Cynthia Raxter, Storyteller

www.facebook.com/bluegrass.experience

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Cynthia Raxter, Storyteller: Thursday's Story: Ree and Christmas

2017-10-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday's Story: Ree and Christmas:

I was in the stores today. They were pulling out Christmas "stuff" - Santa-shaped platters ...

Thursday Story Planting Corn

2017-07-26T04:47:00.000-04:00

Thursday's Story: Planting Corn
by Cynthia Raxter

My dad grew up along the French Broad River in Brevard NC, on a dairy farm. He was the oldest son of 14 children - born 1921. They farmed in the spring and summer and logged in the winter.

He said down by the river the corn field was so long, he'd plow down and back, and he'd have to have a biscuit. Twice again and it'd be time for lunch. After lunch six more rows, and it was time to do the milking and get the chickens in.

When the days were long in the summer - like now - he'd get another row or two in before dark.

He wasn't plowing with a tractor - they worked mules. There was one Ford pickup on the farm to haul milk to town. (Daddy said he never had to mow ditch banks - his sisters - my aunts kept them cleaned out learning to drive.) All work was done by hand and with draft animals.

With mules you don't say, "Stop!" "Go!" "Turn right!" or "Turn left" - you say "whoa and giddyup" (which we all hopefully know from watching Bonanza!). To turn right you say "gee." To turn left, "haw."

"Gee and haw" was significant again just a few years ago:

I was home in the mountains, washing dishes with my mom. My dad was in the den. And my Jack Russel, Rascal, sneaked in despite the "no dogs in the house" rule.

Daddy wanted to read the newspaper. She wanted attention. She kept trying to jump in his lap and he kept fussing, "Rascal get off of me!" "RASCAL you're messing up my newspaper!" "Stop it RASCAL!!!"

After about five minutes, I looked at my mom and rolled my eyes and wiped the soapy water off my hands. Jack Russels - the more excited you get the more excited they get! And my father was past red-faced mad.

"Daddy Daddy Daddy! You have to say 'Rascal down!'" Rascal immediately stopped spring-jumping off the ottoman, and plopped her little bottom on the rug, and looked at me! "Okay Mom! WHAT WE DOING NEXT?"

This just made my father madder. "What's wrong with saying 'Get off of me!!!!'???"

How could I explain this? "Daddy, Rascal doesn't speak English. It's like... like... the mules on the farm... to go right or left..."

He finished my sentence, "...you say gee or haw!" He laughed. "You've taught her some English words! She's does what you say... Well! Most of the time!"

I laughed too. And realized for the first time in a long time, me and my father were talking - not just butting heads.

From then on when I was up home, I was showing Dad Rascal's new tricks. Then he'd take her to the feed store or the post office and show the fellers. Those years - me, him, Rascal - before Parkinson's took over... well... that time was golden.

Later, I started telling stories to children. The "gee and haw" stories and one more always seemed to be told together. Finally I realized, this last story was when my dad and his father learn to talk to each other - not just butt heads:

My father was planting corn in that long cornfield. Two kernels in a hole - a hand-width apart. Two kernels in a hole - a hand-width apart. Two kernels in a hole.... Can you imagine how long it would take a 10 year old boy to plant that field of corn? He got about halfway across and he dropped the bag of seed.

It was 1931 - the Depression - and they still had to spend money to buy seed corn.

Corn doesn't breed true. Field corn will cross with sweet corn. When it does, your field corn will rot in the silo, and your Silver Queen will be too tough to knaw.

Give my dad credit - he was only 10! "I picked it up... well, most of it." And what kernels were left he covered over and ruffled up the dirt so none would be wiser.

But we all know what happened. Spring! "And the sun comes out and dries up all the rain...."

When Papa walked in the barn my dad said he knew he was in trouble before Papa even spoke.

"Come with me, Calvin."

Across the farmyard and the old farm road and over the fence into that big old cornfield. And, there. In the middle. A hundred corn plants were growing up in a wad.

Daddy said Papa didn't whoop him, he didn't chastise him - he just looked at him and said real quiet, "Calvin, learn yourself good: no matter where you go and what you do, your sins shall find you out."

c. 2012 cynthia kay raxter

Bynum Front Porch Friday Night Music

2017-06-23T05:18:00.000-04:00

While I'm on vacation check out the Bynum Front Porch Friday Night Music Series! Storytelling begins September 9 in Bynum! September 21 at the Pittsboro Roadhouse!

Bynum Front Porch Friday Night Music - 11th Season!

