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Stone Mason Helps Read Full Iscription

2010-10-15T05:49:17Z

This is John Kearns, a stone mason who lives in the area. He cleaned off some of the lichen and then he and I placed a large sheet of thin paper over the words carved into the stone and with the side of a large black crayon rubbed over the paper to reveal the words that had gotten so worn down they were illegible. The following is the full inscription: Erected by John McCoy in memory of his wife Anne McCoy who departed this life Jan 26, 1872 aged 65 years Also of his son Richard McCoy who dep'd this life on Nov 29, 1872 aged 30 years Also his son James McCoywho died Aug 15, 1880 aged 40 years Also the above John McCoy who died Nov 1st 1893 aged 96 years. The rest of this week I'll be storytelling in County Antrim about an hour north of Belfast. Irish storyteller Liz Weir arranged these school tellings and I'll be staying at her camping barn. This will be my last entry on this log since next week my husband Bill and I will be traveling doing The Ring of Kerry, Dublin and Bunratty Castle. See you all when I get home on Oct. 25...........it's been a fantastic journey.

Family Gravestone Discovered

2010-10-11T19:39:00Z

First off the internet has been out for three days here. Which was very frustrating because I wanted to share that last Thursday after stumbling around an old grave yard for two hours that I found the grave site which has the remains of my great great grandparents and two of my great great uncles. The cemetary is very old... the last people to be buried there were in the 1890's. I can read the names and dates at the botttom of the marker but the top is so cover with lichen you cant make out anything. A stone mason from the area is coming out tomorrow to work on removing some of the lichen. Hopefully this will enable us to read all of the information. I can't tell you what a thrill this is. Tomorrow I'll be heading on up to Dublin and then County Antrim.

Baaa! Baaaa!

2010-10-07T17:53:00Z

Here are some of the sheep on the farm. They are so funny and timid. They all ran to the other side of the pen, when I walked up to them, and stood there huddled together looking the other way.

O'Leary's Wonderfull Farm

2010-10-07T17:29:00Z

This is the view from my window at O'Leary's Bed and Breakfast. It is a working sheep and cattle farm in Kilrane, County Wexford. Philomena and Gabriel run the place and a more delightlful couple you'll never find. Phil has been invaluable in guiding me in the search for my great great grandparent's graves. Hopefully in a few days I'll have some more news to tell on that front. The food and the company at this establishment have been first rate and the scenery is spectacular. Out my window every morning I've seen the sun rise over St. George's Channel. Many folks call it the Irish Sea but Philomena says it is officially St. George's Channel.

Storytelling at Bunclody and Wexford Town Libraries

2010-10-06T17:00:00Z

Today I told stories and sang songs to two delightful groups of Irish school children. Just like the kids in America they too have "messy rooms" and love to eat at KFC (I sang "Ghost Chickens" in honor of Halloween coming up. Having a great time but these narrow winding roads in Ireland are a bit stressful.

In Ireland!

2010-10-04T20:08:41Z

To say that the world is small is no exaggeration. Above is the B&B in Dublin that I stayed in last night. After I checked out I headed down the street towards the train station. Concerned that I might be headed in the wrong direction I stopped an older woman as she came out her door to verify where the station was. She said, "And where might you be from?" I told her and she said "Oh My Lord! I am a former sister of charity of Leavenworth, Kansas. My name is Phyllis Gibbons and I taught for several years at Most Pure Heart Elementary School in the early 1960's. Two more suprised people you couldn't have found in Ireland this morning.
I made it to Rosslare Harbour, rented a car and drove (in the rain AAAAAGGGGG!!!!!) to the O'leary Farm Bed and Breakfast where I'll be spending the week while doing my storytelling gigs and searching for my great great grandparent's graves. The driving?..............it wasn't so much the driving on the left side that bothered me. It was getting used to cars coming headed toward you on the right.
To tell you more of how I did driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road will take much more space and time than I have right now. Just let it be said that I survived the first hour. My nerves are shot but I'm sure the weather will be better tomorrow so I can get some good practice driving time. Just keep telling yourself "Drive on the left.Drive on the left. Drive on the left......." Also....Bill, if you're reading this I'm having trouble getting onto my Cox Webmail. I'll try again tomorrow........

Story Practice at Auburn Elementary School

2010-09-28T21:26:46Z

Yesterday I went to Auburn Elementary School to practice some of the new material that I have been working on to present in Ireland. Being a one woman traveling show I have to find non paying audiences to rehearse in front of before presenting the new material for a paying group. Usually the teacher's are very open to letting me come in and try out my new material because I talk about how I create my stories and how writing fits into creating works of music. I am usually invited to present during their language arts block. The stories I presented yesterday were The Three Sneezes (a Swiss/French folktale), Hold on, Jimmy! (an original story that I wrote), and two new songs My Grandpa Likes Sadines and Messy Room.

