stories
I was just in bed thinking after my nap, and I realized something fun.
Part one: In my lame as a duck with its head in a plastic 6-pack holder BB H class we had to make a list of the things that we look for in a sexual partner on one side of a piece of paper and the gender of the person on the other. I, of course, hated this. However, this is not the point. The point is that I think I actually put witty as a qualification for my attraction to a person. And I don't mean this with strictly sexual partners. It's true for every kind of attraction. I enjoy a sharp wit. This is not the point. But wit has a lot to do with the point.
Part two: Here we come to the point. Stories. It occurred to me as I was in bed there that all the favorite people in my life tell awesome fucking stories (true mostly, but also fiction). My father is the original story teller in my life. And he laughs when he tells stories and he smiles and he can make fun of himself when it is called for. When I met Tal he had tales of other countries and college life. He always seemed both aware of the listener and lost in the story at the same time. And now there are people like Bret, Morgan, John, Jesse, Carisa, Cliff, Kate and a slew of others (most of my friends really, but these people have told me stories most recently). And they tell amazing stories. I love Kate's stories for a lot of reasons, but one is detail. She never leaves a thing out. If the story happened on a couch and not a bed, then you'll know it. If it was a Tuesday and not a Thursday then you will know it. There is a timeline for everything. Bret is animated beyond belief. I imagine he gets a lot of rest when he is resting. John moves his hands and his face in ways that make every story even better than the content would have it be. Carisa describes the people in the story every time she tells the story even if she already described them in another story and every time she does this you learn something new about a person you have never met. Cliff always seems amazed by everything that has happened. Morgan talks with her hands and has amazing inflection. And Jesse, well he's a born story teller. It's in his eyes though mostly. And how exciting everything sounds even if you don't know anyone else he is talking about. You always wish you could have been there. And then there are a slew of other people like Dave who wrote a book and it is an honest book. And Cassie who relates all kinds of little stories in a very casual and "well you just need to know" kind of a way. And you do need to know because you love her.
My Mom will repeat herself a lot and she says "so" a lot. And it is cute. And every one of these people has phrases that they use that no one else ever says. Like "We had a ______ kind of a situation." Or some such thing.
And so I realized that one of the traits I seem to value most in people is their ability to talk about their lives like they are great adventures even if what they are talking about is really something rather common. I love story tellers. Both as friends and lovers.
And then there is me and I am a poet. And I write a lot about these people who tell stories and I turn their storytelling into stories about their stories which is really all the story of my life and their parts in it.
So stories. Indeed.
Part one: In my lame as a duck with its head in a plastic 6-pack holder BB H class we had to make a list of the things that we look for in a sexual partner on one side of a piece of paper and the gender of the person on the other. I, of course, hated this. However, this is not the point. The point is that I think I actually put witty as a qualification for my attraction to a person. And I don't mean this with strictly sexual partners. It's true for every kind of attraction. I enjoy a sharp wit. This is not the point. But wit has a lot to do with the point.
Part two: Here we come to the point. Stories. It occurred to me as I was in bed there that all the favorite people in my life tell awesome fucking stories (true mostly, but also fiction). My father is the original story teller in my life. And he laughs when he tells stories and he smiles and he can make fun of himself when it is called for. When I met Tal he had tales of other countries and college life. He always seemed both aware of the listener and lost in the story at the same time. And now there are people like Bret, Morgan, John, Jesse, Carisa, Cliff, Kate and a slew of others (most of my friends really, but these people have told me stories most recently). And they tell amazing stories. I love Kate's stories for a lot of reasons, but one is detail. She never leaves a thing out. If the story happened on a couch and not a bed, then you'll know it. If it was a Tuesday and not a Thursday then you will know it. There is a timeline for everything. Bret is animated beyond belief. I imagine he gets a lot of rest when he is resting. John moves his hands and his face in ways that make every story even better than the content would have it be. Carisa describes the people in the story every time she tells the story even if she already described them in another story and every time she does this you learn something new about a person you have never met. Cliff always seems amazed by everything that has happened. Morgan talks with her hands and has amazing inflection. And Jesse, well he's a born story teller. It's in his eyes though mostly. And how exciting everything sounds even if you don't know anyone else he is talking about. You always wish you could have been there. And then there are a slew of other people like Dave who wrote a book and it is an honest book. And Cassie who relates all kinds of little stories in a very casual and "well you just need to know" kind of a way. And you do need to know because you love her.
My Mom will repeat herself a lot and she says "so" a lot. And it is cute. And every one of these people has phrases that they use that no one else ever says. Like "We had a ______ kind of a situation." Or some such thing.
And so I realized that one of the traits I seem to value most in people is their ability to talk about their lives like they are great adventures even if what they are talking about is really something rather common. I love story tellers. Both as friends and lovers.
And then there is me and I am a poet. And I write a lot about these people who tell stories and I turn their storytelling into stories about their stories which is really all the story of my life and their parts in it.
So stories. Indeed.