stories and the Telling of Them

Quick Performance Update (next two weeks):

    Apr. 3, 4, 6, 7 & 13 - Performances for Worldstrides, Inc. Student Tour Groups in Williamsburg, VA. 

    Sat., Apr. 11 - Lancaster Court Days, @Mary Washington Library and Museum, Lancaster, VA; 10 am – 4 pm (Oney Judge Historic Character Presentation, Ol’ Bess Historic Character Presentation, General Storytelling)

     Other Apr. performances:  California (Hawthorne); South Carolina (Woodruff), Virginia (Herndon, Oregon, Portsmouth, Williamsburg)

     Upcoming May performances:  California (Fresno); New York (Westchester County); VA (Norfolk, Williamsburg), West Virginia (Shepherdstown)

The second day came in late, but it came.  And this day will be so close to midnight we could spit at it.  Day 3 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015.  My theme is “History Stories and the telling of them.”  My desire is to share some history facts and the stories I think are intriguing around them, along with some ways I’ve told history stories and techniques of researching and telling historical stories.  Day 3 (and I can’t wait to share!)….

C = Civil Rights

from engage.franklin.edu

I always thought I should have been an adult during the Civil Rights Movement from the late 1950’s to early 1970’s because I think I would have been on the front lines.  Didn’t happen that way, but I have had a longtime fascination with this time period.  I created my newest program, “We Own the Night”:  Storytelling and Poetry for Teens about the Movements of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, around this very fasciation.

After I presented this program at a Middle School, the Principal came up to me afterwards and shared, “You know we don’t talk too much about this time period.  We are required by standards to do colonial times, Civil War time period and definitely World War II, the Greatest Generation and all.  But we seem to gloss over the Civil Rights Movement.”  Then he paused, took a breath, and in almost a whisper said, “I wonder if that’s on purpose.” 

WHOA!  What a thought!  Could our illustrious educational leaders (and politicians) also have an agenda with the standards of our students?  Well, of course, they can, they have and probably always will.  But why not teach this time period?  Maybe because then we can act like what people are standing up for now, protesting now, boycotting now, is something that’s never happened and will never make change.

So I couldn’t get this thought out of my head, but I just ruminated on it.  Then my friend and fellow storyteller/actor, Sarah Brady (performanceandpen.wordpress.com), went to Larchmont Elementary to present our Young Audiences of Virginia, Inc. program, “Tubman-Craft:  Two Women of Freedom.”  While waiting to present, our wonderful contact person and the school’s music teacher, Carrie Green, taught a class of 2^nd graders a Civil Rights Song.  I remarked after her class left, that I was impressed that she taught children about this time period.  Carrie said, “I love that time period, but there are no programs from Young Audiences around that era.”  Sarah and I looked at each other, smiled, and quickly said we would create the program.

Then the synergy began.  Everything we ran across pointed us to creating this program.  I picked up a DVD from the Library, PBS’ special, “Freedom Summer:  1964.”  I learned more about Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the women I portray; about how the Jackson, MS, police militarized itself in fear of the Freedom Riders (reminiscent or precursor of Ferguson, MO); and heard the story of Miss Mississippi who, along with her family was kicked out of Mississippi for trying to help the white Freedom Riders understand the Mississippi point of view.  (Hear her story, Jan Nave Barnes, http://www.tellingstories.org/mccomb/) 

We started looking at white and black women that both believed and disbelieved in the Civil Rights Movement.  We both agreed the story of Viola Liuzzo, had to be told, and then found out that just last week she was awarded the first ever-awarded posthumous honorary degree from Wayne State University.  Sarah was going to find the book Elizabeth and Hazel:  Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick, and came across a book to help us understand our local civil rights movement and people, Elusive Equality:  Desegration and Resegregation in Norfolk’s Public Schools by Jeffrey L. Littlejohn & Charles H. Ford.  Then I picked up a pleasure reading fiction book, Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League by Jonathan Odell, which ended up being about the early Mississippi civil rights movement by “the help”.  Besides being an EXCELLENT read (oh, storytellers and lovers of a well-told story, this is a tremendous story that leaves you just desiring more, and yet totally satisfied); the research shared in the back of the book really opened my eyes, and made me even more excited that we are looking at the Movement through women’s eyes.

