My First Attempts at Telling Stories

“We live by stories. It’s the principle by which we organize our experience and thus derive our sense of who we are.” - Tobias Wolff

I’ve been interested in storytelling since I was very young. I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I was growing up I kept trying to tell stories of one kind or another. I just wasn’t very good at it.

One day, when I was around eight or nine years old, I was playing with my neighborhood friends. We were in the backyard of one kid’s place doing typical kid stuff. We got bored. I decided to tell a story. I had been listening to an LP story book of one my favorite TV shows at the time, Daniel Boone. Yeah, I’m old. So anyway, I decided to tell a spy adventure story. The set up went well. Adventure Team GI Joe (like I said, old!) on a secret mission all decked out in his spy gear. Dark alleys, fog, mysterious doorways. The sound of footsteps echoing. He’s being followed! When I began I had their rapt attention. I completely lost it within a few minutes. I had no idea what was going to happen next. Suddenly we’re all playing on the swings.

My next step was...puppet theater! I was in Germany visiting relatives. I had a collection of hand puppets so to keep myself occupied I put on a puppet show for my mother and aunt. I don’t remember anything about the story I told, I just remember that I came up with an adventure that included parts for every puppet, two puppets at a time.   

My stage was the back of a couch. My mother and my aunt sat in chairs facing the couch. I was behind the couch holding up the puppets just above the back. The first show was a resounding success. The second show, not so much. I didn’t come up with anything new. Just jumped in and found myself rehashing my previous performance. A few minutes in and I could tell that I was losing my audience. There was no third show.

Another summer, another visit to Germany to visit relatives. Once again I was looking for something to do. This was pre-internet and pre-video games. I decided that I wanted to create a comic book. Another one of my favorite TV shows at the time was The Wild Wild West. I came up with a character, a sheriff. He was easy to draw, get this...he was in the the shape of a star. I did a bunch of sketches. The only other character that I came up with was a villain.  He was also in the shape of a star. Hey, I was kid. The creation of a logical universe was the last thing on my mind. I sure was having fun though. I also had BIG plans. I would write and draw his adventures and then sell the comics to the kids in my neighborhood. You know how kids set up lemonade stands? Do kids still do that? Probably not. My plan was to set up a comic book stand on the sidewalk in front of our house and just let the sales pour in. When we got home my plans were quickly forgotten.

Years later I was in Germany again. This time as a university student for a three week study tour. One day the other students, the professor, and myself were all sitting around a table having lunch. My memory is hazy but I think we were sharing stories about crazy things we’ve done. I start telling my story. Everyone is focused on me. I get to certain point and as I pause someone says “And then?” I keep going and each time I pause “And then?!’ gets louder and more animated. I get to the end and everyone is laughing. That experience really stuck with me over the years. It was so much fun. I'd like to recapture that feeling.

Next: A Time When I Was Deeply Embarrassed