Every Friday night from May to August, people come to the former cotton mill town in Chatham County, NC. Folks visit and talk as the crowd gathers. Food trucks are there - Barney’s Hot Dogs and Little Dipper's Italian Ice… Allen and Son’s BBQ is just up the road. Sometimes goodies from a non-profit bake sale.

At 7pm the music starts. There is an outdoor stage (and an indoor stage in the store if it rains!). A different band each week: Tonk, the Bluegrass Experience, Lizzy Ross, the Gospel Jubilators, The Durham Ukulele Orchestra… A pith helmet is passed to pay the band. ($10 suggested.) Young and old dance.

There are toys and books... and screen doors for kids to learn to bang. No pets or alcohol. Fireflies. Sometimes thunder.

Summer nights - listening to the clear voices and sweet songs melding with the cacophony from crickets, owls, tree frogs and toads. Not being able to tell if the white lights are fireflies or Christmas lights. 3/4 time. Not worrying. Not rushing. Just being. As twilight descends.

Come rock with us.

Bynum Front Porch Friday Night Music is rain or shine, 7-9pm, May - August.
May 5: Violet Bell (Lizzie Ross & Omar Ruiz-Lopez) www.Lizzy.net (above right)
May 12: Onyx Club Boys facebook.com/onyxclubboysnc
May 19: Boys from Carolina
www.boysfromcarolina.com
May 26: Milagro Saints
Jun 2: Too Much Fun www.tmfband.com
Jun 9: Gabe Pelli & Will Ridenour

www.willridenour.com (above left)

June 16 The Holland Bros.

Jun 23: Bynum Front Porch Pickers - A music fundraiser for Bynum Front Porch’s scholarships!
www.bynumfrontporch.org/programs

Jun 30 : Heart of Carolina Jazz Society www.carolinajazz.com

Jul 7: Blue Cactus bluecactusmusic.com

Jul 14: Gray Matter www.graymatternc.com
Jul 21: Bobby Gales & New Direction
www.facebook.com/newdirectionbluegrass
Jul 28: Tonk www.tonknc.com
Aug 4: Swift Creek www.swiftcreekmusic.com
Aug 11: Gospel Jubilators
www.pinecone.org/artists/gospel-jubilators
Aug 18: Durham Ukulele Orchestra

www.durhamukuleleorchestra.com

Aug 25: Bluegrass Experience

www.twitter.com/@bynumfrontporch

www.facebook.com/bynumfrontporch
www.bynumfrontporch.org

Bynum Front Porch
950 Bynum Road
Pittsboro, NC 27312

Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/N2yaRNmQRck

Print your own Bynum Front Porch Calendar here!

Bynum Front Porch Storytelling

2017-04-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

Click and SHARE!

Come join us for Moon Pies, RC Colas and stories! 6:30pm - 9pm on second Saturdays in Bynum. At the historic Bynum General Store, 950 Bynum Rd. Pittsboro, NC.

May 13 lineup: Bynum storyteller Cynthia Raxter, Gretchen McNeely, Russell Davis, The Monti winner Sam Pearsall, +ReVonda Crow-Storyteller and emcee Mark Brady! Food. Fun. Friends. Fabulous!

Check out the Facebook Event or follow me on Twitter @CynthiaRaxter to keep up with the goings on!

See you real soon! Love, Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Mom's Banana Pudding

2016-08-08T12:52:00.000-04:00

Cooking from scratch doesn't take much longer.
Just a bit more attention.

"The best cooks always have the most people hovering - helping - and hoping to stick a thumb through the aluminum foil." - Cynthia Raxter

Mom's Banana Pudding

4 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup sugar

generous pinch of salt

4 large eggs, separated (you'll need whites later for meringue)

3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box vanilla wafers

5-6 bananas, medium ripe

Lemon juice

4 egg whites (reserved from above)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (or lemon juice)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine cornstarch, sugar & salt in a large glass bowl. Add egg yolks one at a time & beat well after each. Slowly stir in milk. Cook in microwave at 30% power, stirring every 2 minutes, until ingredients are thickened and smooth. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla.

To layer the banana pudding, begin by placing vanilla wafers on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. (Another 3-quart casserole dish will work too - as long as it's oven-proof.) Slice bananas and place on top of the wafers. Pour one-third of custard over all. Repeat layering process until all wafers, bananas, and custard have been used. End with a final layer of wafers standing up around the edges for decorative purposes.

For the Meringue: Wipe out a large mixing bowl and the mixer's beaters with lemon juice (to remove any traces of oil). Preheat the oven to 425.

If these walls could talk!