All this and life was also happening.  More black children killed by law enforcement, law enforcement killed by assassins in the “name of gaining equality”, and Oklahoma University Sigma Alpha Epsilon chant videotaped.  Everywhere I went, my friends were asking me, “Are race relations getting worse or has it always been like this?”  I kept answering, “Actually, things haven’t changed much, just become more open.  And I think it’s a great time for us if we decide to stop yelling at each other and actually start a conversation.”

Then to seal the deal for Sarah and me, our Pastor [we attend First Baptist Norfolk, 312 Kempsville Rd., Norfolk, VA – join us one Sunday] had a sermon about “What God Requires of Us.”  The answer is found in Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.”  We felt God-ordained to make sure the conversation was happening.  We have decided to entitle our program, “Civil Rights:  Finding a Voice”, and the summary is, “Many of us take our freedoms for granted, forgetting that for far too long many people were denied their basic rights. This oppression continued until one person, and then another, decided that they could no longer let their voices be silent; together they formed the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. We all have a voice. But if you are silent though your cause is just, how can you make a difference? The voices that rose from the Civil Rights Movement help us answer this question. As students learn through this interactive program about those who paved the way to equality for so many people, they will be challenged to raise their voices to continue to make America the land of the free.”  However, we are doing the program in such a way, that it can be made age-appropriate by the various life and event stories we tell, AND, we want this to be a program not just in educational settings, but in churches and at conferences.  We want the voices to be raised for today’s issues, and we want people to know that they will join the voices of so many in the past, and just like them, A DIFFERENCE CAN BE MADE!!

What are your thoughts:  have race relations changed?  Worse, better, the same?  Why or why not?  Do you think stories can change the way we have a conversation?

P.S.  Check out Sue O’Halloran’s RaceBridges and the video stories (including 3 of mine) - http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/videos/.  Sue definitely works to make our diversity our strength, check her out, www.susanohalloran.com.  Listen to one of my stories about race and my family which is on RaceBridges, and which I most recently did (with great acclamation) at Scott Whitehair’s “This Much is True” monthly storytelling event (http://www.thismuchistruechicago.com/) on Mar. 10, 2015 - A Son's Survival

What am I reading?  Currently reading “Passionate God” by Bishop ? Ulmer (my evening reading) & “Revolution in World Missions” by K. P. Yohannan.  

B = Bloods: A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015: History Stories and the Telling of Them

Quick Performance Update (next two weeks):

    Apr. 3, 4, 6, 7 & 13 - Performances for Worldstrides, Inc. Student Tour Groups in Williamsburg, VA. 

    Sat., Apr. 11 - Lancaster Court Days, @Mary Washington Library and Museum, Lancaster, VA; 10 am – 4 pm (Oney Judge Historic Character Presentation, Ol’ Bess Historic Character Presentation, General Storytelling)

     Other Apr. performances:  California (Hawthorne); South Carolina (Woodruff), Virginia (Herndon, Oregon, Portsmouth, Williamsburg)

     Upcoming May performances:  California (Fresno); New York (Westchester County); VA (Norfolk, Williamsburg), West Virginia (Shepherdstown)

This is my second day writing as a part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015.  My theme is “History Stories and the telling of them.”  My desire is to share some history facts and the stories I think are intriguing around them, along with some ways I’ve told history stories and techniques of researching and telling historical stories.  Day 2….

