Stories that Bind Us

Another note from Catherine:

I loved this article.  Makes me want to hear a few more family stories.  Anybody want to share a good family story?  Hoping for some responses!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

Catherine 

So ... to continue Catherine's dialogue, I went out to read this New York Times Article, but I couldn't stop there.  I had to go read the online comments.  Just when I would think, OK, I have read enough to get the flavour of how people are thinking about this ... then there would be a gem that would keep me going.

When my kids were young, I never cared if the stories I told to them were  true or not ... just if I can keep their attention.

The article really made me laugh about "no texting" at the dinner table.  Let me see ... in the past it has been no reading at the table, no TV on in the room while at the table, no telephones at the table, now no texting.

I think there is room for an article about why dinner time is an important place for story telling.  But I take that back.  What I really  learned is that if you tell stories at the table, you get thin, for you don’t get a chance to eat as well.  

Things are different on a ship.  There I learned that to have everyone in the conversation and rested, you need a whole galley of people who keep cooking and bringing hors d'oeuvres,  entrees, beverages and dessert.   Of course, if you try to  get your family members to "dress for dinner" you add another laying of complication to getting everyone to the table to hear the stories.

I shall continue to tell my stories, though as I have said before, I shall always mix fact with fiction in the name of keeping the listener awake.

Arta 

P.S. If you read the article, how did you like the comments afterward about ascending and descending family narratives / damaging family narratives?   At the very least, food for thought.