Hello my friends,
Thank you to all involved in the wonderful Tenth Annual Missouri Liars Contest. The Daniel Boone Regional Library, under Sarah Howard’s guidance, hosted a marvelous event. As you may know, there was a workshop with Larry Brown before the contest, but the surprise was the library’s gift to the patrons. It treated everyone to coffee, tea and sweets at the opening of the day. Sarah also had souvenirs from the library for all who came. The library welcomed us with open arms, and it felt so good. We have good friends in Columbia, MO.
Thirty-five people attended the workshop and sixty-five people attended the contest. There were nine spoken contestants, each with a story I thought for sure was the winner.
The winners were Christine Henderson from Basehor, KS with the story “Ratness” in first place. Larry Brown from Columbia, MO took second place with “Chickens Underground.” Jeff Hannah from Cape Girardeau, MO came in third with “El Diablo.”
The judges had a tough job because all the stories were winners. Many thanks to all the judges, both those for the spoken contest and those for the written contest.
There were eight entries for the written contest. The winners were Ken Wolfe and Perrin Stifel, both from St. Louis, who tied for first place. Ken’s story was “The Leap,” and Perrin’s story was “Great Salt Truck Massacre.” Second place went to Chester Weems from Oklahoma with the story “I’ll Fly Away” and third place was taken by Amy Prater with “One Brave Little Girl.”
The entire day went well thanks to the careful planning of board members, Jackie Wright and Linda Kuntz.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who listened to the tales, who told the tales, who wrote the tales, who judged the tales and who allowed the tales to be told forever to be remembered.
It was a day to remember and I was thrilled to emcee.
Keep telling your stories,
Joyce Slater
President, MO-TELL
“Storytelling is our obligation to the next generation.”
― Isabel Allende
As retold by Diann Joy Bank from her book, A Pot of Mitzvot: 18 Jewish Folktales
The gate angel in heaven stood at the entrance holding his large golden-bound book. Inside his book was a list of every soul that had lived on earth. Dressed in his white flowing gown, standing on a floor of white soft clouds, the gate angel’s long white hair was blowing softly in the gentle breeze.
Standing side by side stood three souls that had just arrived at the gates of heaven. The gate angel announced, “I must decide who is the most holy to enter heaven first. It is the highest honor to go first into heaven.”
The gate angel opened his book to see what was written about each soul’s life on earth. The three souls stood patiently waiting to hear the gate angel’s decision. Then the angel asked each soul, “Tell me, what was your highest mitzvah--good deed--when you lived on earth?”
One soul, the most learned, was a student of Torah and Talmud-- Jewish most sacred books.
The second soul was the most observant in his daily way of life.
The third soul, wearing a flowered apron, looked at the angel with a sweet smile and said, “I was a Bubbe--Jewish grandma--to all the children in my shtetl--Jewish village.”
The learned soul wore a worn shirt and pants and carried a heavy backpack filled with books. He stepped close to the gate angel’s face, folded his arms and began to brag. “I am the most pious of all. From morning till night, I studied all the Jewish books of learning. I never let anyone come into my home for idle talk. I never wasted my time to even walk outside. I deserve to be the first to enter heaven,” boasted the learned student.
The next soul, the observant one, wearing his kippah--Jewish observant skullcap--and tallis-- Jewish prayer shawl--that hung down to his knees, stepped forward and stared into the gate angel’s eyes. Holding his siddur,--Jewish prayer book--he shouted, “I deserve to enter heaven first. I am the most observant. Did I ever miss saying my prayers three times a day at shul--Jewish synagogue? Never!” He continued to bellow for all to hear, “I was never distracted nor spoke to anyone at shul. Did I ever miss observing each and every Jewish holiday to its fullest? Never! I am the most pious of all.”
The Bubbe stood silently. Her face had soft wrinkles. There was a twinkle in her eyes, and she had a glowing smile. She spoke in a gentle voice, “I’m neither a learned soul nor an observant soul. I gathered all the children to teach them how to plant a garden to grow food for those that were hungry in our shtetl. Each day I taught them to take care of G-d’s
creatures. I don’t need to go first into heaven.” After the Bubbe spoke, the gate angel saw a joyous look in her eyes.
The gate angel closed his large golden bound book. To the learned soul, he asked, “Did you ever invite anyone to your home to teach them one of the holy books of learning?” Not speaking a word, the student held his head down, shaking it from side to side.
To the observant soul, the gate angel asked, “Did you ever invite someone from your shul for a meal at your home?” He also held his head down, shaking it from side to side, not saying a word.
Then the gate angel turned toward the old Bubbe and said, “Bubbe, you are the humblest. To learn to be humble is the highest mitzvah of all. You deserve to enter first through the gates of heaven.” And so, she did.
As a part of our fundraising, MO-TELL has a wonderful quilt to raffle. This hand pieced quilt by Marsha Stifel Mellendorf is an Irish chain pattern in red and navy with squares having multi-colored flowers on a navy background. The field is “Civil War muslin tan” color.
The quilt is professionally machine-stitched in an overall oak leaf pattern. This twin-sized quilt measures 52” X 80”. The backing is a wheat print, and the quilt has a sleeve that makes it perfect as a wall hanging.
Tickets for the raffle are as follows: one ticket for $5,three tickets for $10,five tickets for $15,
and ten tickets for $20.
Members will receive a mailing regarding the raffle. Email Linda Kuntz at Lindakkuntz@yahoo.com if you need more raffle tickets.
Please help in this endeavor to fulfill the MO-TELL mission as we partner with the Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites.
Tickets are for sale now through September 9. You DO NOT need to be present to win.
The drawing for the quilt will be at the September 10, 2024 MO-TELL Zoom program “Hauntings.” The winner will be notified through email.