B = Bloods

from www.goodreads.com

I am a voracious reader and always have been.  One of the gifts I gave myself was to keep a copy of my favorite books from my teen days; not that I have read each of them more than twice, but I like having them on hand. Some of my favorite books as a teen that I have collected are For Colored Girls by Ntozake Shange, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell, The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter, The Elephant Man by Christine Sparks, Just Above my Head by James Baldwin, The Second Son by Charles Sailor, and Bloods by Wallace Terry.

Bloods:  Black Veterans of the Vietnam War – An Oral History was one of my favorite books because of its discussion of the Vietnam War.  My father fought in that war, but in my teen years he never talked about it although he was a career military man.  As a matter of fact, on my strongest teenaged memories is of when I was watching a made-for-television movie about the anti-Vietnam riots at Kent State.  It just happened to be on t.v., and I was excited to watch, but when my Dad walked into our family t.v. room and saw what I was watching, he slammed the television off, told me that was “crap I was watching” and sent me to an early bedtime.  I had never seen this type of visceral reaction from my father and it made me want to learn more about Vietnam.  Bloods is a book of narratives of black men who fought in Vietnam, and I allowed myself to hear my father through the words, and was appalled about what he must have faced, and yet, comforted.

from www.pinterest.com

It wasn’t until the movie “Platoon”, starring the “good” Charlie Sheen - J, that my father was finally able to talk about Vietnam to our family.  We used to do family movies about once a year, and that year, while my family was visiting me in college at UNC-Charlotte, we went to see the newly released and highly publicized movie.  (Oh, “we” was my father, my mother, my youngest sister and myself.)  Well, the movie was filled with many curse words, and after a fairly lengthy string of colorful words were spoken, my mother gasped and said, “They certainly curse a lot.”  My father turned to her and said, loud enough (and passionate enough) for the entire family to hear, “Well, it’s war, Earlene!  Of course, there was cursing!”  We were three stunned women!  However, when we had dinner afterwards, Dad opened up and shared about his experiences in the war.  I was appalled about what my father faced as a part of Psychological Operations Warfare division, and yet, comforted knowing that my father had found a way to keep his humanity, and share his humanity, even with some Vietnamese.

In my newest program, “We Own the Night”:  Storytelling and Poetry for Teens about the Movements of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, I have a section about the anti-Vietnam War movement.  I sing the song, “War” made famous by Edwin Starr, "War" video song.  Although the teachers love to hear the song, the students usually haven’t heard it, consequently, I teach them the refrain and have them join me:  “War, unhhh, what is it good for?  Absolutely nothing.”  It’s fun to watch.  Then I sit down on the chair I tell one of the narratives from Bloods in a man’s voice.  In deepest silence the attendees listen to the words, and, at the end of the program, many express their understanding of what it meant to fight a war abroad and a civil rights fight in their own country.  Then some teachers quietly say, “I think they just realized that this opposition against war is not a new thing…..and I thank you for helping them see the humanity of soldiers.”

Thanks, Wallace Terry, for helping me see the humanity of soldiers…and now all these years later to share these stories with a new generation.  [Take a listen to PBS special below.]

Bloods in 'Nam, PBS special

Have you had a family member that fought in war and shared their memories?  How did those memories affect you?  Have you met people affected by the war and unable to share?  Do you think “stories” will help them?  Oh, and what are some of your favorite books from your teenage years?  Do you still have them?  Why did you keep them?

What am I reading?  Currently reading “Revolution in World Missions” by K. P. Yohannan.  Most recent line I just HAD to underline (and actually sharing it this time) - "One piece of advice did stick, however.  Every Christian leader should have this engraved in his subconscious:  No matter what you do, never take yourself too seriously.”

A = Althea Gibson…I Think: A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015: History Stories and the Telling of Them

Quick Performance Update (next two weeks):

    Apr. 3, 4, 6, 7 & 13 - Performances for Worldstrides, Inc. Student Tour Groups in Williamsburg, VA. 

