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| Thomas Ralph and Esther P |
The crowd was filled with natural storytellers. Michael Mack told a story of mischief that started with an innocent buzz and the desire to share his knowledge of military jets with a young boy, and ended in a very long evening spent in military police detention. Hilary Collins-Patrick related how her neglect to pay for Christmas decorations lead her to pursue a college career - at Harvard. And, Marc Eichler, a former co-worker and friend of mine, was voted "audience choice" after he told a tale of shoplifting involving a cucumber that left the adult crowd with a renewed appreciation for the many uses of produce.
Helena Leet-Pellegrini and Libby Franck, however, stole the show with their stories of personal involvement in court proceedings. Second Place winner, Libby Franck, told the story of how her witness testimony helped her friend gain full legal custody of his young son after she repeated the words she heard on her porch, "I am a wonderful actress. Now the war begins!" And, the last teller of the evening, Helena Leet-Pellegrini, took First Place for her story that started with a simple traffic offense and ended with her explaining an arrest warrant to her probation officer. Every story celebrated the many ways that the legal system touches us all, from jury duty to custody disputes, to guilty pleas, and I felt grateful to the co-founders of massmouth, Andrea Lovett and Norah Dooley, for giving me the opportunity to meld my two lives and find joy in the process.
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| We turned people away from a packed room listening to Nicolette Heavey |
To view any of these five minute stories, and more, visit the Video page at http://www.massmouth.com/ and prepare to be entertained!
