Linda and I are staying at home and taking long walks around theneighborhood. Once a week I “sacrifice my body” (as Linda puts it) by going to the grocery store and occasionally we’ll call-in a food order from a local restaurant and pick that up. I have repeatedly told her that the 6-ft social distancing rule doesn’t apply to us in our own home, but she strongly disagrees and has stringently enforced that rule.
If you believe that last sentence I want you for my judge in the upcoming Missouri
Liars Contest .
I’ve enjoyed the digital storytelling opportunities that have become more prominent once the stay-at-home guidelines have taken effect. It’s fun and informative listening to and seeing so many wonderful storytellers, not just from around Missouri, but from around the nation and the world. Some of these people I never would have had the chance to listen to without the digital tools now available. I have to say that though it is fun seeing everyone on the screen I do miss the immediacy and personal contact of live performances. I hope and pray that each and everyone of us comes through this crisis ok and with a better appreciation for the world around us.
Stay safe.
Have fun.
Be creative.
Keep in contact with friends and family.
Make technology your friend.
Tackle those projects you have been putting off.
Write a new story.Develop a new program.
Let those creative juices flow.
Spend some time in prayer.
We’ll all get through this together and have new stories to share.
Jim Two Crows Wallen
Dear Friends in Storytelling,
Our 8 antique clocks keep us going as I keep them going. They tick, chime and ding with comforting sounds. They need me and we need them. Alice crochets and I wind clocks!
I wonder what you are doing as Alice and I hunker down here at home. I can only surmise. So here’s our Time Being!
We are fortunate to be able to walk in our neighborhood in WebsterGroves. Each day for an hour minimum, we take one longer walk and one short walk and keep our distance from other folks. Each day we do at least one hour of what we want to do or need to do such as write letters, check on friends, organize a drawer, work outside (Well, not Alice LOL), crochet (not Perrin LOL), read, whatever. Each day we do something for the future, such as inventory our home contents with descriptions of who gave us what or the estate sale where it was purchased and the current value we estimate. We are also each writing down our memories for our family.
Storytelling, which is limited to standing across the street as families walk by when I’m outside, consists of my doing the rap of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and getting smiles and even a little applause. I tell the neighbors that I couldn’t tell stories without an audience! On TV we watch the stocks go up and down, and also enjoy old movies and PBS series such as “Call the Midwife”, “American Experience,” and "World on Fire." We order groceries and then I do a drive-by and Straub’s places them in my trunk.
We are fine and very fortunate and lucky. I hope all of you are safe and well.
Love and blessings for the Time Being!
Perrin and Alice Stifel