A LiFetime of stories

A few years ago my friend Peggy Reza (California’s Ukulele Empress) and I were giving our 12th “Santa’s Gone Hawaiian” holiday concert, Such fun! A fellow in the audience stepped up at intermission to give me a hug. I knew him right away. He had been one of my story hour kids back in my early days at the Tuolumne County Library. He had a couple of cute kiddles with him. Then he introduced me, “Guys, this is BZ. She told stories to Grandpa when I was a little boy!” WHAT?!?!?! I was telling stories to the grandchildren of one of my early story babies?!

So today I’m thinking about a way to capture some of those moments and plant the seeds for new ones. What if I created an arts legacy project. Just this morning I found The Performing Arts Legacy Project, a nonprofit organization that helps artists create a way to let their work live on. While it sounds a bit like a “vanity project,” I honestly feel that it would a way to outline the role of The Storyteller for our community and other communities.

I’m now way past 10,500 storytelling programs over these 50 years of telling. I started with preschool storytime for the Tuolumne County Library when it was in the old Forest Service Building, built by the WPA (on Washington Street in Sonora, CA). Since COVID Days most of my shows have been on Zoom. Ironically I just did a preschool storytime at the Murphys Library. A life really is circular. And…

Yes, it has been a lifetime of stories.