Bynum Front Porch Storytelling

6:30 - 9pm October 8

950 Bynum Road Pittsboro, NC

Whip egg whites with the electric mixer set at high speed for 1-2 minutes - the whites will be foamy. Add cream of tartar. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat on high after each addition. (You want the sugar to melt and be absorbed before you add the next spoonful.) The meringue will get fluffier and fluffier. Once all the sugar has been added continue beating - but stop the mixer every minute or so and lift the beaters out of the bowl a little. When the tips of the meringue don't fall over it's ready. Fold in the vanilla.

Spread the meringue over the pudding, making sure to seal to the edges of the dish. Brown it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Take it out when the tips are brown. Watch it carefully - as Momma says, "It will burn in a wink of an eye!!!"

Leave on the counter for about an hour to cool, then chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

See you soon! Love, Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Bynum Front Porch Storytelling

2016-04-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Treat yourself to an evening of storytelling at the historic Bynum General Store - Saturday May 14 - 6:30-9pm!

Tellers are Roger Manus, Garry Lipson, Judith Valerie and Henry Vogel. Bear Creek humorist Candice Knotts hosts!

North Carolina’s best storytellers! True life stories, folk tales, traditional stories from many lands! Be ready to laugh, cry and laugh some more. The event is family friendly – “the stories most enjoyed by those 8 and above.”

Henry Vogel

We pass the hat. 20% goes to the Bynum Front Porch – the non-profit benevolent organization which manages the general store as a community center, runs a Friday night music series in the summer, and provides two $1000 scholarships to Chatham County seniors every year. (Friday night Music starts May 6!)

Candice Knotts

Bynum is a former cotton mill village turned artist community beside the Haw River, 10 miles South of Chapel Hill. Bynum General Store's address is 950 Bynum Road, Pittsboro NC 27312.

For more information about storytelling call 919-444-9535, email CynthiaRaxter@gmail.com or follow me!

If these walls could talk!

Bynum Front Porch Storytelling

May 14 ~ 6:30-9pm

950 Bynum Road Pittsboro, NC

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Bynum Front Porch Storytelling

2016-04-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

A new Bynum Front Porch series! A monthly storytelling show at the Bynum General Store! Family friendly - most enjoyed by those 8 and above!

May's storytellers: Judith Valerie, Garry Lipson, Henry Vogel and Roger Manus

- hosted by Bear Creek humorist, Candice Knotts!

Lemonade and cookies at 6:30 - the stories start at 7pm!

We'll be passing the hat for donations. 20% of proceeds go to the Bynum Front Porch organization!

For more information contact me: 919-444-9535 or email
CynthiaRaxter@Gmail.Com

The Facebook Event for May is: https://www.facebook.com/events/176442042740267/

Hope you can come! Love! Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Bynum General Store Storytelling

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Euphony

2016-03-21T13:00:00.001-04:00

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

2016-02-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

A new Bynum Front Porch series starts TONIGHT! A monthly storytelling show at the Bynum General Store! Family friendly - most enjoyed by those 8 and above!

Hot cider and cookies at 6:30 - the stories start at 7pm!

We'll be passing the hat. Thank you in advance for contributing if you can! 20% of proceeds will go to the http://BynumFrontPorch.org/ scholarship fund!

For more information contact me: 919-444-9535 or email
CynthiaRaxter@Gmail.Com

The Facebook Event is: https://www.facebook.com/events/204322053255564

See the Facebook event for bios! Here are photos of tonight's Storytellers and host:

Casey Nees

Cynthia Raxter

Virginia Wallace

Candice Knotts

Gretchen Bass

Mark Riddle

Hope you can come! Love! Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

The Joyful Jewel's Storytelling Festival

2016-02-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Come join us!

The Joyful Jewel's first Storytelling Festival is Friday night in lovely downtown Pittsboro! The theme is "New Beginnings." Come early for refreshments - the stories start at 7pm. The Joyful Jewel is just up from the Courthouse Circle at 44-A Hillsboro Street! From the program:

Judith Valerie is a poet, writer and storyteller. Judith is a member of the NC Storytelling Guild. “Finding Love at the Ashram” - Judith’s story shares how she left her former life to be true to her inner calling. http://www.judithvalerieyoga.com

Beverly Miller - her grace and delightful demeanor are certain to entertain the audience. In her story “Opening Doors,” while in Maui, Beverly learned to trust the YES! she heard within herself.

Suz Robinson grew up in the land of dragons, fairies and leprechauns in the caves of the Hocking Hills in southeastern Ohio and the mountains of West Virginia. She was often Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone or Joan of Arc! Years later, she wove these memories into stories. Today she writes stories about the magic found within Chatham County: Clyde Jones’ critters, the Haw River and the sprites of Shakori Hills. She is glad to once more be roaming in a land of dragons, fairies and leprechauns!! Suz is also our emcee for the evening!