    Sat., Apr. 11 - Lancaster Court Days, @Mary Washington Library and Museum, Lancaster, VA; 10 am – 4 pm (Oney Judge Historic Character Presentation, Ol’ Bess Historic Character Presentation, General Storytelling)

     Other Apr. performances:  California (Hawthorne); South Carolina (Woodruff), Virginia (Herndon, Oregon, Portsmouth, Williamsburg)

     Upcoming May performances:  California (Fresno); New York (Westchester County); VA (Norfolk, Williamsburg), West Virginia (Shepherdstown)

This year I am attempting to participate in the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015.  My theme is “History Stories and the telling of them.”  My desire is to share some history facts and the stories I think are intriguing around them, along with some ways I have told history stories and techniques of researching and telling historical stories.  (That was a mouthful!)  So let’s begin….

A = Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson from www.biography.com

One of my friends, school librarian”, Janet Bass at Oklahoma Christian Schools, always gives me a book when I come and perform at her school.  She gives very unique and great choices and knows my likes.  This year she gave me the book, 28 Days:  Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr. and illustrated by Shane W. Evans.  I was curious about the book because of its title and the introduction’s purpose to give unique African-American history dates to correlate with the amount of days in Black History Month.  It was a quick read and I want to encourage teachers and others to use it in the classroom, and I have a desire to work with author to create a Teacher’s Lesson plan for the book, however, the story of Wilma Rudolph grabbed me.

Wilma Rudolph from www.academies-englewood.org

I have previously read about Wilma Rudolph, the famed African-American Olympic track star, but I didn’t remember her life story:  “nineteen siblings”, “battled pneumonia, measles and scarlet fever and polio”, “the child would never again walk”, leg messages given by her family, then basketball, track and the Olympic gold.  Ah! What a story!  The overcoming, the persistence, the family rallying around….. oops, this is supposed to be about Althea Gibson.  Uh….hmmm….ever have that moment when you forget a name or you change one name for another?  Well, I did just as I was beginning to think about this challenge, but I decided to use “Althea’s name anyway”

Moving forward….As I read this story, and the others I saw lots of historical stories just waiting to be told.  Althea Gibson [see she’s in there] – started tennis at 14 and was a prodigy, became first African American to win the French Open; Robert Smalls – commandeers a Confederate sheep and captains it to freedom and later to the US Congress; Mae Jemison – skips 7^th grade because reading at a college level, enters high school at age 12 and lives up to her 5-year-old declaration to her teacher “I mean to be a scientist” (and an astronaut).  I can’t wait to research more on some of these and add the stories to my repertoire.  I want to be clear, though, I’m not just adding these stories because I’m African-American, but because they are stories that inspire, motivate and instruct.  I encourage many storytellers of various cultures and heritage to tell these stories. 

What historical person’s story inspires you and that you tell or would like to tell?  Do you tell stories from cultures other than your own?  Oh, and ever have that moment when you mix up a name?  (welcome to my world!)

P.S.  Another good book about historical persons is 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet by Dennis Denenberg & Lorraine Roscoe.  Enjoy!

What am I reading?  Yesterday finished “Curing the Cross-Eyed Mule:  Appalachhian Mountain Humor” by Loyal Jones & Billy Edd Wheeler, printed by August House, Inc. (@AugustHouseInc).  Currently reading “Revolution in World Missions” by K. P. Yohannan.  Most recent line I just HAD to underline - "

With/Without

Quick Performance Update: 

     Wed., 12/31/14 - First Night Williamsburg (VA) at 8:15 pm (Ol' Bess Speaks at a Gathering:  18th-Century Storytelling Program) and 10:15 pm (General Family Storytelling), performing at Temple Beth El, need tix;  

Lamont and I

       Tues., Jan. 6, 2015, 12:30 pm, Churchland Academy Elementary, Portsmouth for Young Audiences of Virginia, Inc. presenting "Ole Skool Classics Storytelling Program" , a part of Portsmouth Heart and Soul Project

Jan. performances:  IL (Peoria); Virginia (Charlottesville, Norfolk, Portsmouth)

     

I started this year with my Mom, but without my fiancé. 

