My Story: Barn Concert
When I try to describe my home town to people I usually include this story.
In High School, I was invited to go to a concert in a barn. The local heart-throbs were performing and it sounded like a hoot, so I was in. 
Let me set the stage for you: ten or so local teenage bands, mutiple stacked amps and guitars, 1 upright piano, 1 drum set, and a garrison flag drapped in the background. All of this in a four foot loft with only a six foot ceiling. The concert was rocking and packed. Each band was trying to set themselves a part. One of the last ones came up and started their set. Head vocalist/guitarist eyes were closed fully focused on the music. One of the backup guitarists was really getting into the song and I mean REALLY getting into it! He started swaying then he got an idea “I’m going to jump!” (Which, with a six foot ceiling and a six foot guitarist, is just mathematically unsound!) Jumping up he knocked himself unconscious and fell behind the loft to the ground taking out a stack of amps and the flag on his way down. The head guitarist doesn’t even notice. The other backup guitarist notices and is frantically glancing to and fro from his knocked out friend and to the head vocalist who hadn’t moved a muscle. After an awkward minute, the backup guitarist stopped and helped the downed guitarist. Previous band members started storming the stage to rescue their amp that had been knocked over. After they rescued the downed guitarist, they re-hung the flag and the next band continued the concert. Gotta love small town America!
My Story: Introduction
Formulating life’s events into little stories is natural (especially for a blogger!). I thought my inclination toward it was because when I called home from college, I wanted to be able to relate the event without any unnecessary information. But it goes back further than that. My family tends to relate life events in story format. I fancy some of mine are particularly funny, so I’m going to start a series of them here on my blog. Here is the first one:
Life Storytelling is Romantic
I have a Great Aunt and Uncle who have been married for a long time. They are the cutest “old couple” you have ever met. When we visit they end up telling us stories of the things happening in their own and adjacent lives. It is a riot to hear them tell a story. The first thing you notice is that they keep on interrupting eachother to set the facts straight. The interruption is always starts with, “Well you know dear,” or “Dear, I think . . .”. After visiting with them for awhile and over the years you realize, they really don’t have as many stories as you had once supposed, as they are repeating ones you’ve heard. If you listen even closer, you see the romance. They are actually correcting eachother at the same spots. They each only know half of the story! Their spouse fills in the parts they miss. Their life stories are so intertwined that they can count on the other to fill in the parts they can’t remember. Stories are powerful.
