Polka-dot gift bags with crinkly tissue paper lined the table as a giant balloon in the shape of the numeral “9” swayed under the air-conditioned breeze just enough to elicit excited barks from our Golden Retriever puppy, Autumn. Atop the “Happy Birthday” paper plates enveloped in pastel hues and dotted with confetti was a slice […]
Personal Stories
The Journey is Important
Stories of my relatives, their neighbors and friends have always been a part of my world. Often thestories were humorous or awe-inspiring but always, they were instructional. Often, I’d ask individuals inmy classes or otherwise encountered, “what’s your story?” hoping they would share something beyondtheir name, professional position and the other niceties that tell you […]
How Video Moves Us
It’s weird how things happen in bunches. I spent time the other day talking with Whitney about her work with Sacred Stories. That evening I got a notification from my Google Photos with the “ 4 years ago today” pop-up. Four years ago, my mom was at our house for dinner, and, after dinner, I […]
“Listen More Closely To Their Stories”
I am in the process of losing my only remaining grandparent. To me, it’s a lot like losing some of the last remaining bits of my childhood. The memories of spending time at a grandparent’s home, with all the different and old-fashioned ways they lived start to fade into the recesses of our minds. My […]
Ham for the Holidays
I am fascinated by poets and always have been. They seem to effortlessly paint a reality with the stroke of a word. An award-winning poet named Muriel Ruykeser once said, “The world is not made of atoms. It is made of stories.” When Whitney asked me to write a blog for Sacred Stories, one of […]