Tell Me Again.

I've always liked stories... just not necessarily reading them.

I've been told I'm good at telling them... and bad... that sometimes I talk with my hands (but not as much as my sister)... and I often run off on tangents.  I think that animated people tell them best, and details are essential... and a true gift is when our lives produce stories that are better than the made up...

My mom often listens to books on tape, and for the longest time i've been amused by anyone who has chosen their profession to be that of a professional story teller (how do you get to that point anyway?!?!).  I always wonder about the reader and how he/she decides to differentiate the characters by voice... I mean how long do you suppose they actually spend on figuring those out?  Some of my favorite storytellers (that I know personally) have the gift of character distinguishment in this way, and others (as I mentioned above) by animation. 

I love it when I'm on the side of already having heard a good story and I'm about to hear it be introduced to someone else.  I love watching people's faces when I know a highlight or punch line is coming up.  They are the moments I would bottle up and keep if i could :) I love hearing my closest friends tell stories of their families, weekend memories, work stalkers, great games, memories of us, brilliant ideas, love interests, ice skating with middle school kids, things I swear never happen to me, taking their grandmas to the bathroom, and even on occasion... electricity and magnetism (if it's my dad talking about it, and I just sit back in amazement at the stuff he knows)

I've recently been more intentional with unearthing the treasures that my patients (most of them 60-70+) have tucked away up in their memories.  Most of their stories, no doubt, have been told time and time again... where family members could probably recite them verbatim (don't we all have stories like that from our aged relatives?)... but to new ears, they are fascinating and entertaining.  During the time i've spent at the office, i've interacted with a woman who drove a bookmobile in Atlanta during the civil rights movement, a man who worked on the Detroit CSX railroad for 48 years, listened to a lady's struggle with her bipolar, adult daughter, and the 88 pound, fragile, pistol of a woman who almost married a champion diver 8 years her senior when she was only 17... before he died of an unknown heart condition at 25... I like knowing that our DHL delivery man can't wait to ride his Honda motorcycle this spring...and our FedEx guy has a daughter named emily :)  Some of the smallest stories I am told about, include... Shorty, Bella and Happy... dogs that are well loved (and talked about) by their owners... I look forward to take the Tigers with Clifton, and the Red Wings with Richard... And I loved hearing the story of a Grandpa who is lovingly referred to by his grandchildren as Duke... and therefore, often sports Blue Devil gear when he's in our office... Some of them bring stuff... candies, bananas, movies, books, great smiles, home brewed beer, and even souvenirs for the doctor from their vacations... 

but my favorite are their stories :) 

oh, I'm sorry... I'll be away on business...

Yes, I was a business major in college... And to this day, one of my secret loves that comes with my job, is when I can utter the 5 words... "i'll be away on business"... It makes me feel like a grown up... in a good way.  I like it.  I like just about everything that comes with it... the good, the bad, and the ugly...  

For one, it's a change of pace.   It's different from the monotony that can establish permanent residency in our lives... and often creates opportunity for moments that make you think one of two ways... either, "this is great" or  "did that really just happen?"

you can guess where they fall, in the last  48 hours i've...

packed 5 days into a carry-on. skipped lunch. sat inches from a man for 3 hours and 58 minutes who watched footage from 9/11 on his laptop at 35,000 feet. remembered what 73 degrees feels like. survived another cocktail hour (i hate those). had the option to choose one of two beds. sat on a patio. saw green. slept well. watched my first episode of hannah montana (to connect with my hannah of course). sat through 4 hours of power points (twice). drank coffee (often) with creamer and 2 pumps caramel. heard middle age women complain about being away for valentines day (eye roll). sat pool side with people magazine.  had a mai tai. make that 2. tried spinach soup. missed 5 calls in one hour from the office. took a picture of a cactus. heard an 8 year old cry. read USA today. saw a white escalade. :) . thought about a trip to the spa, saw the prices, quickly forgot. ate valentines candy. had filet mignon. a waiter that looked like joe millionaire. appetizer, salad, meal, AND dessert. heard a man say his grandma referenced his bed as a workbench (she really wanted to be a great-grandma). checked my email. listened to live music. had a doctor from montana tell me "white folk need to reproduce to help prevent us falling to 1/3 the population by 20?? (clearly i was listening well) so we can prevent an act of war", yeah i still don't know. drank wine with 2 women from louisiana. heard one of them use the phrase, " I could sop him up with a biscuit". and I have full intention of bringing it home. got annoyed at the technologically challenged. ate a boxed lunch. sat by a fire. saw a man in a leather trench coat.  heard a family of 5 say, "that must be richard pulling up in THAT car", maybe 6 times. experienced generosity... and i've still got time left.

so maybe now, the not-so-obvious has become a little more clear.  what is not to like about an experience like this?  Especially when you know it ends with going home again :)  sometimes it's good to be forced to have a temporary change from the things in our lives we grow so used to...

but until I get home... I'm still away on business.