You ask, “How did I find my way into storytelling and MO-TELL?” And my first thought was, “that’s a good question” especially for someone who spent twenty-one years in the military. But as I thought about it, there were lots of moments and events that brought smiles or laughter to my military experience. In some cases, they were the seeds for a MO-TELL “Liars Contest Story.” I remember the day I reported to my basic training camp, the young airman, who came to escort the four new cadets to the camp was the spitting image of Barney Fife from the Andy Griffin TV sitcom, or Beetle Bailey from the comic strips. He was this skinny little guy who had this look of fear in his eyes, like any moment he was going to burst into tears. And he had about 4 or 5 little pieces of white tape all over his face, covering his shaving cuts. I could hear myself quietly screaming inside my head, “OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MY SELF INTO!” But I made it, and I stayed in until I could retire.
My twenty-one years in the military went by relatively quickly and since I was in the National Guard, I was able to have a civilian job at the same time. I started teaching at Eugene Field School, an elementary school, located in the Central West. It was while I was at Field that I enrolled in a workshop entitled, Storytelling Across the Curriculum, which was held at the Learning Center. The workshop instructor was non other than Janet (January) Kiefer. She was an outstanding instructor and storyteller. I fell in love with storytelling and the different ways I could use storytelling in my classroom to enhance my teaching. January also introduced the class to resources in the community, such as St. Louis Gateway Storytellers, who met for dinner at the Salad Bowl (Good food) along with a group of talented storytellers that would become mentors & lifelong friends. There was the National Storytelling Network (NSN), Missouri Storytelling, Inc. (MO-TELL) with Tellabration!, and the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. There were monthly storytelling events and state park storytelling opportunities.
Although I have not been a member of MO-TELL for a very long time, I’ve attended a number of their functions and I have volunteered with several activities. In July of 2019, I was excited and thrilled to submit an entry into the Liars Contest and even more thrilled to have come in 2nd place with my written story “Mr. Cheetah and the Chicken.” The Liars Contest was held in Columbia, MO on July 13, 2019. I was invited to read my lie to the story listeners and other liars, so I traveled to Columbia. My story was well received, and I was delighted. Maybe next year will be my turn to get 1st place in the Liars Contest, with a story about a very young and frighten airman who makes a career in the military and retires as a General after a long career in service to his country.
God Bless Our Country!
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