My Darling B and I went to the Madison Story Slam last night, a monthly event at the Wil-Mar Community Center where people gather to listen to stories told in an open-mike format. I learned about the story slam through Adam Rostad, whom I met at last weekend’s picnic for the motor vehicle employees and who not only hosts the event, but records it for a podcast he makes available online.
We got there as soon as the doors opened at six, because Adam told me all the available seats usually filled up in fifteen or twenty minutes, so if we got there closer to seven it would be standing room only. He later came to our table in the half-filled room to clarify that this was not a typical night: they were competing with three other community events last night, including a fundraiser for Senator Tammy Baldwin.
We stayed for a little more than two hours, then had to duck out before the end of the show to pick up a few items from the grocery store before it closed at nine-thirty. That still gave us lots of time to hear plenty of stories. Some of them were funny, some of them were serious, a lucky few had a wild combination of both. One guy had me laughing so hard I was almost in tears; he was in the same condition nearly all the way through his story. All in all, it was a very agreeable way to spend the evening.
This Is Drivel 