Today, I sit out on the deck, socially distant from Ibrahin Mena. Ibrahin is is from Caracas Venezuela. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master degree in Journalism. He has more than ten years of experience teaching at the primary, secondary and university levels. He was honored as teacher of the year in Caracas in 2014. Ibrahin lived in Malta, Europe for a year and half and arrived in Missoula in 2016 to teach at Missoula International School. He loves dancing, writing and traveling.

Ibrahin shared his story at Tell Us Something on March 18, 2019, to a sold-out crowd at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. The theme was “Stranger in a Strange Land”.

When I sat down with Ibrahin, we talked about life in Venezuela, his experience with racism there, and in Europe, when he was traveling. We compared that to his experience with racism here in the United States, talked about his experience with the police in Missoula, Montana and he shares his message of love with us.

Ibrahin’s story, which I play after the interview, is called “What’s Wrong with my Skin?”.

I’m excited to bring you stories from the archives and a behind the scenes look at Tell Us Something. In this new series I’ll sit down with a storyteller every week, and we’ll talk about what they’ve been up to, go more in depth with their story and get to know them a little better. The first episode of this new series features Ibrahin Mena. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you don’t miss any of the episodes and I look forward to you joining us for some good conversation.

Hope you can tune in. The first episode in this series drops on Tuesday July 21.

Thanks for listening. Be well.

Marc Moss

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear stories about a rule-following good girl making a stand against injustice, a woman who uses kindness to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation in Brooklyn, New York, successful communication during a near-death experience on a mountain road and a neighborhood coming together to protect songbirds in a time of crisis.

Today we feature four storytellers who worked hard during a Tell Us Something intensive storytelling week-long workshop. They shared their true personal stories from their living rooms, their kitchens, their bedrooms — from their homes —  during our first-ever live-streamed event. The theme for the night was “No Excuses: Stories of Hope and Resilience”.

We didn’t have full control over the sound quality for all of the storytellers, and some of them are somewhat compromised because of Internet connectivity issues. All of the stories are worth hearing and they are all incredible. Thanks for your patience with the limitations of live storytelling during shelter-in-place.

Our first story comes to us from Bonnie Bishop, who encounters a personality at work that has some interesting ideas about what constitutes professional attire. Bonnie calls her story “GREATER THAN MY PANTS”.

Bonnie Bishop is originally from Northern Virginia and moved to Missoula 3 years ago (site unseen) after working a few summers in Yellowstone National Park, where her love for wild things took hold. Since then Bonnie has gotten her master’s degree in Public & Community Health from UM, which has fueled her passion for health equity and social justice. Bonnie values authenticity, laughter, empowerment, courage, and swears by blasting Evanescence in the bathtub as the remedy for a bad day. Described by her family and friends as an Earthy Firecracker, she joins us today to celebrate Taurus season through story.”

Anna Stene finds herself in Brooklyn New York and is walking home one morning when she decides to explore an unfamiliar neighborhood on the way home. She encounters a man who engages her with a surprising question. Anna calls her story “Can’t You See I’m Wearing Headphones?” (or) “If You Must Know”.

Anna Louise Stene is an alumnus of the University of Montana’s Creative Writing program. She is a roustabout who collects stories and, by her own admission needs to get a job. A life long equestrian, she can fly fish off the back of her horse, but can’t manage to catch a damn thing. She currently straddles America with one foot in Montana and one in Brooklyn, casting for a home.

Katie Matthews and her friend Katie share a fantastic day out in nature, running up a mountain and swimming in a mountain lake in the wilds of Montana. Their trip down the gravel road turns nearly disastrous as Katie’s car almost tumbles off the side of the mountain. Ride along with the tow truck driver in a story Katie calls “Tow Truck Troubles”.

Katie Matthews has lived in the Missoula community for the past 14 years. She is currently a 6th-grade teacher. Katie loves sharing her passion for science and the outdoors with her students! When she is not teaching, she is guiding visitors down the Alberton Gorge west of Missoula in the summers.

In our final story, Becca Frucht rallies the neighborhood to save an important long-standing housing development recently inhabited by some very industrious tenants. She calls her story “Let it Stand”.

