Entering the Fray

Speaking of my father-in-law...

Those of you who know me (which is probably just about all of you, given my rather limited readership) have probably heard me go on about the move into our new house a couple of years back, and one unexpected consequence thereof: The multi-month residence of Pam’s dad. Well, you may get the chance to hear me retell the tale — and this time, with something resembling a coherent structure.

I’ve just committed to participation in this year’s Fray Day, thanks to a politely phrased invitation from the DC event coordinator, Geoff Long (Fray magazine contributor and editor-in-chief of the woefully underrated Inkblots Magazine). For those of you who are scratching your heads, wondering what the hell I’m talking about, Fray Day is... well, to quote the site, “an annual celebration of true storytelling that takes place in cities all over the globe on the same weekend.” Imagine an open-mic night without being devoted (exclusively) to comedy. It’s sponsored by Fray, an online magazine devoted to the concept of such expression.

The DC version is going to be held the evening of Friday, October 3, at Common Grounds in Arlington. And while there’s not a whole lot of effort necessary to get me to talk (getting me to shut up tends to be a bit tougher), there’s one little provision in the performance guidelines that gives me pause: No rants.

I don’t know if the father-in-law story will venture too far into that territory, but I know most of my conversations do. So to tell you the truth, I don’t know what story I’ll be telling, but I do know that I will be getting up there.

There — I’m publicly committed. No backing out now.