With more opportunity to read these days, I've given it some thought as to why I'm attracted to the type of books that are somewhat lighthearted. In doing so, I've concluded that what I like is "storytelling." I like discovering information about the characters, finding that a series of events in their lives all seem to interconnect with a much larger picture. By connecting the dots, I can eventually see the whole picture. In good story telling, the truth is actually masked until almost like magic, the truth is revealed. I suppose my enjoyment of storytelling began long ago as a child, hearing stories told by a beloved character named Uncle Remus. Writer Joel Chandler Harris, a white man, is given credit for these black folktales, but from what I've read, he only wrote what he heard when visiting a plantation, owned by his employer. White and black children then and now enjoy hearing tales of critters like Brer Fox, Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit. I would have to say ole Uncle Remus had a handle on good story telling, having some great characters,struggling in some very exciting plots, that all seemed to come together magically revealing a truth or a valuable moral lesson. At a young impressionable age, I learned quite a few lessons from this old gentleman. Now days, I do a pretty good immitation of Uncle Remus's voice and dialect. A few of his stories I know by heart, having told them so many times to my children, and now my grandchildren. I also have some pretty good stories of my own, although not quite as exciting as Brer Rabbit's tales. I'm hoping storytelling will continue on in my family so that future generations can share in beliefs, faith, traditions and folktales once told by Dee Dee.