I end this year with a husband, but without my Mom.

                        Is One Better than the Other? 

                        I wonder!

I started this year with hundreds of emails, but without calm in my Spirit.

I end this year with under 20 emails, but with a peace that only Christ could provide

                       One is Definitely Better than the Other!

                        I delight!

I started this year with a blog called “New Beginnings”, and believed lots of blogs to come.

I end this year with 1 blog being completed and a blog called “With/Without”

                        One doesn't always lead to another.

                        I procrastinate!

I started this year with a goal or two, but could only wait.

I end this year with a goal or two met, but more goals to go.

                        One should always grow.

                        I hope!

Kriss and I

I started this year with my son close by, but me traveling a lot.

     I end this year with my son leaving for ATL, 

         and me sitting for a month at home.

                        Will I miss that ONE?

                        I won’t!

Wait a minute, Sheila, what was that last answer?

 

It’s true, I won’t miss my son….too much.  I won’t miss him the way I missed him when I dropped him off at DePaul University, Chicago, IL and cried for an hour straight and then slept for 3 straight hours on the train back home.  

I’m glad he’s going to a place he has wanted to be.  I’m glad he has matured so much since he has been home.  I’m glad he’s going to what he worked for and still has goals to do much more.  I’m glad I had so much time with my friend, my son, my fan, and now want him to GO FORWARD. 

Stephanie (my younger sister), Mom and I

I started this year holding tightly to my family

I end this year with my hands open….

        My Mom to see again in heaven

        My Son to see on holidays

        My Father redefining traditions

        My Sister coming home a little more often

        My Adopted Daughter with the job she loves

        My Husband and I still growing as “one flesh”

And Me?  Well, I believe every start has an end, and many ends can lead to  new Starts….and maybe more than one blog in 2015.  :) 

What is Ms. Sheila reading? "Parables of a Country Parson":  Heartwarming Stories of Christian Faith and Love" by William E. Barton.  I am hoping to tell a ton of new stories from this book and it is an absolute delight.

Most interesting thing researched this week? Smithsonian Magazine article about research regarding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Civil War Soldiers.  Fascinating to see the research into the past correlating so much with soldiers today.  My father, a veteran of war himself, said there probably was PTSD in every war, we just didn't have that name and the understanding that war can have residual effects.

New Beginnings: Stories “Off the Cuff”

     Quick Performance Update: 1/8 at Chesapeake Conference Center, Chesapeake, VA (private; Storytelling Program for Young Audiences of VA, Inc. at Rotary Club)
     Other Jan. performances:  Virginia (Aldie, Middleburg, Purcellville, Williamsburg); WV (Nellis)
     Upcoming Feb. performances:  IL (Palatine, Dunlap); VA (Richmond, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton, Virginia Beach, Alexandria), CA (North Hollywood); PA (Downingtown, Chester Springs)

My first blog of the year and, since I love celebrating and reflecting in the new year, my topic today is “New Beginnings” .  I love reading new stories, even bad ones.  Every story gives me something even if that “something” is stay away from those kind of stories.  J  My favorite new stories last year came from Jim Heynen, The Man who kept Cigars in His Hat, which I found by accident when on a Storying Retreat with some amazing women in May.  (See Heynen's updated book of stories, The One Room Schoolhouse:  Stories about the Boys) 

I love hearing a new story, or one that has been adapted differently.  This year I heard lots of new stories, not just personal ones and great tall tales, but stories that took my heart away, i.e., Denise Bennett (http://www.storiesbydenise.com/site/) telling a love story that made me cry and smile.  One adaptation I heard last year still haunts me and makes me asks hard questions and that was/is Megan Hicks’ (http://www.meganhicks.com/), Jo Bob.  She told it at the NSN Conference Regional Showcase and it was weeks before I was able to let it sit still.  This story was recently shared on the NSN blog (http://blog.storynet.org/the-book-of-joe-bob). 

