I’d be lying if I said I knew what I wanted to do with this newsletter.
But I do know I want it to be about stories. Stories with a lower case ess. Stories we jot in notebooks or snag with a camera. Stories we tell around the kitchen table after the kids have gone off to bed.
The little stories we piece together to create the big story of who were are, or at least who we think we are.
What we (or me, I’ll speak for myself) are is often messy and imperfect.
You’ll get plenty of messy and imperfect here.
But you’ll also get curiosity, maybe some delight or even surprises. And you’ll get love.
To get this started, I’ve got a story from one of my favorite storytellers who is also my favorite laugher - my brother-in-law Nigel - for an audio feature I’m calling Tell me a story.
I’m not sussing about with the trappings of a podcast, this gets straight to the story.
Some of our best stories come from traveling, and he’s sharing a story from his trip to Barcelona with friends.
Scroll a little further down and I’ve shared a poem and a few links to things you might like. Who the hell knows at this point?
So anyway, Nigel, tell me a story…
Eavesdrop on a Tuesday afternoon
"Listen in on a stranger's conversation is how
you learn to write dialogue," said some writer
somewhere, but I can't hear the couple on the
other side of the café window. They lean into
each other, gesture with fingers and wrists,
cross their ankles, unaware of the autumn leaves
falling to the sidewalk, the coffee losing it's steam
to the chilling air or the sleeping dog at their feet.
I imagine they've talked of lost friends or a time
in a faraway destination, and this silence is nothing
more than the quiet between two people unafraid
of silence and unwilling to fill a moment with words.
I have to leave now, my notebook empty, my feet
crackle the leaves and the dog lifts his eyelids
to watch me pass by without saying thank you.
I’d like to share this with you
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - I love Al and this was beautiful.
A poem by former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo: “An American Sunrise”
Alan Moore talking about the value of reading terrible books as confidence booster
That was a great story and poem. I want to go to Spain for paella. ❤️
I enjoyed Nigel's story and the way he made it fun and lively. Now I'm hungry!