What’s Going On
Marie and I will attend her 40th High School Reunion this weekend. You may remember, when she and I attended my 52nd reunion a few months ago, I got a t-shirt and we both got Covid.
Other than that I’m working on crafting and rehearsing
Speaking Truth to Power
Stories of Moses
National Storytelling Festival
Friday, October 7th through Sunday the 9th
Some of the world’s greatest storytellers come to the tiny town of Jonesborough, TN and mesmerize audiences of all ages. Hosted by the International Storytelling Center, it’s an event that belongs on your bucket list. Marie and I will be there. We’ve been tent hosts for years and we look forward to welcoming you to this delightful community.
“Every great love starts with a great story…” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
Featured Storyteller
Before Steve retired in 2013 his career was primarily in educational technology. He came to Richmond in 1990 to be the director of Academic Campus computing at VCU. He went on to be CIO at Randolph Macon College and then went into the business world starting an educational software company.
Since his retirement he volunteers in organizations that strive to create social justice in RVA. He has been an avid storytelling listener! Check out his stories here.
The Stories We Tell
The last two Saturday nights, Marie and I sat in a darkened theatre and watched Mathew Lopez’s The Inheritance, Parts I & II. Each evening was composed of three acts lasting approximately 55 minutes each with 10-minute intermissions. Do the math, that was over six hours. And yet the time flew buy.
I was engaged, almost to the point of being mesmerized. The performances, and the stories kept me rapt and yet all the way to the end of the 5th act, I was wondering why was I there?
And then it dawned on me. I was watching a creation narrative. A myth of sorts. The play followed a community of gay men in New York as they told the story of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s all the way up to the Trump years.
The Big question was what does it mean to be a gay man. And what is the gay community’s responsibility to each other? What do the older men owe to the younger generations? And maybe even vice versa.
The two nights were joyous for both Marie and me. Not because the material was lighthearted or amusing. There was laughter, but both evenings were heavy affairs. But, we were thrilled to be in a theater again. To see old friends and to renew acquaintances. The delight of the unexpected as I ran into young actors I knew when I made my living in the theatre. I was surprised to see their hair was gray. I was reminded I am now an “old man.”
And I found myself asking what does it mean to be a man in today’s world? Straight, or gay?
The next morning, the New York Times magazine’s men’s fashion edition highlighted young, gay, black men and I was once again faced with the issues of sex, gender, race, and identity.
What does it mean to be a black man? A white man? Asian, Native American, Hispanic? Heterosexual, homosexual, trans? Citizen? Immigrant? And what responsibilities do I have to my fellow man?
I go to the theatre to be transfixed, to undergo catharsis. To open my heart and my mind. To share a communal experience.
It’s the same reason I tell my stories and crave the stories of friends, and strangers.
People in a place with a problem and progress are the elements necessary for a story. I wasn’t conscious I had a problem, but after seeing this astounding play I am aware that men, young and old, are facing an existential earthquake. Our cultural roles are evolving. The expectations of society are changing. We’re telling and being told new stories about what it means to be men.
I don’t have an answer that I can reel off, but I’m reminded of Former Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s response when he was asked to define pornography. He said,
“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it…”
I cannot, at this moment, intelligibly define what it is to be a man, but I know one when I see one. The strongest examples I have are my father, the headmaster of my elementary school, Aubrey Gill, and my high school Principal, Air Force General Bill Brock.
I’m going to spend some time exploring this concept.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Until then, I leave you with one of my favorite sentiments; A man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.
I’d Love to Hear from You
I look forward to your thoughts on what does it mean to be a man.
Til next time,
Gayle Turner
Executive Producer