I love telling new stories as well.  In 2013 I began telling “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and fell in love with the word “naked”.  I also fell in love with telling “Story of the Deluge” from Uncle Remus, and it is the first story on my newest CD.  You can hear it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg5rSRwmQcI.  Then this year I was challenged by Susan O’Halloran (http://susanohalloran.com/newsite/) to share some personal stories for Stories Connect Us All (https://www.facebook.com/storiesconnectusall).  She helped me to revise them and I am proud of the power in the stories.  It’s been a good year for me and stories.

However, sometimes my most favorite stories are the ones that are so new, that I don’t know them until they come out of my mouth.  I call them “off the cuff” stories.  Sometimes these stories come, they are told, and then they just as quickly can disappear.  However, most of the time, they come and they stay long after I ever thought that anyone would like them. 

Two of the stories on my first CD, “Hands Wide Open” were “off the cuff” stories.  “Weeping Willow:  Why the Leaves Change their Colors” was thought out in my head on the way to a program for a first grade class while looking at the trees.  I told it in the classroom and the teacher asked where I had heard or read it, and then stood with mouth agape as I told her I had just made it up.  “Elaina’s Birthday Dance” was created while meeting with four parents who were the only ones to show up for an Evening Program sponsored by a local parent involvement organization.  A parent asked how to create a story for her child.  I asked her child’s name (Elaina) and what she liked (dancing), and the story poured out of my mouth.  It was another year before I ever told that tale again, and the response was so positive, I told it at almost every program for several months.

A couple of years ago it was “Jonathan’s Pretend Baseball”, which was a fill in on a program about “hats” for Preschoolers.  I had a baseball hat and was going to sing, “Take me Out to the Ball Game” and then do the poem, “Casey at Bat”, but I could see that my audience wasn’t ready.  So I sang the song, said, “I have a friend who loves baseball”, put on my baseball hat and told Jonathan’s story.  Instant hit and to this day, if students have heard it once, they want to hear it again on my return.

Last year one of my best “off the cuff” stories was told to the graduating Fifth graders of a Hampton, VA school who invited me to be their Graduation speaker.  What an honor!  I wanted to leave them something they would actually remember and that their parents could take with them as they went to middle school.  My theme that day was L.I.F.E. 

                Live every day making good decisions
                Inform yourself; become knowledgeable
                Find Good Friends
                Expect Great Things from yourself

Most of all, LIVE LIFE.  At the end of my 4 quick points I told the story which I created on the spot.  Once you read it, if you like, you can tell it as well.  It is my New Year’s gift to my Storytellers and Friends.  Please share if you ever tell “off the cuff” stories?  If so, what and why was it created?

 
What is Ms. Sheila reading?  Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly (fantastic so far, but I am very curious to check where he is getting his "facts") and The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (an incredible book of increasing our faith in Christ).

Most interesting thing researched this week?  Many languages are becoming extinct because we are becoming so globalized that only a few languages are being spoken regularly.  Thank you to Tellers and Linguistics who are trying to keep the diversity of languages alive!

"Five Sisters" by Paula DiLeo

http://www.pauladileo.com/pages/faces.html

 

 5 Sisters:  L.I.F.E. by Sheila Arnold

     A mother and father had five daughters.  When it was time, they came to their daughters and said, “It is time for you to go over the mountain to the village on the other side, for there you will find your purpose.  Go together and you will do well.”  So the sisters set off.
     They walked and they walked and they walked and they walked, until one sister said, “I am tired.  I am going back home.”  “No,” the other sisters cried, “Stay with us and we will do well together.”  But the sister did not listen and she turned around and returned home.

     The four other sisters began walking again.  They walked and they walked and they walked and they walked, until one sister said, “I am tired.  Look, see, there is a village here and some comely men.  I will stay here and settle down.”  “No,” the other sisters cried, “Stay with us and we will do well together.”  But the sister did not listen and she turned toward the nearby village and settled down.

