There’s something exciting about a pop up venture. Be it a roadside stand, an impromptu concert in the park, or a come-as-you-are spontaneous party – a pop up has an energy and vibe all it’s own. It can be chill or electric, but it’s rarely if ever boring.
This Thursday, July 20th, we invite you to join us online for Pop Up Storytelling. It’s going to be a freewheeling night of tales hosted by our fearless (and award-winning!) leader, Jessica Robinson. Our cast of merry tellers is made up of Clint Atwater, Vicki Bryan, Claire Castell, Anne Shimojima, J. StarLitWriter, and little old me, Jack Scheer. The Zoom room opens around 8 P.M. Eastern and the show starts directly after.
Online tickets are available here!
In honor of this show’s loosey goosey theme, I put this question to our tellers and host…
What’s a favorite memory of doing something spontaneous?
Here’s what we had to say…
Clint Atwater: We were living in Michigan and decided to go to Sea World of Ohio for a long weekend. I neglected to mention to my new bride that I planned on going to the amusement park on the second day. Over breakfast, I discovered my bride didn’t enjoy amusement parks. I told her we were halfway to Niagara Falls, and she responded, “Okay,” with a somewhat quizzical look. I replied, “Well, we’re closer than ever.”
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Vicki Bryan: I was walking to the W. 23rd Street and 8th Avenue subway station. At 6th Avenue I saw an old friend I hadn’t seen in 10 years. Standing on the corner chatting she mentioned she was coordinating a travel group to Bahia, Brazil. Couldn’t believe it! Bahia Brazil was on my dream trip list ever since I read an article in the National Geographic magazine. Right then and there I wrote a check for my trip deposit. Four months later I was in Bahia sipping a caipirinha on a terrace enjoying a breathtaking view of the city of Salvador.
Claire Castell: I was at a Contra Dance at Stanford University. The callers announced a dance camp up in Mendocino County that I really wanted to go to. But I needed a cabin-mate to share costs. I had danced with a lovely man I just met, Paul, and asked him if he wanted to go with me. He agreed right away. We went on to have a lovely week and a little romance.
Jessica Robinson: My first thought was that I never do anything spontaneous. Then I thought, that can’t be right. So I tried to remember a time when I had done something spontaneous, like maybe in my youth. And then I remembered a couple of really bad things that came from me being a little spontaneous and decided none of those would be fun to share and so, yeah, I really don’t do spontaneity. But maybe now I will, so I’ll have an answer next time someone asks. It’s still spontaneous if I plan to do it, right?
Jack Scheer: My wife and I joined my parents for a vacation in Hawaii. One day, after a morning of breakfast and shopping, my mom needed a nap and my wife wanted to read by the pool. This left my dad and me watching TV. After about half an hour my dad said, “we flew a third of the way around the world to a tropical island and we’re sitting here watching old reruns.” So we decided to do something ourselves. We jumped in my rental convertible and drove up the coast, talking, stopping at any place that caught our fancy, and having a lovely unplanned afternoon.
Anne Shimojima: In 1972, I graduated from college and my good friend, Suzy, and I, decided to go to Europe. We planned the trip carefully – two and a half weeks in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. We had all of our hotels/hostels reserved and we knew exactly where we would be on each day. But while we were in Paris, we suddenly realized that Switzerland was right next door so we decided to “run over” to Zurich. On the only full day we had there, we took a tour to Lucerne and the first mountains that I ever saw were the Swiss Alps – so breathtakingly beautiful! I thought, wow, no wonder people like mountains!
J. StarLitWriter: During a huge storm on a family cruise, I and my fellow teenage delinquent friends sneaked onto the ship’s top deck. It was closed because the wind was so strong that you couldn’t even walk straight. Then someone had a bright idea. That’s how I found myself sliding – on purpose – down the bow of the ship to the deck below as I came dangerously close to blowing off into the raging sea. So when someone asks, “Would you jump off a ship if all your friends were doing it?” I, unfortunately, have to answer yes.
That’s your taste of the kind of spontaneity that might pop up Thursday night at 8 o’clock Eastern. Join us for a night that promises variety and good times! Tickets start at $15 (with a $5 minimum option for the online show).
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