By Liz Malanaphy, Ex Fabula volunteer

I got lost on the way to “StorySlam: Lost”. Bet you saw that one coming a mile away. Driving through a still somewhat unfamiliar city, I wasn’t worried. I was on my way to a place and people who make things feel remarkably like home. I did eventually end up at OPE! Brewing. Found.

I’ve just started attending and volunteering for Ex Fabula pretty recently, and the power of storytelling and the people are a collective human welcome mat. I mean that in the best possible way. The stories that were told Wednesday evening were also about finding your way. People lost, literally and figuratively, and then finding themselves right where they needed to be, having learned about their own humanity, or others’ humanity, or a rats’ humanity…er, wait, that one doesn’t work so well. Anyway, the long and short of the stories, long OR short, was that being lost or losing something very often leads to finding something else that is really valuable.

Storytellers gather on stage during audience favorite voting. Thanks for sharing your stories!

There were lessons in stories of pre-GPS navigation deficiencies by Mark Weinberg (FYI Lake Michigan is always to the east…but what if you can’t see the lake?), of learning to ask for help…in Budapest from a convenience store employee who doesn’t speak your language like Michelle Battles, of Cub Scout Mark Steidl, who discovered that appearances can be deceiving, and Craig Plain now knows that Eagle Scouts adhere too closely to the rules. And if you’re a “loser” and the sag-wagon has to bring you in at the end of the race, like Meg Summerside proudly shared, you can still find a heroes’ welcome waiting.

Brave “newbies” came and told their stories; if you get lost on the ski mountain in Switzerland like Gabriela Swistara, you can always count on your mom to come find you.

Linda shares an important lesson: Reconsider buying the 49 cent rats!

Linda Nwumeh imparted valuable words of wisdom; don’t buy 45 cent rats at a corner pet store. Or at least don’t expect them to live very long.

 

Paul is crowned audience favorite by first-time emcee, Rebecca.

And from voted audience favorite and a newbie, Paul Race: the classic redemption arc of an incorrigible high school near-drop-out who is now a high school teacher, was self-discovery, humility, and subsequent affirmation.

When you listen to these stories, you gain perspective, and glean wisdom, and inevitably draw some parallels to your own life. If I had be just a smidge braver, I could have told my own stories of lost pets; the Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches that were suddenly not in their box anymore, the hermit crabs that somehow ended up under the stove (how in the HELL did they get down the stairs?), or the frog that looked like a dusty rubber toy on the ground, but was VERY REAL WHEN I PICKED IT UP. (We didn’t even know it was lost). Or the iguana who let himself out and was found sunning himself in the corner of the bedroom.

Every incident taught us all something, mostly not to have those kinds of creepy pets. And when someone brought Amber’s missing bag to the stage, mid-show, I was reminded of myself, and my own redemption arc. I was a tomboy, and never wanted to wear dresses and God forbid, carry a purse, but those were the expectations for a girl!

Liz thanks Linda for telling her story and making her laugh!

I lost that purse a RIDICULOUS number of times, leaving it behind in restaurants and stores and at houses, and I never heard the end of it. As I got older and had kids of my own, what I learned from that story was that it’s pretty important not to set your kids up for failure and I NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN FORCED TO CARRY A PURSE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Fast forward too many years, and here I am having raised five kids; my astonished family having to concede that I (almost) never lost any of them. When my dear Aunt Marlene passed away a few years back, we were all hanging out at my Uncle’s house to laugh and cry. When it was time to leave, I left behind a second (empty) purse, a stunt purse if you will, sitting in a chair for him to find after we were gone. I figured he could use the laugh. I was right. I’ve used that joke a couple times since then. The Lost Purse never gets old, and neither does a good story.