     Again the sisters walked, just the three of them.  They walked and they walked and they walked and they walked.  They began to walk uphill and the road became difficult.  With a weariness in her voice one sister said, “I am tired; I can go no further.”  And with no words she went to the edge of a cliff.  “No,” the last two sisters cried, “Stay with us and we will do well together.”  But before they could finish their words, the sister turned around, opened her arms and fell back.

     The two sisters cried, but soon they lifted each other up and again began to walk.  They walked and they walked and they walked and they walked.  They walked up the mountain.  They walked through crevices.  They walked in snow and sleet and rain, as well as sunshine and warmth.  I know you expect that another would stop, but, no, they both came to the village on the other side of the mountain and found their purpose because they walked together. 

      But that is not the end of the story.  You see, the sister who returned home, one day thought, “I want to find my purpose”, and she set out and up the mountain, and although the walk was difficult alone, she did arrive at the village.  The sister who had settled and found home and family woke up one morning and thought, “Ah, I need to find my purpose.”  She talked with her family, packed up their items, and they went across the mountain and she found her purpose in the other village  There is one sister, however, who could never change her mind, could never turn from her detour, had no options.  So continue your walk, and even when the path over the mountain may not be straight, try to hold someone’s hand and walk in LIFE.

What is TRUTH?

Quick Performance Update: 12/11 at Ft. Magruder Hotel and Conference Center, Williamsburg, VA (private; Ol' Bess Christmas Program); 12/13 at First Baptist Norfolk, VA (private; Christmas storytelling)
Other Dec. performances:  Virginia (Williamsburg)
Upcoming Jan. 2014 performances:  GA (Atlanta); VA (Aldie, Middleburg, Purcellville, Williamsburg, Norfolk), WV (Nellis)

Is it okay to change the truth of a personal story’s ending?  For instance saying, “the ending is not what I wanted it to be, so I’ll make it more…inspirational, funny, or adventurous.”  I have heard some storytellers say that it’s fine to take some liberties with the truth.  I just read a comment quoted from Kendall Haven (and I am paraphrasing, since I can’t find the original), “I am telling the truth as it was supposed to have happened”.  Others are purist to nth degree.    

 

[Short side note:  I think Kendall Haven is amazing, www.kendallhaven.com.  He would never remember me, but early when I started on the road he encouraged me and I will never forget that.  Amazing speaker.  Intelligentsia of Storytelling.  Read his book “Story Proof”.]  

When I tell a personal story, I try hard to keep it to the truth….as I know it.  If you ask my sister, my parents or my son if certain stories I tell are truthful, they will say “not always”.  My sister says I exaggerate so much, she never knows the truth.  [Remember she is my “baby” sister, and not always to be believed.  J]  However, upon further dissection, when I ask her about a story, she has some of the same elements, just told through different eyes.
 

The other side of that is, she (and the rest of my family) tell stories that I don’t remember at all.  I have tried to plunge into my mind’s depths and I come up empty on their story.  [Stop, don’t go there:  I don’t have just emptiness in my mind’s depth.]  Sometimes one of them will tell a story that they feel I should definitely know and I’m clueless.  Does that make their story a fabrication?  No, because what is important to one person is irrelevant, or so disturbing or embarrassing to be remembered.  (I don’t have any embarrassing moments in my life…..at least that I remember.) 
 

Let me be more specific.  On my most recent CD I share my personal story about meeting children for the first time at an orphanage in Vietnam*.  The story ends with a good feeling, because that is where I chose to end it.  I didn’t end it at the point when my missions team colleagues found out that the children had been initially afraid of me, and they were distressed.  I didn’t like that ending, there was too much explanation needed.  Or I could have changed the ending to have a more “Kumbayah” moment.  However, the ending I chose is just right (at least for me), not everything sewed up tight, but a satisfied smile.

