The Ripple Effect

Last April my daughter Elly and I told Heather Forest’s story, “The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies,” at a Girl Scout tea, where scones and tea cakes baked by our girls were served to moms and aunties and grandmas, to help raise funds to get our troop to England. Our friend and troop patroness, Frieda, attended our Tea and Tales event. She enjoyed the story so much that she went out and bought Heather’s book.

Tonight, after our Girl Scout meeting, we let the kids hang out, while we grownups chatted. Frieda was there, and she told a story that I think you should hear.

Frieda is an emergency room nurse. She told us that last week an elderly man, a cancer patient, was brought to the emergency room. There wasn’t a bed available for him in the hospital, so his gurney was wheeled into a corner of the emergency room and he was left there, quite frankly, to die. It was very sad, as there was no hope, and there was little that could be done, and his family could not be reached. Frieda felt sorry for him, yet she hardly knew what to say. She took his hand and asked, “Do you want to hear a story?”

He nodded, and she began to tell him “The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies.” The old man held onto her hand for dear life, and listened. Before she could finish, Frieda was reluctantly called away to care for another patient. As soon as she was free, Frieda returned to the old man. He was so weak he could hardly speak, but he was moving his lips. Frieda put her ear close to his mouth, to better hear his words.

He whispered, “What happened next?”

Frieda concluded the story, and the old man gave her hand a little squeeze and shut his eyes. Later that night he died. Frieda felt that the story had transported him, at least for a little while, into a timeless world, far away from care.

Long after the storyteller’s voice is silent, her words will resonate and travel, like ripples spreading out across the surface of a pond. I wrote Heather and told her, and I wanted to remind you, too: many more people than you can ever know are touched by your work.

Comments

[Kim Pearson]

Naomi, this story about a story illustrates one of the most profound reasons stories are so powerful -- because they do not die, but keep on giving forever. Thank you for sharing. Kim

[Naomi Baltuck]

Hi Kim,
When you zap a story out there onto the web, it is so different from being able to read a response in the faces of your listeners, so I really appreciate hearing back from you.

Thank you,
Naomi