Roger Manus father and grandfathers were avid storytellers. Roger was an avid listener! As a young father Roger’s preschool son’s recurring request was, “Daddy, tell me a story!” Roger’s stories are autobiographical in nature and true. He has used storytelling in his legal advocacy work. Last year, at a conference in Seattle, Roger shared his technique of having clinical law students tell stories to enhance their legal practice skills. In “Breaking out of the Mental Hospital” Roger takes an unexpected journey to become an adoptive father.

Ken Corsbie originally from Guyana, was a dramatist, radio producer/ announcer, journalist, actor and television humorist in the Caribbean. He immigrated to the United States twenty years ago. He has performed throughout Canada and the United States in theaters, cafes, festivals, universities and libraries. He is the recipient of ten awards. In “White Picket Fences” Ken shares his lifelong dream of owning a home with a white picket fence. http://www.kcorsbie.com

Cynthia Raxter is a writer and storyteller. She lives in a century old house in Bynum, NC with a bevy of strays. (Her heart is as wide as the Haw River next to her home!) She grew up in Western North Carolina on a dairy farm with six brothers and sisters - and many aunts, uncles and cousins! Today she entertains children and adults alike with a mesmerizing style and endearing stories of her childhood and life adventures. Cynthia is a member of Eyes Up Here, an organization for women comedians in North Carolina; as well as the NC Storytelling Guild. In “Shell Lessons” Cynthia introduces a new story about day at the beach she realized three important lessons - wet sand running through her fingers sifting shells out the surf. http://www.cynthiaraxterblogspot.com

Thanks Suzanne for that wonderful write-up! Call me if you need directions! 919-444-9535.

Hope to see you Friday! Love - Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

Tellabration!(tm) at the Bynum General Store!

2015-11-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

For more information contact me: 919-444-9535 or email
CynthiaRaxter@Gmail.Com

The Facebook Event is: http://www.facebook.com/events/1508522382795659

Hope you can come! Love! Cindy

Twitter: @cynthiaraxter

"Dollar Bills Coming Down in Raindrops"

Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogspot.com

The Small Street B&B Cafe

2015-11-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Rebekkah and I went to a favorite lunch spot a few Fridays ago! Small Street B&B Cafe. In Pittsboro, "The Small" is at the corner of East Street and (conveniently) Small Street - it's a block from the Chatham County Courthouse (with its new copper roof!).

The Small B&B Cafe has a varying farm-to-fork menu. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are a "regular" on the blackboard. There is a kaleidoscope of homemade syrups to go with: strawberry, raspberry, peach, blueberry ... This finery is usually consumed with pure butter and, if you wish a side of local farm sausage or bacon. Subtle and luscious and rich - but practical too! If I eat just carbs for breakfast I'm famished in 2 hours. The ricotta adds enough protein to get me to lunch gracefully... especially with a few slices of Fiddlehead Farm Sausage!

There is always a soup and a great salad on the menu. On our Friday it was a spinach salad with almonds, cranberries and feta cheese - and a wonderful warm citrus dressing I just loved! There is always a few entrees and a stew. The daily menu is posted on their Facebook page every morning. A recent entry:

Small B&B Cafe October 17

Good morning! Us again. Big ole farm scramble today now that we've made it through the hotcakes sale of yesterday. I would request that Brendan and Leslie make a point of joining us today with their love of huge plates of veggies. Got ya totally covered. Tons of stuff from the market scrambled with Goat Lady Dairy farm cheese and served with smashed potatoes and meat (if you choose). For lunch we're finishing off the chicken tacos (damn, those are good) and backing it up with fried baloney sandwiches. Local baloney, homemade pickles and mayo served on wood fired baked rolls. Seriously, folks......seriously. Got curried pork soup for lunch along with a Hungariany (is that a word?) tomato/pepper/paprika stew served with sour cream. Salad is mixed greens with a roasted beet/buttermilk dressing and toasted walnuts and still working on the pastry case. Some Mexican chocolate cake left, but not much, so I'll ponder that one.

A local, farm-made, fried baloney sandwich? I wonder what good baloney tastes like?

Almost always the blackboard menu lists egg or chicken and/or tuna salad sandwiches There is a sliced chicken breast sandwich too - my choice on Friday! This chicken breast was NOT a previously frozen, rubbery, salty, preformed mess! This chicken was wandering around the garden last week - clucking happily. I could tell. I chose sourdough bread with fresh greens and a honey, bumpy mustard - the mustard alone was good enough to eat on a spoon!

