Euphony

Bynum General Store Storytelling

One of the great storytellers of Bynum passed away a week and 2 days before the first official Bynum General Store Storytelling show.

I say "first official" ... Storytelling has been going on there years and years. There was always a ring of fellas sitting in a circle of chairs in the middle of the store, a little over to the left. There are still worn out spots on the floor from their boots. If you needed to know anything - how to fix a faucet or when to plant corn or how to make chicken cracker stew - they knew it. They swapped lies, fish tales, half-truths and shared stories.

Photo by Virginia Wallace

Roy Hatley frequently said to me, "You and Louise Omoto Kessel call yourselves storytellers. They just call me a liar!" Then he'd throw back his head and laugh.

As I left, his eyes would crinkle up in a big grin. "Girl! I'm so glad you got to see me!"

He was a big burly fellow. Loud. Didn't couch his words. Like all the fellas in Bynum, you knew where you stood the minute you walked in the door. He had scared me a little bit when I first met him. Until I saw the twinkle in his eye - he was all heart.

Just inside the Bynum General Store is a slice of a big log - the end grain marred by a thousand knife cuts - a chopping block a hundred years old. Saturday night during the storytelling show, a hunk of hoop cheese and a box of saltine crackers were there. The red waxed cheddar met folks as they walked in the door - on purpose.

"The Mayor" Roy Hatley
in a Cyde Jones' mural

Many a day the fellas (and whoever else dropped by) would buy a thick slice of orange cheese and a sleeve of saltines and that would be their lunch.

Louise Kessel, Storyteller

Photo by Dave Minnich

You'd go to check the mail about 1 o'clock... Two artists, the postmaster, Roy, Jack Wheeler, Prate, Billy Joe, Dub, the UPS man, the preacher and a meter reader would be eating saltine crackers whole, rared back in their chairs listening - and one of them would be spinning a yarn. Whoever didn't have their mouth full of crackers would be denying or agreeing. Those that did were swigging their Pepsi down quick to get a word in edgewise....

As we told stories Saturday night, I felt the whisper, “If these walls could talk.” It was like someone had bumped me. And goosebumps. Reflexively i looked a little over to the left .... I could almost hear Roy's laughter and see his eyes crinkle up in a big grin, "Girl! I'm so glad you got to see me!" All I could do was smile. Louise Omoto Kessel - the storyteller - was on stage. Yes Roy. So glad.

Photo by Dave Minnich

  See you soon! 

  Love, Cindy

  cynthiaraxter@gmail.com

  919-444-9535

  @cynthiaraxter

   www.facebook.com/cynthiaraxter

September 2014

Cynthia Raxter 

Storyteller and Comedian

Monday September 8 - Standup
Cure for the Mondays Comedy

Tir Na Nog

Blount Street

9pm - Raleigh

Tuesday September 9 - Workshop

Bynum Comedy Writers Workshop

Bynum General Store

950 Bynum Road

6-9pm - Bynum

21 Tips for 21 Pounds!

Here are 21 tips to mark the 21 pounds I have lost since February. Folks are beginning to notice (me too!) and are asking what I'm doing to lose weight. It's not as much dieting as making lifestyle changes. Here's the list so far. I can't wait until I can add to it! 

~~~~~

Life choices tip #1: These days if I want something fizzy I'm drinking sparkling water instead of diet soda. The brain reads artificial sweetener as real sugar. This triggers an insulin response --which prompts the body to store fat. 

Life choices tip #2: I'm substituting sweet potatoes for white potatoes. Microwave for about 5 minutes, split open and add one tablespoon of real cow butter. Sweet potatoes are low glycemic and have more fiber, minerals and vitamins than white potatoes. 

Life choices tip #3: More fiber = more full. 

• I'm switching out white bread and flour tortillas for whole wheat. 
• I'm adding extra lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers to sandwiches. 
• I'm eating lots of salads, vegetables and fresh fruit.
• For spaghetti sauce or taco filling, I mix 1/4 cup oat bran and 2-3 finely chopped carrots with the meat while sauteing. The carrots adds a sweetness, and the bits blend in by the time the sauce is cooked.

December 2013

December 2013 

Sunday December 1 - Storytelling
Pittsboro's 1st Sunday!  

Pittsboro Toys
44-B Hillsboro Street

h

1-4pm - Pittsboro