Becca Frucht is a self-ascribed “Tumbleweed Queen”, whose eclectic personal and professional journey has taken her from the red carpet to the Rocky Mountains. After a decade of big city adventures, she blew up her urbanite existence, to live and work on an 87 thousand -acre ranch, and has been exploring the intersection of open range and open minds, ever since. She is a Program Officer with AMB West Philanthropies, — The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s Montana-based endeavor, where she helps support and evaluate West Creek Ranch, an inspired retreat and think tank space. Becca also moonlights as an amateur cowgirl, karaoke professional, conservation cheerleader, and unicorn believer.

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear stories about a man overcoming his obesity and depression through the magic of MMA fighting, a model who escapes the insidious modeling industry, a volunteer who helps restore an historic C-47 aircraft for the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and a mother making a difficult decision on the day of an important hunt.

Note that the quality of the sound is not as perfect as we would like it to be. These stories are really worthwhile and we want you to hear them. Thank you.

Dave Boulter is an athlete who can no longer play sports. The resulting depression and weight gain drive him to try a sport he never thought he would try — MMA fighting. He calls his story “That Didn’t Hurt So Bad!”

Dave Boulter is a New England boy who moved to Montana early in the Spring of 1993. He graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in Forestry specializing in Recreation Management. He has been making his living as a Stone Mason for approximately 20 years and is a veteran athlete and coach in Mixed Martial Arts.

Ainsley McWha begins her modeling career at 16 and is enthralled by the glitz and glamor before she discovers the dark side of the industry and finally escapes. 

Near the end of Ainsley’s story, an unfortunate thing happens: she is heckled by someone in the audience who is not listening fully to her story. This sort of behavior is never appropriate. At the live event, I made that clear after Ainsly finished. I mention this here because I kept the heckler in the edit and bleeped her comment. Doing so retains the flow of the story and shows Ainsley’s strength in pushing through to finish her story. 

Ainsley calls her story “Seen & Not Heard”.

Ainsley McWha is a writer and essayist whose work appears in the current issue of Barrelhouse Journal and has previously been published in Grist, Tahoma Literary Review, Salon, and the Washington Post, among others. She was recently appointed as the chair of the Parks & Rec committee in the town where she lives. She has never seen the sitcom. 

Read Ainsley’s writing about her experiences as a model at Salon, The Washington Post, Huffington Post (1), and Huffington Post (2).

Mare at ainsleymcwha.com.

John  Haines knows nothing about airplanes and loves a good cause, so he volunteers to help make “Miss Montana” airworthy so she can join the D-Day Squadron and the Daks Over Normandy in commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2019. (Miss Montana is a historic C-47 aircraft in the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula.) John calls his story “75 Years is a Good Start”.

John Haines was born and raised in Plains, MT and lived in Kumamoto, Japan for ten years. John currently works at Ace hardware so he can volunteer at the Museum of Mountain Flying.

Molly Bradford awakens on the day of the hunt to the sounds of her son coughing with the croup and has to decide if she should cancel the hunt. She calls her story “The Push and the Pull – or – Spilling Milk”

Molly Bradford is the CEO and Co-founder at GatherBoard, the makers of MissoulaEvents.net. Molly takes community connection seriously, as an active member of the Missoula startup ecosystem in addition to her children’s scholastic and community endeavors. Molly is an avid yet amateur gardener, cook, skier, and hunter who likes to put up mass quantities of food for the winter, race her husband and kids down the slopes and makes telecommuting from Mexico a family priority.

Our podcast today was recorded in front of a live audience on December 10, 2019, at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 8 storytellers shared their true personal story on the theme “Tipping Point”. Today we hear from three of those storytellers.

Note that the quality of the sound is not as perfect as we would like it to be. These stories are really worthwhile and we want you to hear them. Thank you.

In our first story, Annabelle Winne wakes in the middle of the night with the sensation of water in her ear. She soon discovers that the cause of the sensation is worse than she could have imagined. She calls her story “Insanity in my Ear”.

Annabelle Winne moved to Montana 9 years ago, in part, because she only lives in states that start with the letter “M.” Previously, she lived in Maine, Massachusetts and (New) Mexico. She currently works as a clinical social worker in private practice. Past jobs have included research biologist, waitress and burrito roller.

