Tell Me Something Good
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The Healing Power of Myth by Maya Jones
Recently my grandson, Lukas, asked me for a story about a search for a golden baseball. It came out of the blue while we were sharing a snack at the kitchen counter. Immediately it resonated with me – I knew this would be an important epic story that could help bring healing to our family…
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Where Were We Going? by Sally Borg
I have a photo of my two older sisters and two younger brothers and I, sitting on a bench seat in the back of a big boat, as we headed out from our little fishing resort on the Rainy River , in northern Minnesota , to the lake. Several years ago, I made 8×10…
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Rear View Mirror Stories by Sandi Howlett
When does a personal story begin? A story may ‘appear’ to begin in present time but more often is ‘realized’ in the rear view mirror of life. This happens when we share an experience with another person, get a response and are encouraged to continue to share it with others, usually adding details. It is often in the…
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Music Hath Charms by Mark Goldman
Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast…and it has the ability to trigger very sharp memories, the places where stories can be born. Sometimes, there is more than just one memory. When I hear “Georgy Girl", it triggers two very distinct recollections of different times in my life. My best friend and I were walking our dates home…
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Not Quite Apocalypse Now by Clem Condon
“Smell that? You smell that? Nothing in the world smells like that.” I love the smell of diesel fuel in the morning. In 1958 my dad bought two 560 International Diesel tractors. Neighbors and farmers from the surrounding areas came over to see them. They were the new things to farming. Nobody at that time had diesel engines in…
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Loafing by Amy Bird
I just tried “loafing,” as recommended by Jack Maguire at the end of Chapter 4 in The Power of Personal Storytelling. I think I’m a natural. One thing I discovered right away is how I access memories. A prompt like “I am nine years old” brings up nothing…
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Breton “Pardons” by Cheryl Rutherford
“Pardons” are Breton religious ceremonies and Pilgrimages. These Pardons have been called the last vestiges of the “Feast of the Dead.“ The faithful go on a pilgrimage to either the tomb of a Saint or a place dedicated to a Saint, sometimes associated with miraculous appearances or holy relics of saints. There are five major…
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The Story of Babushka: A Christmas Folktale? by Andrea Coulter
When researching this folktale I found that the word Babushka has more than one meaning: a woman's scarf, often triangular, used as a hood with two of the ends tied under the chin, or an elderly Russian woman, especially an elderly grandmother. It is pronounced “bah-BOOSH-kah,” It is believed that the story of Babushka is not a Russian…
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Russian Easter by Andrea Coulter
Easter is the most important holiday in the Russian Orthodox Church. During the Easter celebration Russian’s eat Paskha which is a meal made from sweet cottage cheese which is usually eaten at breakfast; breakfast is an important ritual because it brings the family members together. Another important ritual is the Easter egg; they show a symbol…
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Christmas in Russa by Andrea Coulter
Christmas in Russia is most widely celebrated on January 7th, according to the Orthodox calendar. Some Russians observe two Christmases the first on December 25th and the second on January 7th. The Russian Santa Claus is named Ded Moroz, or Father Frost. He brings presents to children to place under the New Year's tree. He carries…
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The Appalachian Mountains by Mark Compton
The Appalachian Mountains run from the state of Maine down south to Alabama, although the tales and folklore which have become very popular and are attributed to Appalachian culture come mostly from the southern parts of the mountain region. It is the southern region that has kept its older ways, more so than in the…
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Jack Tales by Mark Compton
Jack Tales are perhaps the most well known stories to come from Appalachian culture. They are considered wonder tales and derive from an old Germanic oral narrative tradition used for the education of princes. Like many cultural traditions in the Appalachian Mountains today, these stories were close to the hearts of the earliest emigrants who came…