The Chicken Sandwich on Sourdough, with

Almond Cranberry Feta Spinach Salad and Warm Citrus Dressing

Yes! Eggs are on the menu too! Omelets. Quiche. Sunny side up. Scrambled. The eggs are from farm-happy chickens too! There is oatmeal and granola. Bagels. Muffins. English muffins... toast and homemade jams. Breakfast with all the trimmings. There IS a 6 foot wide banner outside proclaiming "Brunch!" <--- it="" p="" s="" true="">
But what Small B&B is really famous for - beyond the lemon ricotta pancakes - is dessert. CAKE. Tortes. Pies. Cheesecake. Bread puddings. Puddings. Remember the first time you ate Tiramisu? Or tasted trifle? Or picked up your spoon and cracked the caramel shell of a creme brulee? Small B&B desserts that are that kind of good. Every day there is something new - unique - stellar.

There are a few things I think are missing. Mostly because my weird-foodness! I can't eat eggs, peppers, shellfish.... At Small I end up eating the chicken sandwich a lot. It is very good. But I crave a big creamy bowl of chicken and dumplings. Navy beans and ham. Black beans and sour cream with a hunk of corn bread. Maybe I am just not visiting on the right days!

The other thing I 'm lukewarm about is "Smashed potatoes" - in place of home fries or hash browns. Red new potatoes, boiled, smashed once with a potato masher and then fried. I don't know why I can't bring myself to love them!

So... if all this isn't enough to drive you crazy until you can drive to Pittsboro, there is the setting itself: A former Methodist parsonage and a lovely garden full of whimsical folk art leads the way to the door. (Yes - "whimsical folk art" is redundant!) There is a book house on the deck rail - bring a book/take a book. There is a small dining room seating about 30 people inside - with sofas, easy chairs and odd dining chairs from the thrift shop - with more whimsical folk art dotting the walls. If it's warm enough to sit on the patio two cats may wander by. You can eat breakfast and read the paper until 2:00pm and drink coffee and eat homemade jam on toast.... Isn't this the way life is suppose to be?

Luna the cat

There is also the local scene. Great people watching: local authors and musicians and vintage shop owners, the founder of Piedmont Bio-fuels, the inventor of Slow Money... and just the plain everyday Pittsboro folks. Dedicated. Earnest. Practical. Known to change the world. Quiet. Intelligent. Gracious.

So. As soon as you can. Go eat a late breakfast and savor every bite... of food and of life. The Small Street B&B Cafe is open Wednesday - Saturday 7.30am - 2pm. Sunday 9am - 2pm

I'll see you there!

Thursdays Story - A Rascally Tale!

2015-11-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Story

vol. 3 no. 6

A Rascally Tale

** Written on September 14, 2001 **

Rascal is my new dog, a Jack Russell Terrier. She is a bit over a year old -- rambunctious... and as cute as puppies come. She has been my salvation this week also. She knows nothing about "tragedy" - just that life is good and the weather has been fine.

Last night she started barking under/at the kitchen table. Like there was a squirrel or opossum under there. Sometimes there is an opossum under there.... but not last night.

Just the cat food bucket, the dog food bucket and the bird seed bucket. Five gallons each. Tightly closing lids. It would be a prime spot for an invading opossum! But not last night.

Then. Hiding in the back... behind the buckets... I found a Christmas decoration/ toy Moma gave me last year. It is a reindeer about 10 inches tall. He is in "Santa Town Jail": plastic bars, plastic padlock, handcuffs -- all.

When you press his hoof that has a hol't of the bars, he shivers and shakes and sings "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer."

It is a favorite with visiting children! To the point -- it is usually hidden by me or a mom to preserve our sanity. In fact, I think Carol Payne stuck it behind the bird seed bucket during a party in June.

So last night, when Rascal saw this guilty reindeer in my hand, she laid down almost flat. And she increased her volume of ruckus considerably.

I sat it down on the floor so she would know it was just a toy.... and as I did she jumped backwards 10 feet into the living room.... still raising all kinds of commotion, sticking her head out around the door. RoooooW RooooW ROooooW RoooooW RoooooW! And if I could imagine it, it was even louder than before.

An important point. The barking was not "afraid" but: "ALARM! ALARM! ALARM!"

I reached down to get, as I call it, the Indicted Reindeer... and noticed as I picked it up.... the hoof -- the "Press Me" hoof -- it had a tiny tiny--very very small tear in its upholstery.

Perchance? A small dog... hadst she chewed upon it?

I pressed the hoof.

