Stories at the River's Edge: We Got Our Grant! Again!

Donna Wilson and I last summer at Stories at the River's Edge

Today was the day: today the review panel for the Ohio River Border Initiative (ORBI) grants met to review applications for the 08-09 grant cycle.

Donna Wilson attended (she and I work on this event together).

At the end of the day-we got our grant!

What's the event? Stories at the River's Edge is a series of storytelling performances on both sides of the Ohio River in Ohio and West Virginia. Last year we focused on two counties, Meigs County OH and Mason County WV. Both are communities that lack arts events. We had great audiences (averaging 50-150 per event) last year and were encouraged enough to expand to another county this year.

What helped us get the grant:

• We told a story.


• We didn't use too many words.


• We held the interest of the review panel (heck, we're storytellers!).


• We provided anecdotes (like the handicapped group coming in buses).


• We had evaluation forms from attendees.


• We were clear about what we wanted to do, and why.


• Our funding request was reasonable.

So we're off and running for another year. Our plan is to expand each year, one county at a time, one day at a time.

Last year we did four one-day events during July. This year it will be two one-day events a week for the month of July.

Next year, who knows?

Ghost Stories on the River

What a night for stories. Picture a setting on the banks of the mighty Ohio, huge trees overshadowing the pavilion, lights from the town on the other side blinking in the water. Kids in costumes straggle in with a few adults. It's spookily dim as we begin our tales.

The event was the brainchild of Donna Wilson, a storyteller who has a gift for knowing what will make a successful event. This one was low-key; she provide decorations, a mike and her stories, and I provided my stories.

This was the best performance I have seen from Donna. I've told with her several times now, and keep seeing improvement. One of the best ways to get better as a teller is to tell. And tell. And tell. Another way is to listen to and watch other tellers. and the third important ingredient is watching the audience and being able to read their reactions. Donna's ghost stories were perfect for the group we had tonight, and my tales went very well too.

On the drive home I thought about performance--driving 40 miles through quiet country and a few towns to get there, meeting people and just telling stories to them, then driving dark roads home. What makes me do this, over and over?

What I come to is this: it's the audience. Seeing their eyes, their delight, the memories I trigger. Tonight as I was telling Tailypo a young girl's eyes lit with pleasure, and when I got to the signature chant (Tailypo, tailypo, coming to get my tailypo) she know it and chimed right in! After the first time, I gave the mike to her for the repeated chants. That shared joy in the story is something I can't place a value on, and yet for all of us tonight the little girl's joy increased our enjoyment in a three dimensional way. Not only was I telling and they listening--now one of their own was participating and deepening the experience for us all.

What Can Happen in an Evening

Writers Group: after a day of figuring out what's up (or not) with the elevator, how to get delivery to 9 branches when the delivery van is in the shop for a new windshield, when we're required to pay prevailing wage on projects, what asbestos abatement means, why a librarian wants to cancel a subscription to Time, and how to get a brick walk repaired so it doesn't block a fire exit, it's a relief to go to writing group.

A stop at the coffee shop for a fresh brew (okay, they said it was 45 minutes old when I got there so I wheedled a fresh pot--45 minute old coffee can cause premature aging!) and I was still close to on time. I was determined to bring something new to the group this week since I'd missed so many meetings, so last night I wrote a new short story. It was different, I'll say that, and the ending had a strong impact. A little work and it'll be a good story. Seeing everyone again really made my day.

Drive: The sky was ominous--black clouds piling high, big gusts of wind, premature dark. I darted for home, only a quick stop to relieve the "Empty" light on my gas gauge (my little Nissan Sentra is so used to running on empty I think it just keeps going out of habit). I raced the storm, literally. It started to pour at the gas station, but a few miles out and it was a light drizzle, then only wind. I made it to the house just as the first fat drops caught up with me.

That might not sound like a big deal. But I had 6 miles to travel on a small 2-lane highway, 2 more on a one-lane, bumpy country road, then 2 more on a dirt-and-gravel road full of twists, hills and bumps, then 1/4 mile on the driveway. So I was doing some speed on bad roads to outrun the storm.

Storm: I raced raindrops to the porch, ran into the house and unplugged phone and computer. My mind relieved, I went back to the porch with a glass of Chardonnay to sit in my rocker and watch the storm with Larry. It was stupendous, great flashes of lightning and big booms, a tree cracking in the woods behind the house, rain blowing almost horizontal as the lightning show continued.

Storytelling: when the storm passed, we hooked the phone and 'puter back up, and I returned a call to my storytelling friend Donna Wilson. She was working on the final report for our grant for the series Stories at the River's Edge. Because of her efforts, the series was very successful. She is quite a woman, an organizer with a creative streak that reveals itself in storytelling. We talked about stories, how they connect us with people, what they mean. We plan to do the series again next year. With Donna involved, I know it'll be a success again.

Writing: After such an evening, here I am at the computer, trying to capture the best of a very good evening. My full-time job is demanding, but knowing I can come home to good friends, a lonesome ridge, and a loving man makes it all worthwhile.

If only it would flood, or trees fall and block the road so I can stay home tomorrow! But a woman can't have everything, and I'm happy to take what I got tonight.