A Good Story

Length of Shower:  It's how I got to the shower that counts --I love a good story.  There's nothing like it.  It doesn't matter if it is predictable or unexpected or disturbing or even a little gross, if it is a good story then I'm on board.  I'm what you call a "plot guy" when I watch a movie.  Of course there are other things I notice and appreciate, but a good story line is what I really love.

It's the reason I have a guilty pleasure for country music.  Yes, I live in a big city and I party at bars and clubs, but I also know more Kenny Rogers lyrics than the average person.  I love tearing up while listening to Rascal Flatts scream out about "Moving On."  It's not the twang or the guitar or even the wardrobe of these singers that do it for me, it's the story they tell in each song.  I was raised as a singer and I even have a degree in vocal music, but one of my favorite old-time country "singers" is C.W. McCall.  This guy doesn't even sing!  He is more of a country rapper of sorts.  But what I love about him is what I love about most country songs; the story.

Sitcoms.  Not known for their good story lines, but I can get into a few of them if they are well written.  "How I Met Your Mother" for example.  There are episodes I love and episodes I don't, but the best ones that further the overall story line along and get us closer to the day he actually meets his future wife, those are the gems.  I will cry when that happens too, I know.  The story line is why sitcoms throw in a good wedding every season or two, because weddings are concrete ways of furthering any story along.  And they help the ratings too!  Probably for that very reason...most people like to see a story move forward.

I could go on, but I would just be avoiding even more the real point here:  What is your story?

I often think, in the shower and elsewhere, about what my legacy, or story, is and what it tells about me. I try and be an objective observer watching my life like a movie.  Is it interesting?  Is the main character, me, a guy I would cheer for and route for when times get bad?  Is the setting and decisions he makes realistic or boring or interesting or just plain stupid?  Now, I'm not stupid in buying into this completely.  I'm not making decisions just to entertain an audience that isn't actually there, but the point still remains; What is my own story line?  And even further, can I know my own story before it's finished?  I don't know.  I've been told that there is a section of heaven you can go do when you get there and you can watch your own life as a movie so you can reflect on who you were as a human being.  I like that idea and I hope I smile a lot or laugh a lot when I get there, but really I just hope I think, "Yea.  It was all worth it!  What a great story!"

So, I ask you all: What is your story, and do you like where it's heading?  If so, good.   But if not, what are you waiting for to make it good?  It's never too late to change your own good story line...and I promise you that whatever it is, it's a good one!