Rascal backflipped and dove, back'ards-first under the couch.

Hmmmm hmmmm hmmm.... Grandma got run over by a reindeer..... and, a chorus of "RoooooW RooooW ROooooW RoooooW RoooooW!" emanating from somewhere near the dust ruffle.....

Thank you Rascal. Thank you.

My love to you all, Cindy

Cynthia Raxter
P.O. Box 182

Bynum, NC 27312

919-444-9535
CynthiaRaxter@gmail.com

Watch: http://vimeo.com/115031922
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/RaxterCyn/videos
Calendar: http://CynthiaRaxter.blogspot.com

Twitter: @CynthiaRaxter
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Listen: http://www.soundcloud.com/cynthia-raxter

Read:

ChapelBoro.com

"The Small Street B&B in Pittsboro"

Thursdays Story - Using Every Scrap

2015-10-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday's Story

vol. 3 no. 4

Using Every Scrap

When I was little, I spent many hours sitting on my mom's lap at quilting bees - listening to the women talk. I couldn't understand what the women were saying - like adults on Charlie Brown I heard, "Wah nah wa na wheeen ah..." but I know I felt safe and loved.

They lowered a quilt frame from the dining room ceiling with ropes and a pulley, and worked on the quilt all morning. At noon they lifted it back to the ceiling and set the dining room table with lunch. Beautiful dishes brimming with butter beans, potato salad, fresh chicken, corn muffins.... a table as beautiful as any painting. They ate, cleaned up, and then it was time to gather the younger children and head home. The older children would be coming home soon on the school bus.

They worked at one aunt's house until her quilt was done. By then, another aunt or neighbor would have a top done and the quilting bee would move to her house.

This was every Wednesdays until I too got big enough to catch a school bus.

I think of all the meetings we have today. Could you imagine if we spent that time talking also quilting? Knitting? Making baby hats for preemies? Even walking and getting some exercise? I think we'd have better meetings -- and be happier and healthier humans.

Happy Thursday!

- an original story by Cynthia Raxter.

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Thursdays Story - Dinah the Abra Slayer

2015-09-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday's Story

vol. 3 no.5

Dinah the Abra Slayer
Have you heard my stories on Soundcloud? I add a new one every week or so. This week's Thursday's Story is "Dinah the Abra Slayer." You can listen on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Hope you enjoy!

If the Soundcloud box doesn't automatically load, find the stories here: https://soundcloud.com/cynthia-raxter

- Copyright 2012 by Cynthia Raxter

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Farmers Markets and kids - big and small!

2015-08-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Farmers Markets and kids - big and small!

Don't forget on my page, there are strawberry and corn pages to color, a kid-do-able recipe and a game or two.

page two

Rick the founder of eatlocalgrown.com just posted an article - visiting a farmers market is good for your kids! I totally agree! (And he doesn't even know about me - the farmers market storyteller!)

Rick reinforces something I read. When I retired from the library, I was concerned my brain would shrink if I didn't flex it every day! A book by the late Durham neurobiologist, Lawrence C. Katz was a jewel I found: Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises. Entry #1 was "brain exercises" you'd find a farmers market! A visit to a farmers market stimulates taste and smell neurons, tactile and spatial relations - it promotes novelty and social interactions... And he didn't even mention that eating local foods boosts your health and nutrition!

Maybe we'll meet a farmers' market real soon! Cindy

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Further adventures: http://cynthiaraxter.blogsp

ALiCE is still missing ....

2015-07-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Me and my wonderful neighbors have been looking everywhere for Alice. She is a calico kitty and a sweetie. She went missing while I was in the mountains a few weeks ago ... but I still feel like she is close by, and her sister, Baby is still crying for her. I am too! :-/

She is 3 years old, microchipped and spayed. She weighs 8 pounds. She has a small head and looks kittenish!

But she is a strong! She likes to hunt and climb trees -- good skills for a walkabout in the woods!

We live near the "Lower Haw Natural Resource Area" state park so there are lots of woods! Many people use the trails and canoe and tube the river -- I am hoping someone will spot her!

Here is her poster. And another poster with a full body picture -- you may think that one's better! If you feel like printing one out and posting, or forwarding this email that would be just awesome.

Here are a few more photos!

Headshot

Tummy shot!

Right side

Left side

This is where we want her to be very soon!

Thank you so much!! XXXXOOOXXX!!

Thursdays Story - St. Calvins Day

2015-03-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

Thursday's Story

vol. 3 no. 3

St. Calvin’s Day

Four years ago - on Leap day - I stood in the middle of Southern Village Park and Ride lot -- and realized my father was dying. A Friday evening. It was cold and damp and dark. People poured off the bus and went to their cars. I stood there frozen. Trying to grasp what my sister was telling me. She was on the phone.

