Saturday, April 21, 2012

That's My Story


A  L  O  H  A

"  If history were taught 
in the form of stories,
 it would never be forgotten.  "

Rudyard Kipling


  Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles on Grooveshark

 “The life of every man
is a diary
 in which he means to write
 one story,
and writes
another.”

 James Matthew Barrie











“Live your life
 from your heart.
Share from your heart.
And your story
will touch
 and heal
 people's souls.”

 Melody Beattie










“A drink
 precedes
 a story.”

 Irish Proverb



" Be amusing: 
never tell unkind stories; 
above all, 
never tell long ones. "

Benjamin Disraeli


" Some stories are true
 that never happened.  "

Elie Wiesel










“Everybody here 
thinks the whole story 
is about them..
Definitely 
that goes for everybody 
in the world.”

 Chuck Palahniuk







" One of the ways
to reincarnate
is to tell
your story. "

Spalding Gray



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All over the world, throughout history, 
storytelling
 has been one of the chief characteristics 
of our shared humanity. 

 The telling can involve  song, 
chant, musical instruments, 
epic poems recited from memory.  

Recitation & performance
of epics,
 the founding myths
 of a people, 
a culture
can last for days! 

From a single bard,
 to a Greek Chorus,
 to a theater troupe;

 From a prehistoric campfire,
 to Beijing Opera,
 the Broadway Stage, Hollywood,
 and yes, Blogger-
 We are the tellers of stories,
and telling them
is how we make sense
of our lives.

What young person today
has NOT lived Harry Potter,
and shared it's secret inclusion
with their generational cohort?

When I lost my job
[ and turned 50
the same week ]
I adjusted while watching
 NYPD Blue
every day on a cable network.

The redemption of Dennis Franz`
Detective Andy Sipowicz 
consumed me.  
All the themes,
all the flavor, 
all of the 'person' 
and 'place'
helped me process 
my own story
somehow.

The stories of Shakespeare
 live forever
because our hopes, fears,
 and character 
have not changed
since he revealed them to us.


Americans waited at the dock
in New York Winter
for the next installment
of Dickens 
by sail from London.

The Sopranos also captured my imagination
the way a beloved series of books does.
[ Like the Talera cycle 
 by Charles Gramlich ]



One amazing development has been
the technology to bring theater
into our home.

And now, we no longer need to watch
episodic TV every week;
No, through HULU, or HBOGO,
we can watch every chapter,
every season of our consuming Story
all at once!

Have you spent a weekend
watching every episode
of such a series as the Sopranos

Would you admit it if you had?
LOL
Just asking. . .


Thanks for sharing,
leave a comment!

                   Warmly, cloudia



You can read about 
storytelling traditions here: