Make Up a Story
Stories from Around the World
The Community Gathering of 2018
This story occurs outside in the fall because people are wearing jackets and the leaves are dark and drying up. These people may be at a reunion of lots of people who live, or have lived, in the same neighborhood. Shirley says we should call it a block party where people can get acquainted in a place we'll call Cloe. Some of our storytellers have been to a block party.
Martha and Marie are at the table getting the food on the table set out for people to eat. Ginger says Martha is dishing out mashed potatoes, or maybe scalloped potatoes someone else suggests. Meanwhile Marie is cutting a pie. Also on the table are white and chocolate and yellow cakes. Katherine sees doughnuts, too, and there are pies galore--apple, berry, cherry, apricot, cream pies and lemon meringue pie. ML sees scalloped potatoes on the table, while others see a plate of waffles, a pan of beans, mashed sweet potatoes, and some soup or chowder.
Martha and Marie are the party hostesses who'll see that everyone gets served. People will line up, get plates and pick up their own choices of food, and then sit down at one of the picnic tables in the background.
The air this day feels chilly, but we agree it is a pleasant, sunny day. The people in this community get along; they share food and their children and their hospitality. Katherine thinks maybe there is a neighborhood yard sale going on, too, because she likes to go to yard sales. Ginger says they may have a band and dancing, but mostly people just talk and eat. What will they talk about? Some are talking about the weather turning colder and the snow to come. The men might be talking about the end of the gardening season and the soon-to-be hunting season.
The women are talking about the coming holidays--Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the next scene following this one, everyone will be eating and having a picnic, enjoying all the good food we see on the tables.
Note: We ended this storytelling session singing 5 verses of "A hunting we will go" mentioning catching harmlessly and letting go a fox, a fish, a bear, a pig, and a giraffe. Marie, who has trouble hearing, loved singing the song with the lyrics in her hands to read. She sang an extra verse when all the rest were done singing.
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