A Tapestry of Family Stories

This beautiful six block quilt represents many family stories that I had the opportunity to bring back to life once again in Ft. Lupton, Colorado. This program has been peacefully resting for nearly 3 years, and the great people at the Library in Ft. Lupton allowed me to put it back on the stage. What a charge! Oh, and let me add that the quilt is the work of my wonderful wife, Judy. She provides the fabric art, I provide the oral art.

Stories of bears and blizzards, cabins and prairies, coal mines and Christmases, and wheat fields and pioneers that have been a part of the history of our families made up the hour. This delightful hour was spent with mostly elder citizens of this great small community who have an interest in quilting and the quilting arts.

Surrounded by beautiful quilts from the area, I had a chance to relate the bear paw quilt patch to a "roping the bear" story and tell the story of my Christmas sled as reminded by the

Christmas Star quilt pattern. The other patterns in this mini quilt are snow crystal, log cabin, fields and fences and one that we have forgotten what it is. When we planned the quilt, we looked through the quilt book, found patterns for the stories we had and added in a few that we thought would really become "found" in our family history. That was about 5 or 6 years ago.

Now, you have to remember that we grew older, packed everything into boxes and moved from Wyoming to Colorado. So, the quilt block on the lower left corner has become a lost story. Neither my wife nor I remember the name of the quilt block nor do we remember any story that might have been related to it.

Any thoughts?

Great fun with this Tapestry of Family Stories, though!

Telluride Joy

I was blessed with the opportunity to fill in a gig at Telluride, Colorado just recently. Basically, it was for children and in conjuction with their Farmer's Market which is held at the same time as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The whle town resembles an anthill with folks moving from one place to another in seemingly aimless patterns. Lots and lots of folks going to and fro and then back again. Little people and big people coming off the gondola and streaming down the street and then turning back after an hour and moving back again. Up and down seeking who knows what.
In this endless motion setting, I sat under a canopy telling stories to children ages minus 1 to 7 and a few adult parents and chaperones. The Grasshopper Song and the Big Mouth Frog did very well because we all got to be a part of the story. "Ain't No Bugs On Me." didn't fair so well since I didn't really have time to teach the words to the chorus and we didn't have enough older children to remember the lyrics easily. All in all, GREAT TIME!
And the scenery! Well, it's impossible to describle, so all you readers will just have to take the trip. Super place, super librarian, super support staff, super experience. Well worth the 7 1/2 hour drive home to Loveland. I'd do it again, just about anytime.
Pick me, pick me, pick me!

New Tears From Old Wounds

My heart cried the same old tears it cried in the 60s when I heard what was being said in Washington this week. The tears were new, but they came from the same old wounds. The stories are the same based on hatred of unknown hatred.
While this Health Care bickering has blasted the polorization wide open, it sounds like the racism of the 1960s. There was Rep. John Lewis, a strong and proud veteran of the marches in the south at the side of Martin Luther King Jr, being called a n......... just has he was in MIssissippi and Alabama in 1965. Others with him were being called names to denegrate them and they were being spat on. And worst of all, members of the Congress of The United States stood on the balcony overlooking this scene with signs to help promote the unruly behavior.
What have we come to? Where are our manners? Who are our leaders? Why do we hate this much?
I wept as I comtemplated that scene. It would not have mattered if it were Republicans or Democrats who were booing and spitting or Republicans or Democrats who were being booed or spat upon. We have become an unruly mob! A group of mindless boobs who shift and sway in the wind of whichever fool has the loudest megaphone. A herd of donkeys braying under the whip of the loud and foul mouthed herders who crack their vocal whips of hate and bigotry and guide us in the direction they choose for us to go.
I weep! I weep at your actions and words. I weep for your children who are watching your example. I weep for your country that will never be healed because of such rancor and disgust. And I weep for your everlasting souls that will never find peace in such mean spirited places.

A Review of Peace Tales

This is a book that has been around for a long time, but I just picked it up again and was reminded what a great book it is. Margaret Read Macdonald collected these stories and proverbs in Peace Tales, World Folktales to Talk About. Not only is it a wonderful starting point for those who are looking for a place to find this kind of story, it is a reminder for those us who may have been down the path before.
Peace Tales contains some of my personal favorite stories that have been in the repertoire for many years, and a few that I'd forgotten about, but will be coming back soon. Old Joe and the Carpenter, The Neighbor's Suspicious Looking Son, Not My Problem (A Drop of Honey), and Lifting the Sky are wonderful stories to tell and for audiences to hear.
I remember the first time that I heard Vi Hilbert tell "Lifting The Sky" and watching an audience of storytellers join in as we lifted the sky that night. No one who was in that audience will ever forget that image. Each of us may have a different picture of the sky moving up, but none will be able to lose the magic given to us by that tiny reed-thin woman motivating us to lift the sky into its proper place. That prompted me to use the story with audiences, particularly those of younger children.
Although the book was originally published in 1992, it is timeless and should have a place on every storyteller's book shelf. Also included are Margaret Read Macdonald's usual bibliographies, tips for telling, sources for the stories and additional delights to discover while perusing this delightful volume.