A few days before he had strep throat. They gave him antibiotics. The antibiotics gave him an upset stomach. No. It was not an upset stomach. It was a stroke -- deep in the ventricles of his brain. He could not swallow.

A man can live without water for three days. He can live without food for three weeks.... My father could not swallow the water left on the tip of a straw.

I knew I needed to go home. And nothing would ever be the same from that moment forward.

I drove to the mountains on March 1st. My mom had turned the back corner of the farmhouse into a mini-hospital. We had a supportive family doctor. My sister is an R.N. I have 5 other brothers and sisters, lots of nieces and nephews -- everyone wanted to help. We divvied up shifts around the clock. Aunts uncles cousins neighbors churches friends - they fed and took care of us -- and we took care of him.

First we gave him time - i.v. fluids - to see if the symptoms of the stroke would abate. They did not.

At one point in time I dipped the tip of my pinkie finger in honey and put it to his lips -- to just get some moisture in his mouth. He gagged.

I told him I was sorry.

I’d never do that again.

On March 3rd showing no improvement we took out the i.v.

On March 4th my sister who lives in Alaska bought an emergency plane ticket for $1200 (half price) and boarded a red eye.

On March 5th before daybreak, I held my dad’s hand. For days he’d been agitated. It was like he was trying to tell everyone everything before time ran out. People from church would come visit - he would pray for them. He would ask about their mother - and pray for her. Tell us to do this and that. Call our uncle. Call this place. Call that place. Call somebody else....Talking non-stop.... as many things a man can do from a hospital bed, he had done. For 5 days he had not slept.

Early that morning on March 5th, I held his hand and told him. “You must rest. You must sleep. Mary is already on a plane. She’ll be here tonight. You need to save every bit of strength you have today.” He heard me. He slept all day.

March 6 - daybreak. His grandson, my nephew, Christan was coming from Washington State. The same conversation -- “You must rest. He’ll be here tonight” -- but I really didn’t need to.

There was a change. My father was lucid - intelligent - thoughtful - kind - the man that had raised

me. As calm as calm could be. He had found peace. And it stayed with him.

On March 7th my niece Celena had her first baby. Sweet beautiful Sabra.

On March 8th he got to hold her. His second great-grandbaby. I think there was enough love in those moments to last her a lifetime. Yes, I think there was.

On March12th - early - my dad sent my sister Lana to the store to get "A pin and a pretty card" for my mom. It was their 58th wedding anniversary.

March 16th was my niece Beulah's birthday. She was five. She climbed in his bed with a Dora the Explorer birthday hat on her head -- and he hugged her and they giggled.

March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day was a beautiful day. A little sunny - a little cloudy. I opened the windows and let the spring pour in. We could hear tractors, my Uncle Pete's chickens. Peepers. You could smell spring on every breath of air.

I held my dad’s hand and we talked about gardening. He grew up on a dairy farm on Barclay Road beside the French Broad River. I recanted every story I remembered - Aunt Agnes learning to drive the Model A Ford on the farm road and taking out the fence. My Aunt Nadine learning to cook. Her corn bread was so hard - when he teased her about it, she threw it at him and it broke a window.... Milking cows. Logging in the winter.... Every story I remembered. I told him what I was going to plant when I got back to Bynum: Collard greens beets turnips.... The day turned a little colder -- I needed to close the windows. As I stood up he lifted my hand and kissed it. I think it was to thank me for taking him back to the farm one last time.

At 5 minutes to midnight, his breathing faltered. My sister called out. We came running. My brother Chan and sister Lana prayed. I told him thank you for taking us on trips and loving us no matter what we did. With his last breath he sat up, kissed my mom on the cheek and said “I love you.”

At 5 minutes past midnight. On March 18th. We called it. We called it done. We were - are still - broken hearted. But we know we were given a gift - the gift of a lifetime. A gift of 18 days.

- an original story by Cynthia Raxter.

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See you on the Radio!

2014-12-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

Cynthia Raxter, Storyteller

Update! See the video here: http://vimeo.com/115031922

I am going to be on the radio! Telling a funny story and talking about the Bynum Comedy Workshop. I'm sure a tale or two about Bynum itself will come in there. Jackie the show's host has loved Bynum and been a friend of Clyde's since way back.

On air: 103.5 FM from Carrboro

On line: http://wcomfm.com

If you miss it live today there will be podcast and video posted. It will be on TV too for Time Warner Cable customers. I'll post links and particulars as soon as I get them next week! Here's the show's page: http://wacquelinestern.com/

I am going to tell a story about my family's Mexican vacation camping in the desert at Christmas.

