Less than a week after I signed up for the Senior Serenaders (please see previous post CK#29) , I found myself attending my first meeting of the Township of Foxborough’s “Cultural Council” on November 1, 2023. Quite frankly, I had no idea what the Cultural Council did, but I figured that my learning a little bit more about “Culture” could only be a positive in my life. The meeting was held in the Foxborough Public Safety building, a place I had never been before. I was a little concerned as I was the first person in the room. Once the Council members arrived, they made me feel especially welcome. I could tell that not many non-Council guests attended these meetings as I was invited to sit at the table with the other four or five people on the Council. I found all the Council members to be warm and inviting individuals…what you might expect at a meeting of “Cultural Council” members!
As usual, I made myself right at home conversing with the assembled individuals and at one point one of the ladies asked me the following question, “Joe, do you like telling stories?” …I answered the question as follows; “Well, one of the entries on my Linked-IN page is listed as “LYFT Driver and Story Teller.” More than one person laughed and stated words to the effect “I KNEW IT!” That was all it took…the next thing I know I am contacting Jared Craig, leader of the Foxborough’s “Foxtale” story telling program to sign up to tell a story with a theme of “Heroism” (the story was to be told two days before Veteran’s Day, hence the theme).
What adds some spice to this story is that the story needed to be approved by Jared Craig first. The Foxtale event was to be held on November 9, and I was scheduled to fly to Denver, Colorado on November 3 for four days to visit my oldest daughter and meet up with West Point classmates to attend the Army/Air Force football game. Prior to my attending the Cultural Council meeting on November 1st, the last thing on my mind was preparing for a story to be told on November 9 when I wasn’t even going to be back in Massachusetts until November 7. No problem, the Colonel had a story all ready to go….that is, until I spoke to Jared Craig on the phone.
You see, just one year prior, I had been a quest speaker at Kent County High School (Maryland) on Veterans’ Day. I had used Toby Keith’s song “American Soldier” as the basis of my story which drew parallels between the heroes of our military and those in our public-school teacher ranks. I figured I would dust this story off and present it at Foxtales the next week. Since I had sent Jared a link to this blog site, Jared reviewed my site and, on a phone call the day before I was to fly to Colorado, Jared and I spoke. I told him of my plans to retell the Toby Keith “American Soldier” story and he gave me some great coaching. He told me, “Joe I read your blog site stories, and your son, Ian is your heroism story.” I suddenly was overcome with both fear and emotion. In fact, my son and his story had been one of heroism, and I feared that I would not have the time to properly prepare the seven-minute story. The emotional part was the realization that my young son with Downs’ Syndrome, who never made it to his third birthday, had actually been my hero. I suddenly felt this intense desire to not let my son down, I wanted to tell his story in the worst way, thanks to Jared Craig.
After that phone call, and for the next week, the miracles happened. I flew to Denver, had a great visit with my daughter and West Point classmates, and the heavy underdog Army football team upset the 20-point favorite nationally ranked, undefeated Air Force football team by a score of 23-3. It was an Army blowout that almost nobody expected. That whole week I revised my notes hundreds of times and practiced telling my son’s story to the mirror more than 20 times. I practiced to myself on the flights to and from Denver and in the evenings at the Denver Air BNB. I told my story to my daughter who had known Ian and she loved the story that I told “AS IS.” I practiced until I didn’t have to refer to notes any more…this actual Foxtale presentation needed to be perfect.
I was one of 6 story tellers on the topic of “Heroism” on November 9. I was the last speaker and I was so thankful that my youngest daughter was able to attend the story. After I told the story, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. At the event, Jared hands out one voting chip to each spectator and story teller. After all presentations are completed, attendees “vote” for best story told by putting their voting chip into a jar with the story teller’s picture on it. My daughter told me that she saw another story teller putting their voting chip in my jar as opposed to his own, an ultimate compliment. I was the “winner” that night, collecting the most chips.
So, there it is, Serendipity on Steroids #4, a story of how a simple visit to a Cultural Council meeting led to an introduction to Jared Craig and “Foxtales” which has come full circle with my appointment by the Foxborough Board of Selectman within the past month as a member of that very Foxborough Cultural Council.
I have since signed up to present on “Turning the Page” at the April 25, 2024 “Foxtale” night and am playing in a speaking role in Patrick Jerome’s presentation of “Candlelight My Way” which premiers at the Boston International Film Festival on April 14, 2024. I guess you could say I have found some culture since moving to Foxborough last June!
Up next, Serendipity on Steroids #5…The Football Miracles of 2023!
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