At that concert the other night I heard a very philosophical quote -- well, philosophical in the way I see things as philosophical (read: more imaginative than anything else):
If you want a man to know the truth: tell him. If you want a man to love the truth: tell him a story.
It's an interesting quote, one with more than a kernel of truth. Simple statements of fact do little to influence lives. The telling of stories is an antediluvian way to pass on truth. Sometimes we don't have time for stories and that's unfortunate: "Just the facts, ma'am". But it's stories that change how we live and how we view the world around us, whether the stories are true or not. There is something transcendent in a simple story.
So when I think of the telling of stories I think of them like I think of bed-time stories. In fact, that's one thing I'm excited about doing with my kids -- the making up and telling of stories. Stories tuck us in when we hear them, even if they're upsetting stories -- we're glad we heard them.
My uncle, when he would call us as kids, would always ask us for stories ("fish stories" he called them, ironic because he would always call from sea).
I never had one. Perhaps I've got a few now. Perhaps I don't.
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11 comments:
This would a great set-up to the movie "Big Fish", perhaps one of my favorite movies of all time.
Yes...didn't think of that...but you're right -- perfect set-up and I missed it. It's been awhile since I've seen that flick but it fits into my top 10 all-time, if not top-5.
Man -- great film -- great Vedder song too!
Your uncle wanted to hear you tell him 'sea stories,' only because he wanted to tell you guys some of his adventures in his ports of many call...and some of them were really interesting especially the one about Mr. J Daniels.
you can tell your kids about the time Anthony almost killed you in the Crispin Bowl.
Greetings from SC.
Anthony didn't almost kill me in the Crispin bowl II, I torched him!
Also, I never had stories but uncle D. never told me any stories either -- at least none I can remember -- except the one's about how he bribed people with cigs and soda
Oh, that story...a bit toned down
yeah...I'd like the unedited version myself at somepoint -- soda? whatever.
As an occasional reader of this blog and its comments, I find a recent posting rather odd.
My many overseas travels these days take me into countries that are third world hellholes. Countries that perhaps some of your readers have only visited while attending the movies or engaged in a novel. Perhaps a reader or two may have visited one or two of these third world countries and was very well protected. That was never the case or is presently the case in my situation.
The idea that providing a person with a token of their appreciation can be considered as unseemly is naive.
That token may have been given as a result of a job well done. That token may have been given as a result of going far beyond their job requirements. There are a variety of reasons as to why a small token of appreciation can be given.
Lastly, that token may have been given as a result of preventing someone from getting killed.
A word like bribe appears to a casual reader as someone connected to the mob. I suspect that is not the case in this situation. Perhaps the sharing of stories may have been the minor mistake made. Activities engaged in while outside the country are best kept to onself. The risk is having them misunderstood and shared with the world in the form of a novel, blog or otherwise.
A conspiracy theorist among us..quick run!
A bit off topic but who cares.
Here is an interesting link to a series of articles about the subject of home mortgages.
Save the link, print out the articles. For you first time home buyers or soon to be these articles are helpful.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RogerSchlesinger
Alas, one of the downfalls of the internet...the word bribe can not be uttered because the wink of one's eye cannot be detected. Perhaps this should cause me to refine my techniques slightly and choose my words more carefully. However, "bribe" does make for a more interesting story upon first glance than token.
But your point is taken.
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