‘Oral Personal Narratives‘seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of historical fiction’
Stories to Be Read Aloud
By
Brian Ross
The origin of story-telling has unfortunately been lost in the mist of time. But, just how did the art of story-telling start. Perhaps it was with a tribal group sitting around a flickering fire, a fisherman finding himself trying to excuse the failure of bringing back the biggest fish, and alas, the man’s honor needed to be rescued and “the big one that got away” theme was born. Perhaps family joys needed to be relived or fears needed to be calmed.
Stories allowed the sharing of heroic events or epic achievements, tales of exotic places, strange lands, places that lived only in one’s imagination, or simply funny family tales. Before reading and writing became a universal skill, memories and the oral tradition, held the key to capturing and perpetuating important or not so important events.
The good story-teller needed to have the knack of finding an audience that was eager to be entertained and then, choosing a story, adapting it in an effort to keep it simple, short and situationally appropriate for the listener. The story teller uses words, sounds, gestures, and expressions to aid the listener to hear, see, smell, and touch all aspects of the story.
I am a story-teller. How did it happen? I’m not sure. Maybe it was from the years of my twin brother and I being involuntarily drafted in to all of our elementary, junior hi, and high school fall, Christmas, and spring music programs and concerts. Being twins, I guess, it seemed natural that people felt they could expect our unsolicited cooperation. It was difficult at first, I think, because my twin brother and I were inherently introverts. However, after years and years of being put in front of audiences performing, stage fright before speaking disappears.
As with most things in life, however, just how something happens are more serendipity than planning.
Just when did I come to that realization that, yes, I am a story-teller? I’m not sure. It was a not a singular moment in time. But story teller I became.
I have been encouraged to document many of the stories that I have been known to tell. Maybe, by asking me to write them down, the listeners are in an indirect way avoiding the need to hear them yet again
Moving stories from your mind and voice to paper, I have found, is no easy task. How does one modulate the volume, the tone, the timbre of one’s voice using paper. Then there is the sticky business of sentence structure, punctuation, writing in the first person and then quickly switching to third person – keeps the reader on their toes. So, forgive me Mrs. Boyd, my senior high school English teacher. I have elected to use run on sentences, incomplete sentences, phrases, single words at times as well as violating every rule of punctuation and voice to try and develop a picture in your mind of the sites and sounds in my stories. My written stories are meant to be read aloud, not silently. Even if you are alone, read them aloud. Your elementary teachers will forgive you as your lips move with the reading of the story. If the total loss of grammar is a problem for you, then I will be happy to regale you in person with my version of the spoken story.
And finally, I must also apologize, but these stories were really written for my son so that he could experience in word some the memorable moments from my childhood and life before him. Occasionally some of the stories contain recollections that may have only thin threads to the central theme of the story, but are included to give him an appreciation of some of the things I experienced growing up, during my training, and throughout my career.
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