Bridging the Generations Through Story
Stories have enriched my life; I have my parents to thank for introducing them to me at a young age. My mom and dad each had a different way of exposing me to the power of story, showing me the various—and often unusual—forms stories can take. My mom believed strongly in reading to my sister and me, and did so regularly. She also took us to the Bookmobile to select books before we had a neighborhood library. I had my own collection of books that my mom would read to me until I had memorized them. These books, such as Barney Beagle and Company’s Coming for Dinner, were not classics in the vein of The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Where the Wild Things Are. In today’s world, these books I heard as a child come across as terribly dated and even sexist. When I’ve read them to the children at my preschool, I have to change some of the male-dominated references. But these stories stuck with me and bonded us as a family. To this day, any one of my family members can recite, “Company’s coming to our house for dinner tonight. Mommy’s been getting things ready all day with those curlers in her hair.”
My mom also got a Show and Tell record player for my sister and me. This pre-computer marvel played story records with an accompanying filmstrip that was shown on the player’s small plastic screen in sync with the story. Again, my sister and I can still recite pieces of Hansel and Gretel as told on the Show and Tell recording. Even now, imitating the wicked step mom’s voice as we recite her words is always good for a laugh. I also used this record player to listen to “book and record” stories—the ones with the ding sound to signal when to turn the page. I took advantage of my freedom to play stories such as Peter Pan in the privacy of my bedroom, with no worries of potentially annoying my parents with multiple repetitions. While my mom exposed me to stories in written form, my dad introduced me to the world of the spoken story. He would create improvised stories with me, which we would record on cassette tapes. He also encouraged my friends and me to make up and record our own versions of fairy tales. These experiences, I’m sure, contributed to my future interest in improvisational comedy. My dad is also a great storyteller in recounting events from his own life. Because of this, I sometimes feel like I experienced his childhood, as I know the names, personalities and actions of many of his friends from grade school and high school. Through listening to his vibrant and humorous accounts of his numerous hospital stays, his adventures with his best friend when they were kids, and his encounters with unusual characters in the business world, I have come to realize that fact is indeed stranger than fiction. I find that I often enjoy the stories of real people at least as much—if not more—than fictional tales. I’m really grateful that my parents gave me such a rich immersion in stories. Whether read, made-up, or recounted, these story experiences have entertained and connected my family, and have inspired me to try to tell my own stories. Laura’s story “Mentor in the Dark” appears in Dammit, I Learned a Lot from That Son-of-a-Gun. Click here to learn more about her. |
