The other day I received this fan mail from someone who loved my first storytelling recording, back when it was released in the 1990’s.
“You don’t know me, but you narrated my childhood. I had your storytelling tape “CHALLAH AND LATKES” and I would listen to it all the time on a little cassette player.
I have a pretty crazy memory and I could recite a good bit of the stories. I vividly remember being terrified by the voice of the imp in the story “The Magic Pitcher.”
Recently I started a community garden and I thought it would be nice to keep a community pantry there – I’m a great baker and the idea of keeping it stocked with fresh challah reminded me of one of the stories.
But the tape is long gone, and I couldn’t remember the name of the collection – until today, when I was delighted to discover your stories on Vimeo and YouTube. I may never have seen you before, but I recognized your voice instantly.
It’s wonderful to be able to hear it all again. Thank you for sharing these stories and making them discoverable all these years later.”
What a joy to hear how she listened, over and over, as a child and how the stories stayed with her. It shows me, once again, the power of stories to live on in our imaginations. I love thinking of her baking challah and connecting to the shared imagery of the stories and the sensory experience of challah bakers going back through generations.
Thirty years later, I am grateful to reap the rewards of my creative efforts that found its way into the heart of this child, who grew up and still remembered these stories. Even better, she let me know.