Our next storyteller is Feather Sherman, who falls out of a tree on a camping trip, and is saved from breaking her neck, by an unlikely accomplice. She calls her story “Tree of Enlightenment”.

Feather Sherman earned her Masters in Art Education from the University of Montana. She has a 50-year career, teaching art, and raising her five, wonderful children. She’s passionate about WORLD PEACE, ART and music. For the last seven years, she has devoted her life to being a Volunteer of Loving Kindness and works for free. Living very simply, she has helped with American and World Peace Gatherings, Oceti [SACK-OH-WIN] Sakowin Media Crew at Standing Rock, and Rainbow Hurricane Disaster Relief Kitchens.

Our final storyteller is Greg Munro who, along with his wife, embarks on an adoption journey that results in the very first open adoption in the state of Montana. Greg calls his story “The Tipping Point for Secrecy in Infant Adoptions”.

Greg Munro is the father of two adopted daughters who are now adults with children of their own. In a long career as a trial lawyer, including 30 years as a law professor at the University of Montana, he has made storytelling the core of his advocacy and is awed by this ancient and beautiful communication.

Our podcast today was recorded in front of a live audience on September 24, 2019 at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 8 storytellers shared their true personal story on the theme “Leap of Faith”. Today we hear from three of those storytellers.

Our first story comes to us from Steven T! Millhouse, who takes us on a journey walking form Missoula, MT to Los Angeles, CA, regaining a lost hope in humanity along the way. He calls his story “Homage for the Homeless”.

Watch Steven’s story.

Steven T! Millhouse was born in Bozeman but grew up in Missoula. He graduated from Sentinel Highschool, and the University of Montana. He is “MONTANA Through and Through.”  He would like to thank his Millhouse and Spaulding Families for their Love and support.

Our next story comes to us from Jennie Pak who introduces us to her aspiring rock star son and allows us to walk through the labyrinth with her on a healing journey through grief. She calls her story ““Out of the Dark””.

Watch Jennie’s story.

Jennie Pak was born and raised in Montana. After living up and down the West Coast, the family settled in Missoula in 1998.  Jennie works as a Senior Caregiver for Home Instead Senior Care. In her spare time, she is a living history presenter, traveling around to libraries, museums, schools and Senior residences, portraying women from Montanas’s wild west days.

In our final story, Jaimie Jacoby and his crew help rescue a horse that has found its way to the wrong side of the Lochsa River during the height of whitewater season. Jaimie calls his story “Badger Crossing”.

Watch Jamie’s story.

Jaimie Jacoby has lived in Missoula for the last 15 years. He works in Physical Therapy and does massage therapy on the side. He enjoys sports, the outdoors, and live music. His many outdoor adventures have led him to experience some, interesting, situations.

Our podcast today was recorded in front of a live audience on September 24, 2019 at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 8 storytellers shared their true personal story on the theme “Leap of Faith”.

Our first story comes to us from Karl Stein, who shares his tale of falling in love with the rhythm of the tracks, riding trains from Montana to California and back while trying to avoid the yard bulls. He calls his story “Vagabond”.

Karl Stein started painting when he was ten years old after inheriting his grandfather’s oil paints. In 1969 a Grizzly football scholarship brought him to Montana where he set nine school records his first year, including the still-standing single-season interception record, earning him all American honors and induction into the Grizzly Hall of Fame as part of the championship 1969-18970 team. Known as “sky thief” he may be the only Griz player who was an art major, and performed with the University Modern Dance Company. Karl lives with his family next to tribal forest lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, where he loves to paint, sculpt, play music, garden, eat toast and jam, run, follow black bears and ski out his back door.

Watch Karl’s Story

Our next story comes to us from Tomi Cook whose downward spiral into addiction is transcended when her drug dealer takes a leap of faith of his own and treats Tomi with compassion. This is Tomi’s story of healing and grace. She calls her story “One Leap At a Time”.

A warning for our more sensitive listeners, Tomi shares openly and with frank language about suicide and drug use.

If you or someone you know needs help with depression or suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Lifeline 1.800.273.TALK. If you or someone you know struggles with addiction, you can find help at addictionresource.com.

Watch Tomi’s story.

