My favorite show on NPR is called "This American Life." I'm certainly an NPR junkie, but this particular show that comes on every Saturday at noon is my favorite. Even more than Car Talk, which is by far the funniest show. I like this show because each week they give little glimpses into real people's lives. The show is divided into acts, and chronicles a different aspect of living in America. Some weeks its as simple as summer camps, while other weeks its about chronic addictions or Shakespeake in prison. And each week I am reminded that all of us have a story, and that our stories are fascinating.
I like movies and books a lot too. I think I like them because they are brief snapshots of time that covers so much ground. We learn a lot about a character's past, how they handle a certain situation, and what that will mean for the rest of their life (if they are so lucky to survive the plot!).
Sometimes I like to view my life in these terms. I've often been vain enough to think that my life would make an interesting story. The characters that would weave in and out of my story would be interesting too. I could talk about my friend who is a poet, wants to be a monk, and doesn't mind being referred to as crazy. I could discuss my friend who is a great teacher, is full of life, and defines the modern day independent woman. I could discuss the occasional fling that comes in and out of my life, or the one girl who really inspires me to be a better man so that I might one day win her heart.
But I'd really love to hear my life narrated. I'd love to know how my past is definng me, and what the future holds. I think hearing our lives through a story would give it more purpose. The things that go on each day sometimes seem mundane. Another five miler. Another day at work. Another day going to church. But these are pages in my life, that somehow make up the larger story. Those pages are somehow giving you character clues into who I am, and how the story will end.
I wonder what that story would be. I wonder what that story is.
...on the way home.
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1 comment:
I do not think it would be possible to put even just a day of my life into descriptive narration, because there are no words to describe the sounds, faces, and motions I make on a day-to-day basis. Not even the best writer in the history of writers could pull it off.
But if he could, hypothetically speaking ;), I'd want it read out loud by John C. Riley.
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