In one of the Hudson River towns is a woman named Helen who owns a small shop. She’s from Ireland and although she’s been in the US for quite a few years, she still has a bit of a brogue. Hers is the kind of shop that’s more like a social club than a shop because it’s not easy to leave Helen’s place once you enter and buy what you want from an interesting array of items. If you’re there when Helen begins telling one of her many stories, you’re there for awhile. Her stories will either leave you bent over laughing, reflecting on lfe, or having a history lesson about Ireland or the Hudson River area. At times her friend Frank is in the shop and although he’s not from Ireland, he’s Irish. Together they’re quite a pair as they tell stories one after another- laughing so hard their eyes begin to tear. They should charge for the entertainment because they’re real good.
The back room is cozy, one forgets that it’s an absolutely perfect day outside with lots of sun and no humidity, and we, the listeners, are scrunched in a small area listening intently as if at a storytelling contest. I realize that storytelling is a skill, and you’ve got to be good in order to keep people enthralled to the point they forget they have things to do. And that’s one of the delights of being there.
To be able to drop everything in the course of a day and to sit, listen and laugh is a day well spent, too.
“Our ability to relax into life reflects our willingness to trust.” -anonymous
“Let the beauty we love be what we do.” – Rumi