Tomi Cook recently graduated from the clinical mental health master’s program at the University of Montana  and then landed her dream job at Open Aid Alliance. She’s a native New Yorker who spent the early parts of her life moving around the country, including several years in Japan before she found Montana, not by choice, but by luck.

In our final story, Anna Haslund performs a daring horse rescue on a forest service road in Montana. Anna calls her story “Joe + Balthazar”. Note that Anna is deaf, and you may hear her voice in the background of the American Sign Language interpreter who is voicing Anna’ story.

Watch Anna’s story.

Anna Haslund loves to help the community with her kindness! She is the one who breaks the barrier and who can do the impossible. Her mission is to lift others to success through a journey of personal growth. Positively reinforcing values of serving others.

In the summer of 2019, Tell Us Something hosted a storytelling summer camp for youth at Zootown Arts Community Center. Seven young women worked together with Tell Us Something director Marc Moss for a week during the summer of 2019 to learn about how to decide what story to share, stage presence, story structure, elements of a story, keeping ourselves, our audience, and the characters in a story safe as well as making an emotional connection with the audience.

This episode of the Tell Us Something podcast was recorded in front of a live audience on August 9, 2019 at Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula, MT. 7 storytellers shared their true personal story that they developed with me over the course of a weeklong summer camp for youth at The ZACC.

Izzy Slaughter, is our first storyteller, accompanies her competitive jump rope team, the Montana Super Skippers, to the national championships in Disney World, and gives us a peak behind the scenes of a chaotic competition. Her story is called “Jump for Joy”.

Watch Izzy’s story.

Izzy Slaughter was born and raised in Missoula, Montana and is a competitive jump roper. She enjoys eating Big Dipper ice cream, skiing at Snowbowl, crafting and being outdoors.

Ellie Althauser-Vlad’s best friend disappeared unexpectedly and when she returns, Ellie discovers why, offering her support and continued friendship. Her story is called “The Starbucks Cup”.

Watch Ellie’s story.

Ellie Althauser-Vlad was born in Missoula and is an inclusive, open-minded goofy 8th grader at Washington Middle School, except for when her she-demon sister is around. She lives with her parents, sister, cat and dog. If Ellie were an ice cream flavor, she would most definitely be yellow cake, and only from the Big Dipper, of course.

Si Thompson visits La Paz, Mexico and gets up close and personal with a whale shark, one of the largest animals on the planet. We call her story “Snorkeling with a Whale Shark”.

Watch Si’s story.

Si Thompson has lived in Missoula, MT most of her life. She enjoys the arts and crafts, and the outdoors, mostly skiing and swimming. She loves animals — all of them.

Annie Smith loves helping her mom make fudge, and when she has eaten her quota, she retreats to her room, only to sneak out again, and raid the fudge crumbs when her mother isn’t looking. We call her story “Fudge Crumbs on the Sly”.

Watch Annie’s story.

Annie Smith was born and raised in Missoula, Montana and enjoys reading, crafting, traveling, playing sports, playing the violin and piano and being outside. Especially in the water.

Wynter Bradley goes camping with her siblings, father and uncle in the wilds of Montana. She tests the boundaries she was given and strays beyond the sightline of the adults. Listen to her adventure of being lost in the wilderness in a story we call “Lost and Found”.

Watch Wynter’s story.

Wynter Bradley is going into 8th grade. She likes to travel, sing, dance and write. She also really likes gyros and fries.

Hannah Lunde visits Disneyland with her parents and discovers the Guardians of the Galaxy ride is not what they expected. We call this story “Disneyland Dropdown”.

Watch Hannah’s story.

Hannah Lunde is a happy girl going into 7th grade. She loves dance and gymnastics. If she were an animal, she would be a goat.

Our final story comes to us from Gwyneth Puryear, who decides to take AP Chemistry. She takes us on the journey of humor and anxiety that is the final exam. We call her story “Shooting for a 3”.

Watch Gwyneth’s story.

Gwyneth Puryear recently moved to Missoula from England. She’s going to be a junior in high school and loves to perform. She spends her time reading, writing and singing along to her favorite musicals.

Our podcast today was recorded in front of a live audience on June 12, 2019 at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 8 storytellers shared their true personal story on the theme “What Are the Chances?”

