South Bay Stories Show

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What’s Your Story is the center stone of my podcast each week. This was the perfect setting for my guests on today’s show. Making his 5th appearance today was Jim Mueller, the producer of the South Bay Stories Show highlighting his 6th season of interesting and engaging storytellers. Not only is Jim an excellent storyteller himself, but so were my guests, Storytellers, Rob Friedrich, Catherine Graham, and Steve Goldstein.

The South Bay Stories Show will be coming to the stage later into the Spring, I will keep you posted once a new date has been scheduled. In the meantime, what makes for a great podcast? Great Stories.

Today’s Stories Recap.

Starting with Jim. He knew as a kid, that he loved hearing stories. He mentioned he never watched television until he was 9 years old. His curiosity and imagination flourished because he met people that had stories and he wanted to hear them. Jim has had a great career in the entertainment field, but his love for an excellent spoken story is unique. As he explained, a “written story” conveys a much different story than an 8-minute “spoken” story.” All of my guests today are writers, therein lies the challenge of conveying a spoken story with a beginning, middle and end in a relatively short period of time. Jim is just the producer that makes that happen!

Next. Rob Friedrich. Do you know what a Taiko drum is? You will after you listen. He and his wife were at an LA Marathon, rooting on a friend when out in the distance was the loud beating of a drum, that summoned them to find the source of the beat. This was no ordinary drum, rather it was a Japanese Taiko drum. Rob shares the background of the drum, and how he has learned to play it. Like me, you may want to find a place near you where you could hear that drum in person. As a teacher by profession, Rob’s motto is “to give information, but not teach it.” Much like storytelling, his examples stick with you.

Catherine Graham was the next storyteller. She tells us about her touching story of being a foster parent along with her partner, Steve. They were able to make a difference for 4 children altogether, including 2 siblings. Catherine explains the awareness of foster youth in a system that helps children through very difficult times. You may learn something new, I know I did. Catherine has incorporated her love for children in her profession as a financial aid advisor. It doesn’t matter where you live, she can be the missing link and advocate for children and their families to further their education with her knowledge and drive to help. Check out her website. The Financial Aid Shop

Steve Goldstein, like the other guests, is also a writer. He tells us about growing up in Boston and his love of history, particularly old graveyards. Having been to Boston, I know exactly what he’s talking about. His interest didn’t fade once he came to the west coast. Steve found, that taking a photo and doing some research on the gravestones lead to his book, LA’s Graveside Companion Where the V.I.P.’s R.I.P. Steve is also a musician, check this out too! A Virtual Campfire.

And in other news!

It’s a new normal for all of us. Whether you are self-isolating because you are considered at high risk, or you’re doing business remotely, we are all living our own “new normal” stories. For me, I think it’s a time of reflection and determination to make the best of staying in. All of my activities have been canceled. Perhaps that’s a part of all our stories. Whether you are standing on a stage or sharing with your family and friends. Consider this…