Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 400

Speak Up storyteller: Lynelle Abel

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, May 17th at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Doors open at 7:00 PM. The show begins promptly at 8:00 PM.

There are still some tickets available, though we are expecting a sell out, so purchase them now before it’s too late. Tickets available here.

This week we introduce the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
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Lynelle Abel is a blue collar girl at heart and finds that her best stories come from her small town roots. She credits her keen interest in storytelling to her mother and her 7 brothers and sisters. They are the consummate story tellers – and have shaped Lynelle’s life in indescribable ways through their stories of resilience and humor in the face of incredible hardships.

Lynelle is proud of her not so picture perfect childhood – and while she and her husband went through great lengths to provide a more wholesome life for their two sons – she secretly hopes they are creating their own life stories filled with interesting people, happenings and experiences they’ve had along their journey through life. She can’t wait to hear some of their law and order stories when they are ready to disclose them…

Lynelle holds a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational psychology and in her now adult white collar world; works as the director of Volunteer Services for Yale-New Haven Hospital and feels genuinely blessed to witness daily the extraordinary acts of kindness from ordinary people.

Barrier to productivity

My wife sent me a text explaining that she didn’t get as much done as she had hope, and included this photo as a means of explanation.

I’ve been posting productivity tips (which have been surprisingly popular), but to suggest that not having children will make you more productive seems too obvious to mention.

The Patriots new jersey guarantee highlights the struggles of NFL players

There’s no greater testament to the fragile nature of job security in the National Football League than this offer from the Patriots Pro Shop.

Speak Up storyteller: Angela Lovell

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, May 17th at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Doors open at 7:00 PM. The show begins promptly at 8:00 PM.

There are still some tickets available, though we are expecting a sell out, so purchase them now before it’s too late. Tickets available here.

This week we introduce the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
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Angela Lovell is an award-winning playwright, director, screenwriter, podcaster, and storyteller. She’s written for MTV, several independent film studios and publications ranging from Match.com to High Times. She’s taken first place at The Moth’s NYC StorySLAM and performs regularly with Mortified (GetMortified.com). She was a finalist at Literary Death Match in NYC, The L Magazine’s Literary Upstart and The New York Press’ Sex Columnist Contest. You can hear her as Mark Twain’s daughter on the album Mark Twain: Words & Music (featuring Clint Eastwood, Garrison Keillor and Jimmy Buffett). Angela is afraid of ghosts but not dentists. She wants to pet your dog. AngelaLovell.com

So sadly true

Speak Up storytelling: Risa Sugarman

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, May 17th at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Doors open at 7:00 PM. The show begins promptly at 8:00 PM.

There are still some tickets available, though we are expecting a sell out, so purchase them now before it’s too late. Tickets available here.

This week we introduce the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
______________________________________

Risa Sugarman is a West Hartford transplant via Boston and New York City. She loves writing and has published articles on Kveller.com and on her own blog: sillyillymama.blogspot.com. She’s also been published on the Huffington Post. Risa is very open about her struggle with depression and has a passion for combating the stigma of mental illness.

She has a BA in sociology from Columbia University and an MSW from Fordham University. Her past includes working with children in clinical settings as well as writing curricula and conducting trainings. She lives in West Hartford with her wonderful husband and her sparkly daughter.

Why do I remember my childhood with such clarity when so many others do not?

My wife says I have an excellent memory. I’ve never thought so, but it’s true that I can lock a story into my mind and manipulate it onstage without much difficulty.

That said, my visual memory is almost nonexistent. My wife also says that if she were placed in a lineup with five other brunettes, I would be hard pressed to pick her out of the group.

An exaggeration, of course, but not far from the truth.

She also says that I remember my childhood in a way that few others do. My sister is the same way, if not more so. I’ve often wondered why people seem to remember so little from their childhood while I seem to remember so much.

I recently came up with a theory.

I grew up in a world that was often entirely absent of adults. My siblings and I were left on our own for large swaths of time. At an early age, I would leave the house at an early hour and often not return until dinnertime. I would babysit my brothers and sisters into the wee hours of the morning. We were given responsibilities and freedoms as children that would result in endless strings of DCF calls today.

Our parents didn’t engage in long discussions with us, and we were often in the dark about many things. There was no mention of the birds and the bees. There was no talk about our future. There were entire school years when my report cards went unread. There was a great division between child and adult in our home, and rarely was this division breached. This led to many challenges, much turmoil, and a constant need for problem solving and improvisation on my part.

In short, the way that I was raised (or not raised) led to many unique experiences and trouble.

My wife, by contrast, spent vast amounts of time with her parents. They drove to the Berkshires every weekend. Visited family often. Spent time together at the beach near their Berkshire home. Established traditions and routines that remain to this day.

My wife had a childhood of consistency, nurturing, and adult supervision. It was the kind of childhood that I hope for my children. 

Perhaps my wife remembers less about her childhood because it was so consistent. So measured. So safe. Each day and each year resembled the next in a way that mine never did.

This is not to say that she led a boring or uneventful childhood. It was simply more predictable and tradition-based. She remembers much of her childhood through a gauzy shade of warmth and happiness. She recalls fewer specifics but has much more affection for the way that she was raised.

If you don’t spend your childhood lost in the woods, exploring the basements of burned-out farm houses, swimming unsupervised in cow ponds and stranger’s swimming pools, riding your bike for miles and miles from home, trespassing on construction sites, fighting, and living in a perpetual state of trouble and endless struggle, you are probably less likely to have the kinds of singular experiences that are piled high in my mind.

Perhaps I remember my childhood better than others because every day of my childhood was a new adventure. This is not to say that these adventures were welcomed or advised or even fun.

But they were certainly memorable. 

Speak Up storyteller: Tom Reed-Swale

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, May 17h at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Doors open at 7:00 PM. The show begins promptly at 8:00 PM.

There are still some tickets available, though we are expecting a sell out, so purchase them now before it’s too late. Tickets available here.

This week we introduce the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
______________________________________

Tom Reed-Swale grew up in Canton, CT where he performed in seven stage productions including Grease! and South Pacific. He sang as a member of UConn’s premier all-male a cappella group, A Completely Different Note (CDN) and has formed an alumni group called Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Tom taught third, fourth, and fifth grade in West Hartford and Farmington for nine years before becoming a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Theme Coach at a magnet school in the south end of Hartford.

Tom loves to garden, play golf, and spend time with his wife Elizabeth and his children Teagan and Charlotte.

Watch this.

It is brilliant. Hilarious. And somehow slightly philosophical. 

Best Teacher Appreciation Day gift ever

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, my students presented me with a  gift on Friday.

The first was a PowerPoint presentation that explained why I was an excellent teacher. It included many inside jokes, a song that the kids performed, a few veiled insults, and a couple of slides that meant a great deal to me, including this one:

Damn those kids. Not only have they grasped my nonchalance about what we do in class everyday (and maybe even a bit of my self-doubt), but best of all, they used the correct form of your/you’re.

Twice.

Then they handed me a list of every student’s name. Alongside each name was one thing that they appreciated most about me. Some were sincere. Some were silly. A couple were cruel. All were perfect. 

Lastly, they handed me a gift bag containing a box of Pop Tarts (strawberry and frosted, of course) and a gift card to McDonald’s.

Apparently it only takes about 160 school days for a bunch of kids to understand you at your core.