You asked for it!
well, some people asked for it...
Crash Course readers have asked: Which Crash Course stories are real, you know, from your life?
I can connect about sixty stories to my life experiences and memories, these are dominated by family and childhood. That leaves about forty to have somehow emerged from within. In all honesty, almost every story is a blending of memories, experience and daydreaming.
Hopefully the list below will answer some questions and possibly spark further conversation. Enjoy.
1. Watching Luis - rooted in my love of baseball history
2. Drifting Toward Twilight - written when I was in my late 40’s observing the generation before mine (my parents) dealing with end of life
3. The End - I was working with college students and watching them navigating the rapidly expanding world of social networking
4. Hunting - thinking of my family roots in “country” life
5. Conversion- connected to childhood experience with a neighborhood Bible Club
6. The Fight- a very exaggerated story influenced by my relationship with my younger brother, John
7. Again - sadly, this is a version of my family life
8. Let Me Go - close to actual experience I had on a team with my brother when we were in our twenties
9. Facing Mom - my version of an interaction with my mom, we talked about this one over the years
10. Hope That Won’t Be Quenched - my mom told a similar story, many times
11. I Saw It - influenced by too many stories of family and friends
12. Tradition - fiction
13. He Didn’t Care - made it up
14. Hot Summer Night - summer memories from the neighborhood
15. The Choir - I am still self-conscious about my singing
16. Be Careful - family friends, I heard about it in adults conversations, enough said
17. Peaceful Winds - fiction, I sent a version to a TV show, got a “no thanks” response
18. Like an Old Western - you’d think this was fiction, but it is another family story
19. When She’s Alone - exploring ideas and observing my mom over the years
20. Stumps - based on memory of a friend who lost their legs in a home fire, a fire that he may or may not have started
21. That One Was Answered - rooted in my long frustration with the concept and practice of “prayer”
22. Expectations - fiction
23. Before Midterms - made this one up
24. Hatred Owned My Brother - true fiction, John had no part in this story!
25. The Fall Chill - fiction
26. Mom Collected Strays - if you knew my mom you wouldn’t ask
27. Listening In - much time has been spent writing in coffee shops, fiction
28. It Was a Joke - vague memory of long ago
29. His Everything - fiction
30. Grandma’s Message - Grandma Schmotzer and her home on 76th were the inspiration for this one
31. Sister Said She’d Help - from a playground conversation with the school administrative assistant when I was teaching in the late 70’s
32. You’re Wasting My Time - an exaggeration of a “fight” I lost in elementary school
33. How Times have Changed - fictionalization of story of extended family members
34/ I Still Hate It - and I still have no interest in fishing
35. The Long Walk - I’m guessing the boys of Stephens Street remember this day
36. I looked Like Her - made up, influenced by my work in child abuse prevention
37. Guess We’ll Find Out - fiction
38. Resolution - rooted in long ago tragedy, still feel this one
39. Right Over the Plate - more love of baseball
40. She Found Her Peace - family influenced
41. Closure - fiction
42. We Don’t Care - close to a situation I experienced in the late 70’s
43. How Long - more memories of teaching in a rural school in the 70’s
44. Resurrecting Easter - fiction
45. Afraid of Finding Out - fiction
46. Someone Else’s Story - fictitious gut-punch of reality
47. I’m Ready - mishmash of childhood thinking, thankfully not action
48. Not a Bad Start - faint connection to my first kiss memories
49. My Best Stuff - maybe related to a medical procedure I had in the 80’s
50. Back of the Bus - letting the imagination flow
51. Sadie - based on family dog story from my childhood
52. Striking Out - maybe my favorite baseball story, love the Cobb connection
53. the Last Encore - thought this up sitting in the balcony at a Mavis Staples concert
54. Too Much Pain - Covid arrives, I start processing through writing
55. Can’t Be - too close to things happening in Whatcom County
56. Our Soul Knows - emotional processing
57. Zoom School - I was working in local schools during the pandemic, saw versions of this over and over
58. Enough - made up, too close to what was possible
59. Thanks For Asking - observations turn into a story
60. Essentials? - fiction (don’t we wish all of Covid was fiction?)
61 - 66. Covid-19 Hits Home - Stories of six students, loosely based on students I knew and what was happening in schools everywhere
67. We’re Trying - more fiction
68. The End of the World - to close to reality for too many of the kids during the pandemic
69. Long Before - fiction
70. Never returned - fiction
71. The Villa - more fiction
72. Sure Taught ‘Em - I wish this was not so close to reality
73. Running Away - may have watched Circus Boy too much as a kid
74. Can I Help You? - not sure where this one came from
75. Text Time - so many stories of parents and teens navigating cell phones
76. Family Time - thinking about family realities
77. Perpetual Struggle - I have spent (too) much of my lifetime in organizational meetings…
78. Remember - now in my 70’s I do a lot of thinking about aging, interesting this was written 20 years after Drifting Toward Twilight
79. Privilege Problems - wish I hadn’t lived a version of this
80. All Five Pieces - I have a strange memory of something like this happening to a childhood friend, no actual evidence
81. Justice? - I had similar jury duty experience
82. The Long Way Home - a memory from my first few days driving school bus, part-time college student job
83. Nooooo! - close to a story from my camp director days
84. Movie Time - 1960’s, Hood Theater, Gresham, over and over
85. A Dream Day - as a young married couple Connie and I were caretakers at a “historic mansion” and I’m guessing somewhere family and friends still tell this story, I wonder if they laugh
86. I Understand - shaped by my varied roles and many years in schools
87. Reality Check - made up this one, influenced by coaching in many situations
88. Just the Way it is - my raging at our unjust, inhumane health care system
89. My Whole Life - listening and observing (post-Covid) life shifts for many
90. Collecting - my brother and I followed our dad as paper carriers; dad would help if needed, we both have versions of this from our experience
91. Doing My Job - my first paycheck job was in a restaurant, saw and learned a lot
92. the Expert - I believe my brother will back me on this one
93. What Now? - influenced by the story of a childhood neighbor who outlived their siblings
94. Shattering Glass - yep, summer night on Stephens Street
95. Slide After Slide - sat through unending missionary slide presentations growing up, let my mind wander
96. One Mistake - another I’d rather not acknowledge, too close to reality
97. Long, Hard Road - thoughts of grandparents in the Depression era
98. Survival - it’s a little bit me with made-up ending
99. 1948 - family lore
100. What Ya Got - made up story
101. Do They Know? - my parents are always with me
I think the acknowledgements may bring further light to some stories
upcoming Crash Course events:
Wednesday February 25, 10:30 AM, Bellingham Senior Activity Center (BSAC) BSAC sign-up here
Saturday March 21, 6 PM, Village Books, Fairhaven Village Books sign-up here
Saturday March 28, 12 Noon until 3 PM, I’ll be at Watermark Book Co., Anacortes for an author meet and greet
Crash Course, 101 Stories, Each 101 Words or Less, is available at: Village Books, Watermark, Anacortes, bookshop.org, BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon
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