"The Storyteller" by Brin

The art of proper storytelling has mostly been lost in the folds of time. Why do you need to go to someone to hear about an event when you can just look it up on the Internet with no troubles at all? See, the problem with places like Wikipedia, while being excellent time-wasters for those who enjoy reading about devastating outbreaks of disease and eggplants as well as a quick resource for those in need of information, give you just that and only that: information. A good storyteller adds drama and suspense that a page banded with black lettering and dotted with pictures just can’t do. Bob the Storyteller at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia was a prime example of keeping that art alive and kicking in the best possible way. It also earned him some major brownie points with the entire group and made him just as popular with everyone as the Italian musician from the previous night was with all who witnessed his performance. Unfortunately, yours truly missed out on most of both the stories the group got to hear from the Storyteller and it is with greatest regret that I inform you that you will simply have to go on wondering about what made the short experience so… Memorable. After we departed, we made our way to an Amish county and I’m going to go straight out and tell you that it’s much too different from the way we live our life to even have been comfortable listening to it being described. That is all I will say, which means that I won’t be discussing it out of fear I’ll sound disrespectful if I try. Anyway, we did get to tour around a bit in the area, then took another tour of an Amish schoolhouse and house, and then watched a movie sort of thing that included a very frightening bell that made everyone jump whenever it rang. After, we had dinner, which was quite good- it didn’t include the entertainment that last night did, so we had to entertain ourselves. To avoid worrying anyone, I will say nothing about the antics that unfolded. We eventually got to the hotel, endured much complaining and yelling about how everyone’s rooms were so far down the hallways and how people were causing roadblocks as they tried to open their doors, and went out to the pool for a pool party. Once again, some things are better left unspoken so I’ll just let you all imagine for yourselves what a pool full of over a hundred freshmen would look like. Try not to have nightmares.