Tell Me Your Story
And I'll Tell You Mine
“Wow, you really seem to like doing this,” my host says to me after my talk on The Nepal Chronicles at the summit of Mount Prospect in Weeks State Park. I had just finished a little meet and greet session with attendees and was packing up.
I was a little worried about this event because it’s been a while since I gave a talk on Nepal. I had to brush up the day before on my program. But it all came back easily!
The Weeks State Park Friends group thought a talk about my marriage in Kathmandu would go over well for their membership and they were right - we had a wonderful, engaged and active crowd. A solid dozen of them had even been to Kathmandu or Base Camp!
“I do like it,” I say. And I miss it since I haven’t been as active about events recently. Upon reflection, I don’t miss the constant travel and the late nights where I was getting home after the ladies were already asleep. I don’t miss that part.
But I like the stories.
My hotel clerk who rode elephants in Thailand and showed me pictures of his family giving a baby elephant a bath.
The couple who couldn’t stop talking about the traffic in Kathmandu.
The woman who worked in emergency services in Nepal villages.
The man who wanted to learn about altitude and how to train for altitude in low elevation.
And the other man who nearly made it to Base Camp but his partner came down with high-altitude pulmonary edema and had to call for a rescue. “We were so close,” he said. “It was nice to finally get there through your talk.”
The thing is, I’m not so interested in politicians or celebrities, because they get asked to tell their stories all the time. Normal people don’t. But they all have stories, some have incredible stories. And I’m so curious about them. And I’ve found that if you just ask them, and then shut up and listen, they’ll tell you.
I’m so lucky to have two careers I love. When I’m in my library, I miss life like this on the road. And when I’m on the road, I miss my patrons and my library. Who can say that?
Both are about stories, I guess, in person and between the pages. So I’ll keep telling them, and I’ll keep listening, and you keep reading, ok? Sound good?
Thanks to everyone who came up the mountain with me and I know some of you are right here in this community. And welcome to all our new members who came over from that talk. Have a look around, all our archives are free. As always, I appreciate the chance to tell you my stories and I’ll always be interested in yours. On we go!
I couldn't agree more about the importance of story!