A Baby Monster and the Boy Who Did Not Like Pickles

A Baby Monster And The Boy Who Did Not Like Pickles

Once upon a time there was a boy named Oscar who liked to eat pizza. He also liked peanut butter, cucumbers, tomatoes and apples but he DID NOT like pickles. He did not-not like pickles a little. He did not like pickles at all.

Every day Oscar’s mother walked with him through the scary Monster Forest to school.

Some of the people in the town told Oscar and his mother that Monsters were mean and bad but Oscar and his mom saw lots of them on their daily walks and even though these monsters were forty feet tall, very loud and very hairy they were always friendly to Oscar and his mom because monsters loved their children and they could see how much Oscar’s mom loved Oscar.

One day in the deepest, darkest, spookiest part of the Monster Forest they heard a sound they had never heard before. It sounded a little like a Monster growl but instead of the big loud GROWL they were used to hearing it was a high-pitched squeaky little growl. Continue reading →

National Storytelling Festival Jonesborough, Tennessee

I knew that there would be something that would make The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee unlike anything I had ever seen before by the way my storyteller friends would get all dreamy and tongue-tied when I told them I was going to be a featured teller there.

“Jonesborough.” They would say the word as if when spoken it released a euphoria serum into their brains. And then these people, who have dedicated their lives to verbal communication, would become uncharacteristically inarticulate. “Don, you’re going to love it there.” Yes, I would reply. Everyone says that. But as I would stand before them awaiting elaboration they would walk away in some sort of intoxicated dream state without telling me why.

Looking back, I think the best way to communicate the effects of this event on the uninitiated is through what it did to my wife. My wife is cool. I knew it when I met her in tenth grade. She dressed cool. Her musical tastes were cooler than everyone else. After high school we hitch hiked around North America for three years seeking out the most interesting little groups of non-conformists the continent had to offer. If something is fake or artistically insincere she sees it right away and has no patience for it and no desire to spend an extra minute in the presence of it. She has the most finely calibrated BS meter of anyone I ever met. Continue reading →