Included Below: Find the Funny / Imprinting / Let’s Not Be Kidding / Sedaris / Stories We Don’t Tell. Click HERE for further information about this newsletter. To those from before and those who are new-
I. WELCOME!
Finding the funny.
I’ve been doing a lot of flying lately. It has been a few years and so I guess I decided to go all in again. It’s been mostly fine. Passengers can be real jerks when they want to be. The cabin crew and people working at the airlines seem over it, and frankly I don’t blame them. People can be awful.
I was on a flight from Ottawa to the Island Airport in Toronto. A short flight, there’s barely enough time in the air for them to offer us drinks. But, they sneak it in. I ordered a water and the person sitting next to me also got a water with the addition of a glass of wine. My seat mate unhooked the small table located on the back of the seat in front of them. On the table was a rounded circular groove designed to hold your drink in place and stop it from falling off the table.
You probably know where I’m going with this.
The cabin crew member handed the bottle of water and glass of wine to my seat mate. They proceeded to place the sealed bottle of water in the grooved cup holder area and the glass of wine alone on the table, where it would not be for long. Unencumbered by grooves or cup holders and free to slide anywhere, the glass of wine immediately decided it wanted to slide off the table and on to my lap, soaking my entire right leg and shoe right through to my sock. And the airline must have bought the stinkiest type of wine available on the market today.
Of course, the seat mate apologized profusely. I just said, “It’s okay, it happens.” I really was quite mad because now what do I do? I just have to sit there covered in wine. We’re 10,000 feet in the air. Perhaps I should have yelled or screamed, but that’s not me. It’s done, and no amount of yelling was going to dry out my jeans. She did start to try to say it wasn’t her fault, it was the table’s fault. Good thing the member of the cabin crew came by and offered to move me to a seat that wasn’t drenched with wine. I didn’t have it in me to get into an argument over whether it was my seat mate’s fault or the table’s fault.
Yes, I was pretty mad, but we were landing soon and I was immediately going home. Sure, if this was the seven hour flight to Copenhagen I was on last month, my reaction might have been different. As you’ll see below, it helps to find the funny. My anger was curbed because I was a bit stumped as to what to write about on my newsletter for this month. It was like my seat mate knew I needed something and figured spilling a glass of wine on me might be a good way to practice finding the funny. So, really, if you think about it, she was doing me a favour.
The funny is there, sometimes you just need to look a bit harder.
Q - How do you find the funny?
II. TALES FROM THE DREAM ROOM
Each month welcomes an exclusive excerpt of a story from a parallel world.
The Dream Room is a place that where everything is interconnected. The sights and sounds and people that inhabit this world feel familiar. The tales pulled from the Dream Room are sometimes true and sometimes fiction, they may scare you or make you laugh.
Now it’s becoming a series of novels. Every month this section will include an excerpt from a work in progress of the first volume in the Dream Room Series. The Dream Room is a place not to be taken lightly and if you’re ready to enter, read below and click on the link for the full story.
IMPRINTING: Blair had a connection to the trees, felt a comfort amongst them. The environment, any environment, can be hostile and dangerous depending on your situation, knowledge, and familiarity with it. Blair thrived out here in Pine Forest. Throw her into an alleyway in Skyline City, she’d be lost. At least at first. Blair was a quick study. She held a deep intellect, robust intuition, insatiable curiosity, and elite observational skills. These are all things that her grandfather helped her develop, but there was one thing that no one knew about, something she kept to herself because it was confusing at times.
Imprinting. Or at least that’s what she called it. Similar to a photographic memory, there were two key differences: the ability to map out and retain an environment spatially, and a sense of shifting her perspective.
Read the entire excerpt at this link.
Q - When was the last time you went for a walk in the woods?
III. PAUL’S PICKS
A recommendation of something watched, read, or listened to.
As I’ve documented on this newsletter before, getting older sucks. Experiencing a loved one getting older sucks even more. I know not everyone is close with their parents, but I feel very fortunate that I have a great relationship with my mother. She’s had a lot of changes in her life over the last few years and I’m doing my best to support her, with varying degrees of success. Some things are harder then others, but we have a good time together and try to find the humour in any given situation.
I’m not dealing with what Gavin Crawford is on his podcast, Let’s Not Be Kidding, but a lot of the conversations and stories on the show definitely resonated with me. Especially about trying to find the funny in some very dark places. Life is hard, getting older sucks. Crying and being sad is a healthy response, but we can’t forget about laughing and finding joy.
Here’s what the podcast is about:
If laughter really was the best medicine, Gavin Crawford would have cured his mother of Alzheimer’s disease. As a son, his mother’s dementia has been devastating. As a comedian though… it’s been sort of funny. Honestly, how do you respond when your mom confuses you with her teenage crush and wants you to take her to the high-school dance? Well, you laugh. Because it’s the only thing you can do.
In this seven-part series, Gavin tells the story of losing his mother — his best friend and the inspiration for a lot of his comedy — to a disease that can be heartbreaking, but sometimes also hilarious. He’s joined by comedian friends who share their experience caring for family members with dementia. The result is a cross between an improv act and a support group. Part memoir, part stand-up, part meditation on grief and loss, Let’s Not Be Kidding is a dose of the very best medicine for anyone dealing with hard times. ——— Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get podcasts.
Q - Listening to any good podcasts?
IV. FROM THE ARCHIVES
An old story from my blog brought to you in a new way.
A few weeks ago, I went to see David Sedaris in person. If you don’t know who that is, I can’t help you. He was coming to Toronto to perform and I was having a difficult time deciding if I should go or not. In the end, the show was right after a big event I was organizing and felt compelled to treat myself.
Sedaris is one of my heroes. Essentially, for better or worse, depending on your opinion of my work, he is one of the reasons that I do what I do. If you saw me perform at a storytelling event, you’d know what I mean. I adopted a similar style and made my own, or I at least would like to think I have. Basically, a persona that says, “Why are you laughing, I am trying to be serious here.”
Read the whole story at this link.
Q - When was a time where you were publicly embarrassed?
V. WATCH, LISTEN, READ, OR DO
Something to take with you.
We did it! We made it through a season of Stories We Don’t Tell live events. I’ll be honest, this time last year I might’ve had my doubts. But we picked up where we left off and people came - both as storytellers and in the audience. It’s pretty great that even after having to take a few years off, people not only remembered us, but embraced and welcomed us back with open arms.
We’re taking a summer vacation, but will still be doing things during the break. Here are some ways to keep engaging with our work:
SWDT Podcast (new episodes coming this summer).
Extra special thanks to all our storytellers, audience members, and our incredible hosts. We couldn’t do the shows without you all! See you in the Fall!
Q - Any recommendations for shows this summer?
You’ve probably noticed that I’ve included a question at the end of each section. No, this isn’t required homework. However, if you are compelled to write to me with your thoughts, I would love to hear from you. Who knows, I might even share some of the answers in future newsletters (anonymously, of course). Email me here: jpd@pauldore.com.
May 2023 Edition: Record Keeping / Gimme a Break / Biography of X / Archives / Tune In.