Florida State Storytellers Camp

I recently returned home from a week in Florida. I spent time with cousins in Jacksonville, reconnecting, and walking along the beach. Then I rented a car and drove further south where I visited another cousin, Nancy. She lives off the beaten track in Eustis where blue birds sit on her fence posts, horses add to the front yard scenery and adorable donkeys live in the pasture across the fence. I saw an eagle flying across a lake and landing on its nest in the top of a tall pine. I visited the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in Cross Creek. And I took several hikes through nature centers: Lake Griffin Sate Park and Trout Lake Nature Center.

I attended the Florida Storytelling Camp and Conference while I was there. I heard some excellent stories, had a chance to tell a few stories and met some wonderful people. The storytellers in Florida seem well connected and deeply attached to the significance of sharing tales.

My personal favorite among the featured tellers was Michael Parent. So much pizzazz in his personality. He can tell a wonderful story, play musical instruments and juggle-- all at the same time! Great entertainment! Great sense of humor. Most impressive, he's just plain friendly.

There's something about people who tell stories. We have come to recognize that "the story" is so much more than entertainment. As storytellers we are nurse, therapist, archivist, pastor, prophet, teacher, environmentalist, anthropologist and artist. As important as that seems, we are insignificant without someone to receive our stories, an audience to listen with imagination.

Being away from home inspires my imagination. Seeing family and remembering old times together is reassuring. Making new friends and connecting with new places increases my sense of personal power. I am still growing, learning, becoming more.
But the very best part of any travel tale is the moment I return home and find that all is well. My place on the earth remains.