The Moth Storytelling

The Moth is a storytelling podcast I have listened to for a while.  One of the events under its jurisdiction is the curiously capitalized StorySLAM in which volunteers tell five-minute stories on a certain theme.  Last night was the second of three scheduled StorySLAMs in New Orleans.  I missed the first (on the topic of "Firsts") but caught last night's slate of stories about "Scars."  I frankly didn't know what to expect because the podcast is curated pretty well but the live show would be folks off the street volunteering to share with the audience.  It turned out very well!  There were ten storytellers and an encouraging diversity in styles and tones.  We heard from the guy who was arrested in '91 in California with a heap of drugs, the guy with the bullying older brother and the lawnmower accident, the medical student who changed paths because of a bike accident, the archaeology dig that led to a journalism career, and the cab driver who survived a carjacking.  Although some of the stories had little to do with the theme, they were all interesting.  And the MC, Peter Aguero, was just top notch.  I look forward to going again.

In other news, it got cold.  Real cold.  High of 72 yesterday, high of 54 today.  I walked around last night as it got dark and the arctic air blew in.  I don't miss snow, but I do like good brisk walking weather.