Tell a little about yourself and your family? What is your vocation and your hobby?
I’m a farmer, kinda, but mostly a tractor tire salesman, mostly a salesman. I guess that would be my vocation. I live in Tonganoxie, Kansas, and I’m married to Janet Manson. I have two sons and a daughter. I have grandkids. Hobby - I like storytelling and painting and drawing. I like to bake, too. I do that at work.
Why did you decide it was important to be a member of Missouri Storytelling?
Missouri Storytelling is pretty much an extension of Kansas City Storytelling ( RAPS). I wish I could say I have supported all storytelling.
What is your interest in storytelling? How did it begin?
I like to tell stories. As a salesman, I give you something and you give me money. The thought of you giving me money and my giving you “Blue Sky and Clear Water”is amazing. That’s what storytelling is for me. So I would say it’s a hobby. I have spent a lot of money but been paid seldom. It’s a really nice hobby. I have been to lots of places, have the best friends I’ve ever had, own more books, read more kids’ storybooks than any adult should, taken more literature classes, writing classes, all done with the same excuse, to be a better storyteller. It all probably made me a better person, Dad, Grandpa, and salesman.
What tellers have been influential in your life?
This is a really hard question. There are a lot of storyteller who have influenced me. Priscilla Howe with her stories, Tracy Milsap and Dennis Rogers telling in tandem. Maybe Maxine Clausen who made me stand up and sing as she played the piano, Jim Wallen in Bethany asking the kids how many knew what a dun horse was or it might have been Deb Swanegan showing me how powerful an old folk tale is. Ron Adams from St. Louis scared the bejesus out of me at St. Charles and Anthony Clark scared me by telling the Train Whistle in Leavenworth. It could be Larry Brown every time he tells another tale that’s better than the last one he told. Deb Wallen helped me with her pages of critiques. Jean Hatfield’s tale of McSkeeters and her nose getting longer was a tale to remember. I know every storyteller I know taught me how to be better.
What is your favorite story?
Geneva Greenfield tells one of my favorites. It’s the one with the two white mules.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I am sure that the best times of my life happen at the Chicken Festival. My favorite memories of that festival are Jim and the center fold, Greg’s ashes sent up in the bottle rocket, Gladys and the plastic spiders and the time we were snowed in in Clinton, MO.
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