Stories

How many ways can you think of to tell a story? Reading a book out loud? Reading to your self? Watching a movie? How about on the radio, and even pod-casts? Our daily lives are inundated with media, and information in more forms than ever before. People are finding more and more ever creative ways of telling stories. Long ago, stories were shared verbally. Stories were shared each evening, as the entire village gathered around the fire.

Recently, there has been amazing coverage concerning the story of the passing of Lisa Moore. If you do not already know, Lisa is a character in the comic strip “Funky Winkerbean” by Tom Batiuk. Lisa had been battling Cancer, and lost the fight on October 4th, 2007. This story, beautifully expressed by the artistry of Mr. Batiuk, played out fully in the daily comic strip. This story has touched millions of lives. I have followed it closely myself, and have been very impressed by the coverage it has received. This fictional account of one woman’s battle with Cancer, and the lives she touched, has brought the topic of Cancer to a possibly previously un-reached audience.

Last week, National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” interviewed Tom Batiuk. It was very interesting. People from all over called in, and e-mailed thoughts and comments. Most of the people thanked Mr. Batiuk for his story. Thanked him for giving them a way to relate, to understand, or to deal with their own losses. Some, were not so favorable. There were some people who said they thought the “funnies” should be funny. That it was not the place to be serious, and discuss real life, important matters. I disagree.

Comics. What a wonderful medium! Using the comics, millions of people can be reached every single day. Important subjects or anything you want to talk about can be presented. An interest in all kinds of topics can be discovered, and people can be inspired to learn more. This is a gateway to literacy. They allow you to reading a story, every day, just a little bit at a time. With a comic strip, you can inspire people to read – to themselves, to their children, to their classes.

“Funky Winkerbean” is not the only strip that has braved this frontier. Lynn Johnston has done it with “For Better or Worse”; we have read about teachers with disabilities, older mother pregnancy, and stroke. Doonesbury, by G.B. Trudeau, has talked about addiction, marriage, and war.

With comic strips such as “Funky Winkerbean”, we can watch the characters grow and change; just as we ourselves are growing and changing. It is not static, but becomes almost a living thing. We become invested in the characters lives, and want to know what is going to happen to them next. They almost become real, become people we know and care about, become friends.

If you are among those who believe the funnies should be funny, you can choose to read strips that stay “safe”. Garfield will continue to eat lasagna, and drive Odie insane. Hagar will continue to drink, Beetle will still run away from Sarge, and Marvin’s biggest decision will be that of white vs. chocolate milk.

As for the rest of us, thanks to artists like Tom Batiuk, we will continue to follow the lives of our newspaper friends. We will invest in literacy though the sharing of their stories. They will remain in our lives through the gift of words and images. We will read their stories, and share them with others.

Take a moment to think about all that this medium can offer. Take a chance. There are stories yet to be told. Open up the paper, and join us ‘round the fire.