What's New?

I'm going to try to start again and this time perhaps some continuity can really be established.
First, regarding reviews: I've been out of the main stream for so long that I could only review the "oldies but goodies." And perhaps I will do that as we go along.
However for now, I plan to just forward a few thoughts on an occasional basis.
Second: Three days before Halloween I got both a trick and a treat. Open heart surgery to replace a barely functioning valve has a way of keenly focusing the mind and giving the recipient (me) both an interesting trick (oops, you've got to have your heart stopped for awhile), and a treat (it will help you live a better life for another 10-15 more years.) I know now why I have had no stamina and very little breath for the last few years. But the good folks at the hospital and the cardio rehab are slowly getting me back into a mode of functionability. (It really helps that the ladies at the Cardio-Rehab are pleasant and pleasant to look at. Great people truly.)
Lastly for this posting: I've moved to Colorado and become a member of the Rocky Mountain Storyteller's Conference board www.rmstory.org and we are planning an event in May that we would like to invite all to attend. In conjunction with Swallow Hill Music in Denver www.swallowhill.com we are having Bill Harley in workshop and concert on May 15, 2010. Bill Harley will present a 2 hour workshop and there will be 2 other workshops, a storytelling concert of local/regional tellers topped off by a Bill Harley concert in the evening. Check the RMSC website for details.
How's that for blatant advertising!
More later and good stories always,
John Beach

Thoughts about Storytelling Reviews

Storytelling is a lonely art. Unless you live in a populated area, you spend lots of time by yourself trying to figure out what it is that you are doing. Actually, no matter where you live, you will spend lots of time alone trying to figure out what you are doing. That doesn't have to be without friendship and others. Since the internet has become so accessible to all, we can reach out to others through the keyboard very easily, and I am now choosing to do more of that.
I haven't posted for a very long time. Many excuses, none good. One reason, maybe ok. I wasn't really sure I had much of importance to say. I think I have figured some of that out.
I plan to use this blog and perhaps others to benefit Storytellers.
This is not going to be about me... Well, maybe a little bit at times.... Who can help it?
But primarily, I plan to use this space to promote the work of others. I will review Storyteller's work. Mostly that will be in the form of CDs or tapes or books, but I will also review live performances and festivals and conferences as a whole.
So you say, who the heck are you? I guess the answer is nobody special. But I have spent over 15 years traveling the country in the storytelling world listening to and appreciating all sorts of storytellers. I've seen the best, the worst and some pretty mediocre stuff that our art has to give the world and I think perhaps, just perhaps, I can occasionally pique your curiosity about a new teller's work or the work of a teller that has been around for a while but hasn't found the spotlight of the "nationally-known."
I won't review anything or anyone that I haven't personally seen, heard or read. I won't review a festival or conference that I haven't attended unless I tell you so and give you specific names of tellers who recommend that event to me with quotes from those tellers.
I don't expect this column to become much, but maybe it will blossom enough to help a few struggling tellers out there.
By the way, any of you always have my permission to quote me at any time.
Until next time and our first review,
Good Stories Always,
John Beach

I'm Retired.....Again!

I seem to be making a career out of retiring. In 1995, I retired from public school teaching. I then took up full time storytelling. Traveled throughout the Rocky Mtn. West and was beginning to get lots of work. During this point, I began to do some part time teaching at the Community College in Rock Springs, Wyoming where I live, so I came out of retirement. Then I developed a pinched nerve in my back , so the long drives, less than desirable beds in old motels began to drive down my ability and motivation to find storytelling gigs in locations over 500-600 miles from my good solid mattress. I then semi retired from Storytelling. (no gigs more than 2 nights out, chairs at all performances, no performance over 2 hours with at leaset 30 minutes prone time in between performances....) Obviously, that pretty well led to a "dearth" of gigs. So, I took up a new career as a manager of a shopping center and mall in Rock Springs. For 2 years that worked well into my patchwork of other opportunities: adjunct (part-time college professor), some-time (occaisional) storyteller, and once in a while writer. However, as most thingsmust do, the manager thing had to come to an end. New ownership bought the property and changed my image of myself. Since this old dog had just learned these new tricks in management, I wasn't really interested in learning new, new tricks, so I took the stress off everyone and retired again.
So, now I am retired for the 3rd time. But I'm not sure if it really counts. Since I retire from one profession and then go back to it, does it really count as retiring? Let me hear from you by email on your thoughts about retirement. Comments of all sorts are always welcome.
If you can't find an email address, try one of these wyomingteller@msn.com
johnbeach@wyoming.com storytellersrendezvous@msn.com

Love to hear from you,
John Beach