On the Road Again

I'm on the road storytelling in central West Virginia. I'll be back Friday night with, I hope some good photos to share of our trip.

No photos tonight, since I'm at my son's house and having a blast with his two children while Aaron and Jaime are out celebrating her birthday.

Here are a few things from today's storytelling to share:

*Preschoolers and first graders laughing incredibly at Lazy Jack, one of the first stories I learned to tell. I love going back to these tales and finding new discoveries in them. If you don't know the story: Jack's mother puts the lazy boy to work at a farm. He does well and gets paid every day, but each time through some foolishness manages to lose his pay. And yet in the end, Jack's the winner! You can read an English version of the story here; my telling is an Appalachian version. For a similar tale, click here to hear a podcast of Epaminondas.

*The look on children's faces after I told my story of "The Headless Woman of Briar Creek"--and then pointed out my husband in the corner who was the star of the story. They rushed to ask him, "Did you really see her?" Of course he said yes! (You can hear most of the story on Podcast 1 with me in the right sidebar on my blog.)

*Listening to the teachers at lunch. So many stories they can tell! Dedication was apparent in their stories.

*Seeing a 3rd grader put on the small cloth miner's cap in my coal-mining collection. It fit--obviously the cap had been worn by a very young boy , perhaps one who picked coal fr the slate piles or led mine horses.

*Laughing with the 5th grade when, to his evident surprise, a boy let loose with some very loud gas! What could I do? I said, "I heard that!" Laughed, then told him to say excuse me, instructed those around him to hold their noses for a bit, and on we went with the story. It was so funny; bathroom humor is always on the surface with this age group and ignoring the loud noise was not possible with this crowd. It was a good laugh.

*Seeing a little boy on the street with his dad after school, relating one of my stories and so animated, and seeing his dad's happy face as he listened to his son. That was the best part of the whole day.

Until right now, being here with James and Michaela and listening to their happy chatter about their day at school. Being a granny has many rewards!