The truth is not always flashy, it’s not always funny, it sometimes makes us look bad.  However, that truth sharing could be just what someone else needs to learn.  And if we really are struggling with how a story ends, well, go and listen to my friend, and one of storytelling heroes, Bil Lepp, and make your story the great tall tale.  Only a “Half-Dollar” of truth needed in a tall tale.  Enjoy my truthless (except maybe a few parts), “Malawian Hippo Love Story”  http://youtu.be/Iz95311ZYp8      

What are your thoughts on changing the end of your stories?

*Oh, and here is "Vietnam Missions Trip:  Orphanage".  Is it the right ending?  http://youtu.be/I524NFKOqTE      

 

 



 

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Nursery Rhymes for Learning Times Part II

Quick Performance Update: 12/7 at House Concert, Virginia Beach, VA (contact tellspence@cox.net to see if space available to attend)
Other Dec. performances:  Virginia (Williamsburg, Norfolk)
Upcoming Jan. 2014 performances:  GA (Atlanta); VA (Aldie, Middleburg, Purcellville, Williamsburg)

 

Okay, finishing off my previous blog  -

http://sheilaarnold.blogspot.com/2013/11/nursery-rhymes-for-learning-times-part-i.html

This is continued about Ol’ Mother Hubbard and my discussion with the 3^rd graders.  Just a reminder, I brought 4 third graders up and I had them switch off acting out what the dog does. 

She went to the tailor's to buy him a coat;
When she came back he was riding a goat.

She went to the hatter's to buy him a hat;
When she came back he was feeding her cat.

She went to the barber's to buy him a wig
When she came back he was dancing a jig.
         [The jigs took on many forms from almost breakdancing to kicking their feet as if they were in an old time musical.  Lots of video of this by teachers, unfortunately none from me.]

 She went to the cobbler's to buy him some shoes;
When she came back he was reading the news.

           [Did you know that everyone reads the news by crossing one leg on top of another?  At least in Portsmouth.]

 

She went to the sempstress
     [Even I didn’t know this word.  I took a chance and said like a seamstress, and was right, although rare in use.]
To buy him some linen;
When she came back the dog was spinning.
    [So every student spun around in a circle.  I then taught about the spinning wheel and we practiced our body movements of spinning.  Q from me:  What fairytale character pricked her finger on a spinning wheel?  One little girl:  Sleeping Beauty.  Applause]

She went to the hosier's to buy him some hose;

                [Well, I had two little boys that put their heads together when asked about this word and kinda laugh, but then decided to give a better answer than what they heard on the street.  So they said, “the thing you spray water with”  Wise choice, boys.  Then I asked them what I wore on my legs?  “Stockings”, “leggings”.  I warned them, “you’re gonna laugh”.  They held their breaths and I said, “In the old days we called them PANTY hose.”  Peals of laughter, because I had said the 3^rd grade word, “panties”.  I was officially the best Storyteller ever.]
When she came back he was dressed in his clothes.

     [I had the boys and girls face each other. Oh, and I didn’t use the word dame, but “the woman”.]

The Dame made a curtsy,  [the girls did a curtsy] The dog made a bow;  [the boys did a bow] The Dame said, Your servant;  [the girls did a curtsy and said, “Your servant”] The dog said, Bow-wow.  [the boys did a bow and said, “Bow Wow”.  Again, the joy of student laughter.  They had never heard the word, “Bow Wow”]

Afterwards the kids were talking about all the new words and new interpretations of words they had.  They particularly were pleased by “hose” and “bow wow”  Again, who knows what they’ll tell their parents, but for right now, they are excited about learning.  I have a project I’ll get to (maybe next year) to be entitled:  “Nursery Rhymes in Learning Times”.

More information about the origin of this nursery rhyme written in 1805  see Old Mother Hubbard explanation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mother_Hubbard)

 

So what nursery rhyme has that wonderful language that I should tell next?  :)