Oral Traditions

So, it's out, the thing I could not talk about. I am so embarrassed. I live with readers, people who live by words in books.

I love stories. I love listening to them. Back in the holler, Mama and me used to go to listen to the storyteller in the Wilmer's barn. Mama loved stories, too.

After she died, I still went to story events. Even in the age of computers, people still like to hear someone tell them a story. On winter days, after we milked and collected the eggs, we would sit by the fire and take turns telling stories to each other. Mama told the best stories I ever did hear. They were warm and sunny. There was always a happy ending. It's not so with life. It's just not so. I am a middle-aged woman. How am I going to learn to read now?

Oh, why did I tell?

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