ANNE McKEE: Let’s get virtual

Published 1:45 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2020

The entire world has gone virtual, it seems and I’m saying, maybe that’s not too bad of a thing. ZOOM, Google Meet, YouTube, Microsoft, FaceTime, and perhaps more apps waiting in the wings, allows anyone with techy capabilities and the appropriate equipment to come together, eyeball to eyeball.

The most difficult part for me is remembering all of the passwords.

Rose Hill Company’s board held our first virtual meeting last month and considering that some of the members could see only each other’s eyebrows and those weird, not-normal hair styles, it was good. We covered a great deal of business and that’s what it is all about. Oh, and wearing pj’s to these meetings is acceptable.

And last week I was a storyteller for a national conference/festival via ZOOM. It was the National Storytelling Network. Actually I opted to make a video and many others did as well, which was converted to a worldwide audience. We had tellers from Northern Ireland, India, Asia, Africa and several additional countries plus as well from all across the USA. It was awesome.

But the most amazing part was connecting with the world simultaneously. Actually CONNECTED was the name of the event. It was a seven day conference/festival that clicked smoothly along with very few hang-ups. We, as participants and as well all ticket holders, were able to enter a storyteller’s living room in Northern Ireland as easily as all attendees could enter my home-office in Meridian, Mississippi, plus even more spectacular, opportunities for friendships were made with all of the people who shared the like-interest of storytelling.

At church last Sunday (6 feet apart) as I shared my virtual experience, a few church members, whom have worked from home the last several weeks, shared theirs. The consensus, “We like it.”And a discussion began; why not make this a full-time virtual thing?

I mean if it works on a temporary basis, why not?

My recent experience with such a huge event as the storytelling conference has shown me that any size meeting or gathering is possible. The only thing I missed was spending big bucks traveling and shopping for cute outfits to wear. Actually last week I sat on my front deck drinking sweet tea and wearing a tee shirt and I guess you could call them my dog-walking pants.

It was so relaxing. Normally before a storytelling performance, my nerves are the pits, but this time, I was cool as a cucumber. I mean all I had to do was poof my hair and powder my nose, so much for wardrobe and makeup – and tell the story, of course.

Because I write all of the stories I tell, when I miss a word because of nerves, no one knows, but me. However, once the word is missed, I am off kilter. Not this time, though – Yep, cool as a cucumber, I was.

I remember a time when telling at the Gulf Coast Coliseum that I really goofed. You see I had practiced the story for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Biloxi. When it was my turn to go on stage, I began with the wrong story, character, and the whole shamez. And no one would have known but for the comments by Hubs, who said, rather loudly. “Uh-oh, she’s forgotten who she is.”

Last week for the event, I told my fav Big Mama Burnett and her Baby Boy Sonny story entitled “Friday Morning at the First National Bank.” There I was in the middle of the ZOOM screen, and I was placed not too low, not too high – lighting was perfect, sound clear and for some reason “very southern.” Yes, my twelve-minute story resounded throughout the world. It was a moment to never forget.

Oh, and I admit that I do sometimes forget who I am more often than not, but it’s all good. I eventually come back around; maybe ZOOM can edit the forgetfulness part? I mean it is a new virtual world, isn’t it?

Anne B. McKee is a Mississippi historian, writer and storyteller. She is listed on the Mississippi Humanities Speakers Bureau and Mississippi Arts Commission’s Performing Artist and Teaching Artist Rosters. See her website: www.annemckeestoryteller.com.