once upon a time

I was at a party last night listening to conversations. One person would say "this happened to me." Then another person would say, "here's something similar that happened to me." Someone would say, "I did this, or saw that, or heard or read or thought." And someone else would take that experience into their own experience - through hearing the story - and then respond either by asking for another story or sharing one of their own. I read the newspaper every day - a collection of stories. I watch CNN in the mornings when I'm getting dressed, more stories. I read blogs and write my own.

Life, or anyway human culture, is founded on a network of having, telling and hearing stories.