Storytelling
I tell stories at various venues around town. Oh, how I love public speaking, the science and stress of it. You're familiar with The Moth; these are local platforms which do much the same (without the annoyance of rating people and their stories!). Below are several highlights you might enjoy. Some of them have to do with bus life, and some don't. Some are funny, and some are sad, but I think you'll find them all engaging. Enjoy, and check back for more!
The TED Talk
Why talking to strangers might be a good idea, and what they offer us that friends can't.
The Cat Speech
I'm not a cat person. But I had to catsit, in a luxury apartment downtown. Here's what happened.
Greenwood Book Talk
Nathan Vass and Tom Eykemans chat it up, tell stories, read from the book and answer a host of interesting questions at the Greenwood Senior Center.
The Bus Fight Speech
Most of the time people on my bus are wonderful. Other times, they just beat each other up. This is the kind of story you can't make up [update to the story's main character here]:
The Car Accident Speech
It almost didn't happen this way. But I'm so glad it did. These are the people I learn from.
The Leroy Speech
A little more on how I met Leroy, whom you know from The Seattle Times article.
The Birthday Speech
I never have birthday parties. This was advertised as my "first and last birthday party" (my Thirtieth), and we went all out: it was held on the roof of a one of the high-rise condo buildings downtown, and featured the most delightfully wide-ranging mix of a couple hundred people I could imagine. More on that day here; below is a story where I try to express thanks for how my friends helped me during my time in Paris.
The Blindfold Gallery Speech
Artists give artist talks at galleries all the time. But they don't give gallery talks about bus stuff, or reminisce lovingly on street anecdotes featuring enormous amounts of profanity. I thought I'd fill that void, at my 2013 solo show at Blindfold:
