LET'S TALK: A Season of Promise
April 25, 2007 - 7:27am — Storytrax
The brighter days of spring have brought a host of promises. Some of us have taken to the woods in pursuit of the promise of a trophy turkey. Others have been drawn to the water, lured by promises of a fat trout (or is that phat?) or an awe-inspiring adventure. We watched as tender sprouts popped up in our flower beds, then worried as late season snow and cold threatened the promise of springtime blooms. In little more than a week, we traded snow blowers for lawn mowers and winter jackets for T-shirts.
The promise of yellow school buses filled with students eager to learn the stories of America’s Revolution at Fort Roberdeau brought volunteers together a that historic site to prepare. Stories traveled with the Altoona Story League to Juniata Gap Elementary School where they were shared as part of a celebration of the arts. On those buses and in those classrooms, the promise of new storytellers is in full bloom.
The promise of champions is everywhere in this season. The best of the best meet on hardwood court, ice rink, and grassy green. And, for a few fleeting yet glorious days, the Pittsburgh Pirates were undefeated and in first place!
But for some champions, their talent and skill were not enough to prevent a degrading and personal attack. The poise and grace of the coaches and players of the Rutgers basketball team quickly and decidedly conveyed a promise of greatness, and revealed the thoughtlessness and arrogance of Don Imus.
There were also tragic stories of promise denied. Dark and stormy skies brought a killer tornado to a high school in Enterprise, Alabama. A dark and stormy mind spawned a rampage at Virginia Tech. The swirling storm of terror and hatred claimed hundreds of victims in Iraq and Afghanistan. The loss of these hearts and minds is immense for families and friends, and our thoughts and prayers are with them. The loss of the promise of those hearts and minds for all of us is incalculable, and for that, we too must grieve.
Ahhh, springtime, our season of promises. Our promises can be tyrants or teachers. Breaking them requires little effort, and its costs are enormous. Trust erodes, respect is lost, bonds dissolve. Keeping them demands commitment and obligation. It is the hardest, and the most worthwhile, work.
As we enjoy the promises of spring, let’s make a few of our own. I promise to . . .
Share your thoughts with the StoryTrax community. Help us to learn how to make and keep our promises. But, most importantly, share them with the people that matter most to you.
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Comments
Stories from my Grandparents
I am going to start collecting stories from my grandparents. I lost my Grandpa Houle several years ago. He had some great stories. He was a Marine in WWII in the Pacific theater, he was an independent and strong person and looking back on all of that I wish I would have collected his story to share with my son and my family.
So, I am going to work a lot harder to collect the stories from my grandma Houle, grandma and grandpa Cooley. These were people who grew up through the Great Depression, fought a World War, and gave birth to the biggest generation, the Baby Boomers. I promise to write one letter a week to my grandparents and ask them two questions about growing up in America. Then I promise to find a way to save those stories and share them with my family.
Clay hardens by immobility – men's minds by standing pat. Both lose the power to take new impressions. (Pinchot 1910: 138)
Great idea
What a great idea! I'm sure your grandparents will be glad to hear from you so regularly, even if you do give them homework.
We get so caught up with our everyday demands of the present (you know, those pesky everyday needs for food, shelter, clothing for ourselves and those that depend on us), that it's easy to forget that we've also got a past and a future. People always say that we can't do anything about the past, what's done is done, so why bother with it. True, we can't change what has already happened, but what a great learning opportunity. We need to keep track of the people we've known, and of the things we've tried and done -- they are our best teachers. We CAN do something about the future. Oh, sure, we don't know everything that will happen, but there are certainly things we can do to craft the best future we can. We can do things today, like make healthy choices, that could actually help us cope with whatever that unknowable future brings. So, I promise to drink more water and less Coke!