In which I learn important farming skills by telling an old folktale


On alternate Sundays mornings, I spend several hours at the radio station, broadcasting an eclectic mix of storytelling and world music as a host of the program Global Griot. (A "griot" is a storyteller).

Some days, I base my show on a theme. Other days, like today, I just share stories that get stuck in my head (like an earworm...but much longer and harder to explain to non-storytellers)

I learned the story "Sleeping While the Wind Blows" late last year, when Jim and I were looking at farmland and realizing that we might actually be able to buy the farm of our dreams...which, obviously, we did!

I told the story a lot last winter while we were waiting for the banks to do whatever it is that banks do. I wrote it down and sent it to people.

And then...I forgot about it.

Last week, when the rain was pelting down and the wind was gusting hugely, I remembered the story, and haven't been able to stop telling it. So, I told it on the radio this morning!

Now it's your turn to learn some important farming skills, by way of an old, old story.

Click to play:


If the player (above) doesn't work, you can access the story directly here.

Sleep well, friends. Life is good!

Comments

  1. That's a great story, and you have a lovely reading voice.

    Nancy in Iowa

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  2. Ditto. I really enjoyed both the story and your voice! Well done.
    ~DD

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  3. Thanks, y'all.

    I don't actually READ the stories...if you could see me while I'm doing the recording, all you would see is me looking out the window of my office at the clouds blowing around on the mountain.

    No book, no script, nothin'!

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  5. Reading? We don' need no stinkin' reading! LOL

    @Mom L, et BHG, While some stories come from books, many come from recordings or hearing other storytellers. This story Aarene picked up from a "friend of a friend".

    Whoops, the cat is out of the bag; there are folks out here who still tell stories, perform stories, practice stories without referring to books. In fact, there's even storytelling in Iowa! =D Here's a link to the Northlands Storytelling Network (http://www.northlands.net/), the guild for Mom L's region, and another for Tellabration!, the international festival of storytelling (http://www.tellabration.org/), happening this month at a venue near you. Maybe, if I wheedle enough, AareneX will do a post about our storytelling adventures.

    JoyIse: the rapture you get from telling a well-told tale.

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