Everyone Has A Story to Tell
I love to hole up in a cozy booth in a coffee shop. People fascinate me. I’ll sit and wonder about their lives. What fork in the road did they take along life’s journey? Why is that old guy so grouchy? What’s their story? What made them bitter, angry, frustrated? What was their childhood like? Why did they choose the profession they did? What were some of their defining moments…..those incidents that change your life on a dime.
I’d love to just go up to them and say “Tell me your story. What makes you tick? What are you most proud of? Regrets?”
I also love to connect with people about things I’m passionate about which has come from the pain in my life. Find purpose in your pain Linda. If I can help someone who is going through or has gone through similar life altering situations….nothing gives me a greater sense of purpose. I love connecting with young people who are struggling and need support. Most times it’s just an ear. If I can help spare one person from what I went through in the aftermath of turmoil, my life’s purpose is done.
Connectedness…..I crave it.
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Hi idigdirt,……..with life’s experiences the high and lows comes knowledge, all of which could be of value to help others………have you considered training to be a councillor, something I would have loved to have done, but full time work got in the way………you can have all the qualifications on paper, but nothing trains you up more than life, especially the knocks………I have no doubt that there are many people around willing to tell you their life story, it never amazes me that you can get chatting to a stranger and they are willing to reveal all about their life, personnel details everything…….but I would say its the ones who find it hard to open up and talk about their deep inner struggles who need the help most……..
Oh I agree 100% about the ones who have difficulty opening up. My mother was a perfect example. I was like this when I was young as you didn’t “air your dirty laundry.” And I’m not just looking for folks who have troubles….I want to hear triumphs too. But I find it so inspiring to hear how people who “rose above their raising” as I call it.
This a true story that happened in my area.
Interview by Chickasaw woman with lady rescued from Indians that used to pass through Chickasaw Co.
Bands of several tribes of Indians used to camp here, and above and below town — Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes, and Musguakies. One of the bands has an old man who was said by the tribe to have proofs that he was over a hundred years old. He boasted that he had shot at George Washington. He wore some kind of a uniform, and it was that his was cocked hat. He had to be lifted on and off his pony.
Once a band passed thru the town and a white woman’s scalp was found on the bridge after they were gone. The Spirit Lake massacre in March 1857, sent a wave of fear over the country, and for several nights the last thing father did was to see that his rifle and revolver were in order.
I was at Lake Okoboji a few years ago and had a visit with Mrs Abbie Gardner Sharp, who as a girl of 12 had seen her whole family killed by the Indians in that massacre, and she gave me the full details.
She had red hair which might have accounted for the sparing her life, as their is a superstition that such are a favored people, and then she fought them so they called her a “brave squaw.” A neighbor woman was also taken, but gave out after a day or two and they killed her.
Two young men from the settlement had gone down as far as Waterloo for provisions and there met a young man who worked at the grist mill, named Robert Clark, who decided to return with them. They got home one after noon and the Indians came the nest day and killed them all. When I told her I was living in Waterloo at that time she was interested and talked intimately to me.
Her cabin home stood a few feet away, enclosed by a wooden sheathing for protection, and filled with Indian relics. She lived in a frame house by the cabin and derived an income from the quarters asked for admission to it. A short distance away was the granite shaft erected by the state as a memorial, surrounded by the graves of the slain, poor Robert Clark among them.
It was not at Spirit Lake that the main massacre ocurred, but at Lake Okoboji. She was rescued from the Indians by the government in a few years, and she was a bright, keen-eyed old lady when I saw her.
Good blog, I dont tell all on this site, but I do enjoy reading other peoples experiences, thanks for the blog.
Thanks Gran and I respect your privacy. This is my first attempt at starting a blog…..thank you for reading!
Hello hello whats this then… Nice one, and yes a good blog that kind of makes us think more when we see people in different situations. I do wonder at times how people perceive others, I bet many see a story a very different way from others…. Life is never always as we think, its a play were most are acting out a better life for others to see, however as we all know its not always that way in private.. Some are indeed just as we see.
I do like someone who admits to people watching while out and about, how many of us will admit to this… I will start, me. So dear idigdirt we have two of us…. lol
Heh Heh I think you are just a snoopy bugga ,Indig. 🙂
Thank you so much for this blog! I share your fascination about people’s stories. At times I have sat next to an acquaintance and asked him/her about their life. I have found that people are usually really happy to tell their stories. Not long ago, I sat next to a 95 year old woman and was amazed by her story- she loved camping and was still doing so in her 90s! Gosh, I didn’t expect to hear that!
When I retired and started to live part-time outside of the city, I knew that my biggest challenge would be to continue to connect with people each day. Social connection is so vital to well-being; for some perhaps more than others. At work I had so many long-term colleagues, friends and acquaintances that I was happy to have some down time on weekends in the country. Now without work, I am learning to be brave enough to “lean into vulnerability” and reach out to connect with others. There are intriguing stories all around us…
Oh you are a Brene’ Brown fan! Awesome!
I thought I’d get more responses to this blog. Thanks for responding.
As a species, people are quite fascinating. I suppose I could be considered a ‘curtain twitcher’, but I do enjoy watching people. I live near a school, so see the kids being taken in the morning. Some of the little girls show clearly how mummy has taken time to do their hair nicely, shoes polished, clean white socks. Others look as though they dressed themselves.