MY JOURNEY THROUGH A STORYTELLING APPRENTICESHIP

             Thanks to a grant from the Kentucky Arts Council I started on a journey in July. A mission that has taken me to worlds I had never before visited. it's a journey through storytelling. Although I've just traveled a short way down the first trail, I'm amazed at what I've learned. I'm enjoying this expedition with a friend, my guide, Appalachian Storyteller, Pam Holcomb. She has shown me the way to places I never would have visited on my own.  Worlds such as fables, imagination, and creativity are all ready to come into your life if you open your mind. With Pam's guidance, I have learned that through stories, anything is possible. Teaching youth the truth about difficult topics, talking to an audience about complicated issues, or getting the attention of those you never thought would listen to you, they're all possible through storytelling.

            A spur off our main trail has taken me into an unlit land I never realized was so amazing and misunderstood. Sometimes dark places appear evil and  forbidden, but if you conquer your fears and enter the passage, there may be a bright spot waiting for someone to find it. This life event has opened my eyes and my world  to a condition that approximately 10,000 babies born in the United States each year will develop. It's name, Cerebral palsy (CP),  a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions, such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking.

            Why did Pam lead me to CP? it wasn't just the condition that took us to this place, it was the person. She was born in January 1972 and weighed just a bit more than two pounds. She tried to come before Christmas but the doctors talked her into waiting a bit so she was born two months early.  She, as Pam, is a native of Harlan County Kentucky. Her name, Kristy "Bee" Barrett, one of Pam's very special High School students.   

            Kristy's mom felt her daughter's growth and development wasn't on time with other babies, but the doctors kept saying "its because she was a preemie, she just has to catch up". Kristy didn't catch up, she was diagnosed with CP at eighteen months old. She and her family also began an amazing life journey. Although she didn't catch up with age developmental expectations, Kristy has flown past most people her age when it comes to life long achievements.

         
  Kristy is now forty-one years old. She and Pam are very close friends. Kristy refers to her CP as "my Gift from God. I am the way He wanted me to be"

            Pam tells a story titled "Three Steps". Through emotional words and expressions, she explains how excited Kristy was when she took three steps without the assistance of a walker, wheel chair or other device. She couldn't wait to tell Pam and all her other friends at school. Just three steps, that's all she has ever taken. But the races she has won are countless. It's those races and Kristy's attitude toward life, people, and her gift, that encouraged Pam to ask me to join her in telling Kristy's story as the culminating project for my storytelling apprenticeship.

            So this unknown land called Cerebral Palsy is more than something to pass through. Its a place to pause and reflect, a place to learn and share, a place to listen and grow. I have learned about CP, but my short time with Kristy taught me about life and how to live it to the fullest. From her I learned you have to conquer your fears and take chances. Kristy has done both. She can show the world that a person is not defined by a condition, the person defines the condition. Kristy has chosen "Bee Still, Embrace My Gift" as the title for her Life Story.

            I have written four short stories about Kristy and have a couple others in my mind. I fear there's way too many great things to tell than 90 minutes will allow. What I hope is that Pam and I can wrap our arms around Kristy's many accomplishments and relay them to the public as an inspirational production that makes her proud and celebrates her life and her gift.

            The CP spur is only one pause in my journey, it certainly didn't stop it. February 23, I joined my mentor and other Kentucky storytellers for a program in Harlan, KY. Harlan County Extension Agents, Jeremy and Theresa, understand the importance of storytelling, so they host events for the public and invite storytellers to participate. I helped with "Storytelling in the Mountains, Spring Event" and also told a story for the first time to a public audience. Learning by doing is wonderful but learning by watching Kentucky's great storytellers perform...priceless.

            Only half of my storytelling apprenticeship journey remains. Where will it take me...I dare not imagine because my guide is creative and doesn't care to enter untamed territory. Perhaps you and I will bump into each other on the trail. Thank you Kentucky Arts Council for the oppotunity to blaze a new life trail.