I saw him live this summer at the Indiana State Fair. If you've never listened to Prairie Home Companion, you need to. The programs air on Saturday nights on National Public Radio and are available on iTunes.
Garrison Keillor awoke in me a wonderful idea. It's not yet fully developed and therefore not easily packaged, but I will try my best to flesh it out.
My former knowledge of Garrison Keillor began and abruptly stopped with writers almanac. That was until the Indiana State Fair performance.
I accompanied my wife and her family to the show. It was in an outside pavilion and started shortly before dusk. We arrived just early enough to get a sandwich and make our way to our seats.
Mr. Keillor appeared on stage in a sport coat, jeans, and red tennis shoes. It was the first time I had seen the man. My father-in-law chuckled at the sight of the sneakers and gave me indication that it's part of Mr. Keillor's persona on stage.
The show was quickly underway with a live band, a sound effects artist, a special musical guest, and News From Lake Wobegon. It was a rather mellow performance. The whole show had a flow that I wasn't used to. I spent half of the show trying to figure out when it would really start.
It's not that the jokes weren't funny, the music wasn't good or anything of that nature. Quite the contrary. It just wasn't how I was used to being entertained. Garrison Keillor could give a rats ass if I wasn't entertained. He was having fun doing what he does best, telling stories and singing songs.
It took me half the show to figure out that he was making up quite a bit on the fly. His stories were intriguing but without purpose. Sometimes they never got to the point but would end in a made up song.
As sun was setting the tone of the show changed a bit. The undertones turned somber. There was a lot of focus on loss. It caused me to explore the show as a lost art. A lost form of storytelling. We are getting used to entertainment at our fingertips. We don't know what to do with an idle minute. As a result devices are being created to alleviate that burden.
Why is it a burden?
I would suggest that being saturated in multiple forms of media at any given moment all vying for our attention. We loose our use for imagination, patients, enjoying someone else's company and even a quiet moment.
I sat there watching Mr. Keillor and listening to his stories that roamed where they might and for two hours he ignited my imagination, my love for human contact, and oddly enough...song.
It resonates today.
I would suggest finding a storyteller and giving them audience. Listen to them. Let the story envelop you. Let you imagination burn bright.
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