Posts by Ron

Griddlesode S13-002: The Most Important Storytelling Trait

Posted by Ron on Dec 31, 2018 | Comments Off on Griddlesode S13-002: The Most Important Storytelling Trait

I’ve been a storyteller as long as I can remember. In 1990, I told the story or the Battle of Lexington & Concord in two hour audio cassette. In 1995, I wrote a business fable called The Edison Effect, that told the story about a manager who lost his job to technology and the lessons that he learned along the way back into the job market. In 2005, I started this storytelling podcast. And so it only made sense that ten years later, I started teaching the art of storytelling to business folks.

Griddlecakes Radio has blessed me with the opportunity to meet many listeners who’ve reached out to tell how my stories have affected them. Others have express their hopes to become better storytellers themselves. I’ve never talked about the act of storytelling on this podcast, and thought that we could use this end-of-the-year Griddlesode to peel back the storytelling curtain. So, for those listeners who want to become better storytellers, this Griddlesode is for you because I’m going to teach you the most important trait that any storyteller must have. And of course I’m going to do so through storytelling…three of them actually.

So sit back and get comfortable while I tell three little stories that share a common theme, the single most important trait that a storyteller must have.

The Music in this Griddlesode came from the Free Music Archive. In order of appearance are:

Warm Duck Shuffle by Arne Huseby
Has-been Blues by the Cantonement Jazz Band
Stormy Blues by Arne Huseby
Bessemer Blues by the Cantonement Jazz Band

Griddlesode S13-001: Project Lizzie: It’s a Wrap

Posted by Ron on Nov 20, 2018 | Comments Off on Griddlesode S13-001: Project Lizzie: It’s a Wrap

It’s called a green leaf, Ancestry.com’s notification symbol that represents a genealogical hint. Most ancestry stories start by clicking on these leaves, but this particular click lead to the end of one. On February 10, 2018, the clues hidden behind this iconic symbol led me to solve a forty-two-year-old mystery.

You first heard about this story four years ago on Griddlesode S9-001. Back then, I had just started a project to follow the clues left on a stack of old postcards, dated between 1904 and 1925, that I found when I was 13 years old. A lot has happened in the last four years and I wanted to get you all caught up. I do in a story that I call, “Project Lizzie: It’s a Wrap.”

The music in this podcast comes from Ayla Nereo’s page on The Free Music Archive. In order of appearance are:

It’s Okay
Look at the River
Ivory Tongue
The Course

You can learn more about her music at AylaNereo.com.

This is the photograph that I had been waiting for. Lizzie is the last person on the right.

You can read the entire story or see all of the postcards at Project Lizzie.

Griddlesode S12-001: The Evangeline Connection

Posted by Ron on Dec 31, 2017 | Comments Off on Griddlesode S12-001: The Evangeline Connection

On April 5, 1840, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…yes, that Henry Longfellow, entertaining two dinner guests. The first, Reverend Horace Connolly, you’ve probably never heard of. The second, you probably have. Nathaniel Hawthorne…yes, that Nathanial Hawthorne, had brought Connolly to meet Longfellow for one specific reason, to repeat a story. A tragic story. A true, almost forgotten story that happened over 85 years prior.

Hawthorne wasn’t interested in writing anything about the story, but he thought that Longfellow might. He guessed correctly because Wadsworth would publish an epic poem based on it called Evangeline. Sales of Evangeline were so brisk, that Longfellow became the most famous writer in America.

Evangeline is based on an event that happened over 260 years ago—a tiny blip in history that many people don’t know about. But the story that Horace Connolly told Longfellow has significance for this audience because without it, Griddlecakes Radio might not exist. Why you ask? Well, sit back and listen to a story that I call, the Evangeline Connection.

The music in this podcast comes from Kevin MacLeod. who releases all of his music under a Creative Commons license. In order of appearance are:

Angel Share
String Impromptu #1
Floating Cities
Gymnopedie
Danse Macabre

Griddlesode S11-001: USS IOWA: Three Generations One Story

Posted by Ron on Nov 12, 2016 | Comments Off on Griddlesode S11-001: USS IOWA: Three Generations One Story

A few years ago, Ron volunteered for a project to bring the USS IOWA to the port of Los Angeles as a museum ship. During his time with the Pacific Battleship Center, he had the privilege of meeting three generations of sailors who served aboard her during WWII, the Korean War, and the Cold War. This is her story in their words.

Thanks to Bryan Moss (Korean War) and David Canfield (Cold War) for their interviews. And a special thank you to Kert VanderMeulen, who gave me permission to use his interviews with Joe Todaro. Check out Kert’s WWII Veteran’s Collection on Youtube.

Griddlesode S10-002: Put a Frame Around It

Posted by Ron on Dec 28, 2015 | 2 comments

Have you ever stood at the top of a mountain during a sunset? A vantage point that allowed you to see where the curvature of the earth met a multicolored sky? A scene so beautiful that you wanted to share it with your friends through a photograph, but when you did, the colors seemed muted, the earth less curved, and the experience far from how you remembered it?

My friend Rick once explained that it’s because you put a frame around it.

In this Griddlesode, Ron tells the story of the life lesson he learned from watching a popular 1950s, 60s, and 70s children’s television show.