A Family, A Community

 

The end of last month (June, 2012) a magical place was discovered along the Ohio River, just south of Cincinnati in Covington, KY.  A hollow tree?  A magic carpet?  A cottage in the woods?  No, a riverfront hotel where the keepers of story and stories came together for almost a week of fun, frolic, telling, listening, sharing, hugging, meeting, greeting, reminiscing.  It was the NSN (National Storytelling Network) Conference to Remember.

Two years ago, for the first time, I attended the NSN Conference in another magical place not too far from the Pacific Ocean – northern LA area.  I went knowing very few people.  I met storytellers from all over, I made new friends, I told some stories, I listened a lot, I stretched and grew and grew, and continued stretching and growing once I left that magical place by the sea.

What a journey it has been.  With breath-taking stops in other magical places - several places in Florida, Abilene, San Antonio, Albany and Lake Geneva - along with hours of writing; so I signed up for another magical ride.  And now I know who my Community is. I know where to find them. I know how to achieve my goals. I am full to the brim with the Joy of Story and Storytelling friends.  And to top it all off, I felt as if I had gone home when I arrived across the River from Cincinnati.  My Family was waiting, welcoming me with open arms.

         

  Here, in no particular order, are a few of the people who have touched my life so positively in the last two years.  Thank you to them and to the others who are not pictured here.  All these beautiful pictures were taken by Paul Porter at that Magical Place on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.  Thank you, Paul, for allowing me to share them with others.

Clockwise from the top David Claunch, Jim May, Noa Baum with Loren Neimi in the background, Lyn Ford, Charlotte Blake-Alston, Cathryn Fairlee, Mary Grace Ketner, Elizabeth Ellis and Megan Hicks just below.