The Moth The Seattle Grand Slam

Last night, I attended a fascinating sold out event called The Moth Grand Slam in Seattle. The Moth hosts live story-telling events around the country and the individuals' stories are broadcast weekly on NPR. My husband was a regularly listener to The Moth when he traveled every Sunday for work. My dear friend Tracy, who is visiting from Grand Rapids, Michigan has loved the program for years and was the one who noticed that this live event coincided with her trip to Seattle. 

Since Tracy declared back in the early 90's that I should consider being a professional story-teller, it felt like it was kismet that we could attend this special competition.

10 individuals, who had each won their evening earlier in the year, were given the stage and 6 minutes to woo us with a true story. Some were about humiliation and growth, others were about losing and finding love, all were very real and it was obvious that the finalists felt great pride at making it to Seattle's The Moth Grand Slam.

Three teams of seasoned Moth listeners scored each story and in the end, Sam Blackman won with a lovely narrative about loving, leaving and after 35 years, reconsidering his religion. Congratulations, Sam.