On January 31, 1996, professional sign painter Pamela Raintree pulled into Shreveport, Louisiana in a battered Datsun station wagon, with $1.20 in her pocket and a quarter tank of gasoline. Her plan was to get to the Gulf of Mexico…
Read MoreMistakes Were Made: Chris Kirkley, “Tinker and the Saturday Night Car”
In rural communities, the automobile isn’t a convenience, it’s a necessity. We depend upon our cars and trucks for survival and begin to regard them almost like family members, since there’s no public transportation and the commute to work often…
Read MoreMistakes Were Made: Brad Campbell, “The Real Dill”
Vacations, in my experience, are never what you want them to be. We front-load these brief respites from our working lives with so many expectations that they could never possibly meet them all. “Mistakes Were Made” storyteller Brad Campbell’s “The…
Read MoreEven Piss Bridge is Gone: Draggin’ On Main in Springhill, La.
Chris grew up in Springhill, Louisiana – a town whose high school mascot is was the lumberjacks with a total population teetering right above 5,000. When his parents were teenagers in 1974, nightlife was different. Young folks hopped in cars,…
Read MoreAll Y’all Live – Under The Influence – September 13, 2014 – 7:30PM
The third installment of All Y’all Live, “Under the Influence,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse on the Campus of Centenary College of Louisiana. 100% of proceeds from this special, fundraiser…
Read MoreEpisode 5: Jon Mackey, “Plus ça Cheng’s”
Jon Mackey is a naturally charismatic guy. Whenever I cross paths with Jon, he’s either returning from some thrilling adventure or planning his next personal or professional move. The world just seems like a more interesting place when he’s around.…
Read MoreEpisode 5: Chris Jay, “Belated Apology to Tim Chuang”
While working on this post, I dug out my high school yearbook from 1998, the year that I graduated from Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. Flipping directly to my senior photo – in which I am posing…
Read MoreEpisode 4: “New ‘Round Here” Storyteller Jennifer Hill
Being 16 years old is difficult, no matter where you are. At our March 2014 live event, a collection of stories that shared the theme “New ‘Round Here,” storyteller Jennifer Hill told a cinematic tale of coming of age as…
Read MoreAll Y’all Live – “Mistakes Were Made” – June 14 – 7:30PM
Our next live storytelling event on the theme “Mistakes Were Made” will be on Saturday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bossier Arts Council’s East Bank Theatre (630 Barksdale Blvd, Bossier City, LA 71111). The night will feature local…
Read MoreEpisode 3: “New ‘Round Here” Storyteller Esther Kennedy
On Saturday, March 8, 2014, the All Y’all podcast took a giant, flying leap forward, into the realm of live storytelling events. Sara and I recruited nine storytellers, all of whom told entertaining, true stories with the theme of “New…
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