While walking near the Yellowstone River with her dog, Kate Cholewa is attacked by a grizzly bear. She calls her story “I Didn’t Die”.

Kate Cholewa has worked in public policy in Montana for more than 20 years. She’s a systems nerd, a marijuana policy consultant, and author of the novel, Shaking Out the Dead.

Our next story comes to us from Elsi Enanga , who is selected to cook meals for a large church group over the course of 3 days. Both of her children fall terribly ill and she must accompany them to the hospital where she holds vigil over them. Elsi’s story is called “Another Chance”.

Elsie Enanga received her BA, MA degrees and High School Teacher’s Diploma in Modern English Letters from the University of Yaounde 1 in Cameroon. She has been an English Language teacher in Government High School Biyem-assi(Lycée de Biyem-Assi)Yaounde, Cameroon since 2006.

Elsie is very keen on poetry writing, she possesses a collection of poems. She received the 2008 Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association(ACWA) Award for her poetry entry.

In our next story, Mike McTee is an environmental scientist for MPG Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. During the course of his studies, he learns how lead ammunition is turning up in the bloodstream of living birds of prey and sets about to begin making changes. Mike calls his story “A Gun Nut Goes Green”

Mike McTee has been shooting weapons since before he could recite the alphabet. In 2006, he moved himself–and his weapons–from the outskirts of Seattle, Washington to Missoula, Montana. Mike is now an environmental scientist for MPG Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley where he studies the intersection between chemistry and shooting sports. You can pick up a copy of his book, “Wilted Wings”, here.

In this episode’s final story, Mike Calucchia snorts his crown into his sinus cavity during what was supposed to be a routine visit to the dentist. Mike calls his story “Prospector!”

Mike Calucchia was first introduced to improvisational comedy five years ago at a workshop taught by a member of the Los Angeles-based Groundlings comedy troupe. He’s been hooked ever since, performing in community theater productions and with local improv groups. Mike’s professional career includes over 20 years of experience in medical sales management. He is also a former restaurateur and whitewater river guide.

Our podcast today was recorded in front of a live audience on June 12, 2019 at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 8 storytellers shared their true personal story on the theme “What Are the Chances?”

Our first story comes to us from Mariah Kelly, who shares her tale of how her traveling companion and she end up in jail on drug charges after a traffic stop goes sideways on a road trip in Mississippi. She calls her story “Two Pounds of Undeclared Luggage”

Mariah Kelley recently graduated from the University of Montana in Education and History and then moved to London to pursue a Masters of International Relations at The London School of Economics. She is fascinated by the French language and has the ultimate dream of working for the United Nations. She is an avid, artsy, nomadic student of the world.

Gay Eyman’s son is born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He survives, grows up to be a wonderful son, and dies unexpectedly. This is Gay’s story of healing and grace. She calls her story “Breath”.

Gay Eyman is a mom of 5 children and 3 grandchildren. She and her husband farm in Helena, which has always been the dream for her hands and her heart. Gay was raised in the Bay Area near San Francisco and has lived in Montana, her father’s home place for over 40 years. Stories are the threads that weave her together in the fabric of grace and love. She is Nana to her grandchildren, like the dog in Peter Pan.

Adam Washerback is ready for love at the 3rd wedding of his “divorce summer”. A tragic accident while horsing around leaves him a quadriplegic, and he does the work required to make a full recovery. Adam calls his story “After the Bubble Bursts”.

Originally from Wisconsin, Adam Washerback moved to Missoula to work as a Wilderness Ranger. For the last 11 seasons, he has spent his summers working with horses, mules, saws, and axes to maintain the trails of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. Adam is a traditional skills educator and claims to have near surgical precision with an ax.

Raymond Ansotegui and his campmate hear what they think is a bear outside their tent while camping in grizzly country. They make their escape to the truck and have an unfortunate accident with hilarious results. Raymond calls his story “Hot Sauce on the Backside”.

Raymond Ansotegui was born and raised in Montana. He is a reclamation scientist and spent a decade as a rodeo bullfighter. His wife is a world-renowned artist that patiently deals with his cooking attempts. He loves people and the bond of storytelling that holds us all together.