Inner Child

2010-09-22T21:59:00Z

The funny thing about being a storyteller is you can let your inner child out. In fact you can let your inner child run amuck all over the place and people will love you for it. Below is one example of where my inner child decided to take over. This photo was taken at an elementary school in Dodge City, Kansas. I was doing a story called The Big Bad Bear.

Practice Blog

2010-09-19T14:20:48Z

Today I am posting from the romantic HyVee coffee shop at 29th and Wanamaker. I am testing out how to post on this blog from a location other than my house. So far so good. I've also downloaded some photos from last night's family birthday celebration and am going to see how that goes. 13 DAYS AND COUNTING TO IRELAND!!

Imagine That!

2010-09-16T17:03:00Z

    My main source of storytelling income is through school programs and libraries. Having been a teacher for 23 years this combines my two great loves...performing and working with children. The biggest thrill for me is when a child who I haven't seen for awhile says something like, "I really liked the story where the piper married the mermaid and went to live in the sea." The story stuck. That child has that picture in his head of a magical place where men can live beneath the sea. He has the exciting news that the imagination can be just as powerful as a TV cartoon.
    I can't wait to try out my stories on some children in Ireland. Will I get the same reactions? How many of my folktales have they heard? Two more weeks and I'll be on my way.
    Keep posted.

Hey there, Rita!

2010-09-09T01:27:00Z

Today's post is for my Aunt Rita. She has been instrumental in helping me find out about our family's history and has given me many interesting stories. One she told last week was about when her mother (my grandmother) decided in the early 1930's that she had had enough of her waist length hair and cut it off up to her chin (it was a really hot summer that year). My grandfather was so mad he didn't talk to her for two weeks. He must have really liked that hair. Below is a photo of my grandparent's wedding day.

Putting It Together-Bit By Bit

2010-09-08T01:53:00Z

    A storyteller's life is divided up into two main parts. Those days spent on the road performing and those days in an office. I'll be in my office mode for the next two weeks.
    Here's how my typical "office days" will play out:

8:00 am - Warm up and work on new kids song My Grandpa Likes Sardines.

9:00 am - Work on new Swiss folktale The Three Sneezes. When working on a new story based on a folktales I usually start by rewriting it in my own words on my computer and then get up and start retelling it orally using my printed version as a guide. This printed version will be revised over and over again as I continue telling the piece over the next few weeks.

10:00 am - 15 minute snack and watch fifteen minutes of my guilty pleasure The View. This is kind of like my coffee break with the girls if I were working in a regular office.

10:15 - Work online figuring out how to get my new blog onto my website...had to call Website Tonight to get some guidance but finally got it on.

12:00 - Lunch

12:30 - Banjo practice. Learning the four basic Scrugg's style rolls and a new song from my banjo instruction video

1:30 - Work some more on rewriting The Three Sneezes and Practice getting up and telling to myself my new original story Jump, Jimmy, Jump!

2:30 - Snack and Read from Twyla Tharpe's book The Creative Habit. Getting lots of good ideas on how to go about the business of being a performer.

3:30 - Box up my storytelling CDs to mail to Ireland for the performances that I'll be doing there in October.
    Send e-mails to folks in Ireland telling them that I'm sending my storytelling Cads.

4:30 - Run color copies of book covers and glue them to cardboard stands to use for library programs in Ireland.

5:30 - 7:30 Break for supper and general down time.

7:30 - Work on telling the Jump, Jimmy, Jump! story to myself while I'm on my 45 minute walk in the neighborhood. (sometimes the neighbors catch me talking out loud to myself but I just pretend that I'm on my cell phone)

Well, that's basically it. I'll repeat the above again tomorrow substituting new stories and music to work on as they develop. Exciting stuff to me because I know the hard work will pay off with an entertained audience in a few weeks.

Midwest Storyteller

2010-09-05T15:38:00Z

Hello. My name is Rosie Best-Cutrer and I am a storyteller. Someone once said that to tell people you are a storyteller is kind of like saying "I am a shepard!" It just seems like an occupation out of place in our century. But there you have it and yes it is possible to make a living at this art.

    I placed the sunflowers in my blog because I hail from The Sunflower State...Kansas. My main source of employment is in schools, libraries and museums but I occasionally have the privilege of performing at festivals such as The Cape Giradeau Storytelling Festival in Missouri or The Land Run Festival in Choctaw, Oklahoma. This January I'll be a featured teller at the Winter Tales Festival in Kearney, Nebraska.

    I started this blog mainly because I'm going to Ireland in October to tell in libraries and also at some schools with Irish teller Liz Weir and I wanted to have some way of keeping a record of my travels for folks to read. I also will be doing some family research into my Irish heritage which I will share with you as I get closer to going on my trip.
    Thanks for reading and keep

Welcome

2010-09-04T02:32:06Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.