Wish me luck!

Cindy

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https://www.facebook.com/events/791612777568518/

December 2014

2014-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Cynthia Raxter, Storyteller

Tuesday December 2 - Storytelling

The Village Storytellers
Sola's Coffee Cafe
Lead Mine Road
7-9pm - Raleigh

Thursday December 4 - Standup

Open Mic

Corner Tavern and Grill

Maynard Road

8pm - Cary

Saturday December 6 - Standup

Family Friendly Open Mic

Goodnights Comedy Club

West Morgan Street

1pm - Raleigh

Saturday December 6 - Storytelling

The Big LOL ("Lighting Of Leg"} - An Evening Of Holiday Joy And Merriment!

Cackalacky's Where House

Chatham Mills

480 Hillsboro Street

6-10pm - Pittsboro

Monday December 8 - Standup

Cure for the Mondays'

Tir Na Nog Irish Pub

S. Blount Street

8:30pm - Raleigh

Tuesday December 9 - Workshop

Bynum Comedy Writers Workshop

Bynum General Store

950 Bynum Road

6-9pm - Bynum

Thurdsday December 11 - Standup

Neptunes Comedy Open Mic End of the Year Holiday Blowout

Kings

Morgan Street

8:00pm - Raleigh

Saturday December 13 - Standup

Family Friendly Open Mic

Goodnights Comedy Club

Morgan Street

1:00pm - Raleigh

Monday December 15 - Standup

Comedy Smashatron Open Mic

Linda's Bar and Grill

East Franklin Street

8:30pm - Chapel Hill

Tuesday December 16 - Standup

Open Mic

Caroling in Bynum on December 21!

Goodnights Comedy Club

Morgan Street

8:00pm - Raleigh

Wednesday December 17 - Standup

Family Friendly Open Mic

Pittsboro Roadhouse

West Street

6:30-8:30pm - Pittsboro

Wednesday December 17 - Standup

Open Mic

The City Tap

Salisbury Street

8:30-11pm - Pittsboro

Friday December 19 - Interview

The Wacqueline Stern Radio Show

Livestream at http://wcomfm.org/ on Friday, December 19th at 6pm.

Listen on the radio WCOM 103.5 FM on Friday, December 19th at 6pm.

Or watch the Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/user1658330/videos

Or get podcast online at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/wcomfm/WEROA

The show is also broadcast on
The Peoples' Channel on Tuesday at 11am

Durham Community Media on Wednesday at 4pm
http://thepeopleschannel.org/tvschedule

Happy Christmas!

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November 2014

2014-11-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

Cynthia Raxter, Storyteller

"Storyteller Cynthia Raxter gets wound up at ClydeFEST"
- Raleigh News and Observer

Saturday November 8 - Storytelling

Durham Farmers Market
Foster Street
9am-12noon - Durham

Sunday November 9 - Storytelling
Mouth of the South Storytelling Show
Legends Night Club
West Hargett Street
7pm - Raleigh

Monday November 10 - Standup
Cure for the Mondays'
Tir Na Nog Irish Pub
S. Blount Street
8:30pm - Raleigh

I love my job!

Tuesday November 11 - Workshop

Bynum Comedy Writers Workshop

Bynum General Store

950 Bynum Road

6-9pm - Bynum

Saturday November 15 - Standup
Family Friendly Open Mic
Goodnights Comedy Club
Morgan Street
1:00pm - Raleigh

Monday November 17 - Standup
Comedy Smashatron Open Mic
Linda's Bar and Grill
East Franklin Street
8:30pm - Chapel Hill

Tuesday November 18 - Standup
Bulltown Comedy Series
Fullsteam Brewery
Riggsbee Avenue
9pm - Durham

Wednesday November 19 - Standup
Family Friendly Open Mic
Pittsboro Roadhouse
West Street
6:30-8:30pm - Pittsboro

Wednesday November 19 - Standup
Open Mic
The City Tap
Salisbury Street
8:30-11pm - Pittsboro

Friday November 21 - Storytelling
Show and Tell
DSI Comedy Theater

West Franklin Street
7pm - Chapel Hill

Saturday November 22 - Storytelling

Chatham Mills Farmers Market

Hillsboro Street

10am-1pm - Pittsboro

Monday November 24 - Standup
Cure for the Mondays'
Tir Na Nog Irish Pub
S. Blount Street
8:30pm - Raleigh

See you soon!

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Twitter: @cynthiaraxter