Starry Story Night

For the first time in years (maybe pre-Covid Era?), I participated in a local story telling event, The Front Parlor series. I’ve told stories before, but never at this particular venue and I was really excited. A few months ago I had prepared a story to suit the theme of “forgiveness,” but that gathering, disappointingly, had been canceled at the last minute.

I had a damn good story, too.

Thursday night’s theme was “new beginnings” with a nod to the organization RISSE which helps to support refugees and immigrants as they assimilate to a new life, generally far from where they were born. Unlike the planned previous story I invested time in developing over a period of weeks, the story I thought I might tell last night was much less conceived. I had some basic ideas and key words I wanted to use, but I didn’t feel satisfied with the cohesiveness of the tale.

It was missing something.

In the early afternoon, though, I was struck with exactly the right way to finish my story to both meet the suggested theme and to bring it full circle. After relating my story of life, of the new beginning of my moving to Albany and all the things I’ve been fortunate enough to experience while living here. I would finish with:

Both of my parents are from Europe. Between the two of them, they’ve lived in 7 different countries over their years. In recent years, I’ve often wondered if this country, where I was born, is the right one for me. Perhaps coming here was a mistake. I want to live in a country where women have reproductive rights and all people are treated fairly. I’m not sure if this is my place, my country, but if it is where I stay, I know Albany is where I want to live.

My story landed well, I believe.

I had forgotten the rush of having your words prompt an immediate response from an audience, be it a laugh, sigh or a nod. It’s absolutely heady. Beyond being a storyteller, though, a big part of the night is being a listener. Personal stories of finding one’s way through life are inspiring and I really enjoyed hearing the narratives shared by others. What a very rich world we live in!

Book ending the telling of stories, I enjoyed starting my evening with dinner at Donna’s, a place I’ve been wanting to try forever. It was a perfect evening to dine outdoors and I completely enjoyed my pizza with a glass of Puglian red wine, served chilled. The cherry on top of the night was seeing sibling students, along with their parents, and having a moment to connect with them. One of the moms, who was one of the hosts of the event, told me that their daughters had spoken about me and my style, which I absolutely appreciated. Just a thrilling, however, was when that same mom followed my story by saying how happy she was to have me as her children’s librarian. ❤️

I drove home to Albany and ended my night with a spin around the block with Jeter. The air temperature felt perfect on my skin and the skies were clear with scattered stars shining. I took a moment to gaze up in appreciation for both the wonderful gifts I’ve received in life and the fact that a month from now I’ll be collecting more experiences (and stories!) in Italy.

It was a great night. You should come next time!