Your Story is "Gift" Enough

By Owen Grey

massmouth packed the big back room of Doyle's Cafe in JP on Sunday, December 11, 2011, for the “Gifts” Story Slam. Robin Maxfield took the mic and introduced our special guest, Michele Carlo, a storyteller who has performed on The MOTH’s Mainstage as well as in the Grand Slams.

Each story was itself a gift. A lot of first time tellers put their names in the hat for this slam. Some were first time ever tellers and tellers telling for the first time this season. I was happy to see so many new people taking the stage and sharing their stories. All were well received. In fact the Story Slam winner was a first time ever teller.

We all have doubts about the work that we do and whether what we are doing makes a difference. First time ever teller Claudia Dunne knows that all too well as a social worker working with young offenders. “Christmas is a big deal for these kids,” she told us. “Each year they asked for volunteers to work on Christmas and all of volunteered.” She talked about the kids whose families came, those who knew their families wouldn't be coming, and the saddest, those kids who hoped that their families would come but never did.

One day she found one of the kids carrying a small jigsaw puzzle she had given him. When she asked him why he carried it, she learned that that had been the kid's best Christmas ever. He gave her a great gift in turn. He told her that her work did mean something.

During a surgical residency, Abisheck Shah talked with a colleague about how he met his wife. For her birthday this man sent her 22 gifts and each was numbered. The first gift was a photograph from when she was born. Each gift in succession told the story of her life. The final gift was an address. The woman went to the address and there was this man. “The final gift is me, if you will have me. Will you marry me?” From this man's story, Abisheck learned how gifts can speak louder than words.

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Michele Carlo told her story in three parts. On Christmas Eve her mother sent her on an errand that no one wants to run – especially not a 14-year-old girl – to buy Kotex. Returning from the store, she saw the two boys she had crushes on. They grabbed the bag from her. Michele chased them. Somehow the bag ended up in the street and was run over by a bus.


She knew that Dennis had seen what was in the bag. She looked at him, afraid of what he was going to say next. “Let us walk you home, Michele.” They walked through the snow and then began throwing snowballs. They fell in the snow, becoming snowballs themselves. Laughing they stood up and both the boys were holding her hands. That night she got the gift of her first kiss.

Dennis and the other boy were shot not long after. Michele went to their funeral and knelt in front of Dennis' casket. Dennis' mother came over and asked her if she knew Dennis well. At that time, Michele could only think to answer, “Yeah, I mean I guess.” Now, years later, she wishes that she had told Dennis's mother what a gentleman Dennis had been, how he had kept her confidence, how he had been a gentleman, and how that would have been the greatest gift she could have given that grieving mother.

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Jackson Gillman told us the etymology of the magic words, “hocus pocus.” Those magic words come from the Roman Catholic Latin liturgy, a mockery of, “Hoc est enim corpus meum.” And the hokey pokey? That comes from hocus pocus. Jackson told us how the hokey pokey due to some mistranslation regained its spiritual dimension when some American Christian pilgrims to India taught their hosts the dance. When the pilgrims asked why their hosts had taken the dance so seriously, the Indians asked, “How could we not? Think of the meaning of the words. I invest my entire being; I withdraw my entire being; I reinvest my entire being; I vibrate through the entire cosmos; this is the essence of it all.” Jackson's story won Audience Choice.

A divorce can be a nightmare but for Beth Jones it was a gift and the start of chain of gifts. After her ex-husband announced he wanted a divorce and refused to talk about it, Beth took the time to explore her interests again and rediscover herself. She learned that she wanted children and began looking for a donor. Beth talked to a friend who had bought donated sperm before meeting the man who would become the father of her children. This friend offered to gift the sperm to Beth and she accepted. Before using the gift, Beth met the man who would become the father of her children and her husband. One day one of Beth's friends came to her, saying she wanted to have a baby. Beth offered to gift the sperm to this friend who then met the man who would become her husband and the father of her children. Beth's story won Second Place.

Scott Schultz's great grandfather promised him a white horse when he was 5 years old. Scott was so excited about the idea of having a horse that that was all he could ever think about when he went to visit his great grandfather. Now, his great grandfather lived in Everett and was raising Cloudy, Scott's horse, in his basement. But, being only five years old, Scott never caught on. Every time he visited, Scott's great grandfather would go into the basement and Cloudy would be too tired to see Scott. Finally after weeks and weeks, Scott's great grandfather said he would get to meet Cloudy. Standing in front of the TV, Scott's great grandfather pointed to the white horse leading the Rose Bowl Parade. “Well, what do you think of Cloudy? The organizer of the Rose Bowl Parade saw Cloudy and bought him. I couldn't turn down that money. That's how I had enough money to pay for this party.” Driving home the day, Scott began crying in the car and told his parents what his great grandfather had done. “Scott, your great grandfather pulled that same horsesh-- on me when I was your age. You can't believe everything he says.” Scott's story won First Place.

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Make story part of your First Night in Boston! Join massmouth at the Hynes Convention Center for two rounds of storytelling. Come tell a story about “The End” or on any theme we have used this season.

Other Upcoming Slams

“Resolution” - Sunday, January 8, 2012 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Doyle's Cafe in JP

“Genesis” - Monday, January 16, 2012 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Club Passim in Cambridge.

“College Daze” - Wednesday, January 31, 2012 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at The Precinct in Somerville.

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Owen Grey has been telling stories his whole life. He has found his home with massmouth and the Greater Boston storytelling community.