Evidenced by the enduring success of storytelling platforms such as The Moth, StoryCorps and even the quick-fire PowerPoints of PechaKucha, it can be quite compelling to listen to everyday people sharing memorable, personal experiences — whether they're hilarious, heartbreaking or somewhere in between.
In keeping with the spirit of those long-running programs, Texas Public Radio's live storytelling event Worth Repeating arrived in San Antonio in 2015 at the hands of journalist Paul Flahive, who lifted the concept from the Anchorage-based show Arctic Entries — itself essentially an Alaskan version of Baltimore's Stoop Stories.
"In short, it is a rip-off. A rip-off of a rip-off, truth be told," Flahive admits in his introduction to Worth Repeating: San Antonio Stories — a new Trinity University Press book that compiles 40 tales originally told on the program.
Following Flahive's intro, Worth Repeating takes off in breezy chapters organized in alphabetical order based on the storytellers' names. Of those names, some belong to recognizable San Antonio figures.
Chicana author and Trinity University professor Norma Elia Cantú spins the colorful, code-switching yarn of "Oreo" — a free-roaming barrio dog who gets scooped up by animal control, sprung from a shelter by a band of neighbors and adopted by a family that treats her like a queen.
"Even dogs have a life story," Cantú reminds readers. "And this one isn't too bad. La pobre Oreo, people used to say. Now they say ¡Mírala! Parece reina, la Oreo."
In "Passing My Disability," poet and former Gemini Ink director Sheila Black lays out the trials of living with X-linked hypophosphatemia, or XLH, a rare condition that two of her three children inherited from her. After spelling out its downfalls — an inability to absorb phosphorus leads to short stature, bowed legs and chronic pain — Black finds an unlikely silver lining in the unusual walk she shares with two of her kids and points out that her daughter without XLH is the least athletic of the bunch.
"Sure, XLH has a cost," she explains. "But so does life."
San Antonio author and filmmaker John Phillip Santos weaves together descriptive memories that span from childhood to manhood in "A City Boy — Under Protest." Bouncing from a ranch on Pleasanton Road to pubs in Oxford, England, his mini-travelogue eventually lands in New York City, where he serendipitously discovers a discarded pile of photographs of San Antonio landmarks and grills steaks on his balcony during the citywide blackout of 2003.
Sharp, funny and bittersweet, late local comedian Larry Garza's "Texas Roots" takes place in a "small Hooters-meets-steakhouse" in Devine as he delivers a set at the dawn of the pandemic.
"My career was skyrocketing in the stand-up world," Garza jokes.
Although anchored by the departure of a disgruntled audience member Garza dubs Foghorn Leghorn, his story eloquently touches on racism, colonization, his Indigenous great-grandmother and the so-called "heroes" of the Alamo.
Well-known names aside, some of Worth Repeating's stories beckon with their quirky titles alone — such as Tiffany Farias-Sokoloski's "The Vegetarian with Swine Flu," David W. Lesch's "Sharing Tea with Syrian Intelligence" and Collin McGrath's "How I Became a Brony."
Full disclosure: there's also solid representation from Current staffers past and present. Editor-in-Chief Sanford Nowlin sheds light on the unglamorous realities and unexpected rewards of touring with his band Boxcar Satan in "Punk Rock, Leather Bars, and Life on the Road." And former food and nightlife editor Jess Elizarraras muses about her move from Brownsville to the Alamo City, college, culture shock, becoming a journalist, authenticity and sense of place in "Puro San Antonio."
At 232 pages, Worth Repeating is refreshingly easy to digest — thanks chiefly to the parameters of the original presentations, which tended to run around seven minutes. There's no fear of losing your place or losing the plot — and there are many. And at roughly the dimensions of a postcard, it's destined to be a popular stocking stuffer and — you guessed it — an enjoyable bathroom book.
Worth Attending
Worth Repeating Book Release
Worth Repeating contributors John Phillip Santos, Heather Armstrong, Joaquin Muerte and Clay Utley share stories at this free event with live music by 34K and beverages from Real Ale Brewing Company and Real Spirits Distilling. Free (registration encouraged at support.tpr.org/a/wrbook), doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, Malú and Carlos Alvarez Theater, 321 W. Commerce St., (210) 614-8977, tpr.org.
Worth Repeating at Nowhere Bookshop
Jess Elizarraras, Georgia Erck, Vanessa Martinez and Sanford Nowlin bring their stories back to their original live format. Free, 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, Nowhere Bookshop, 5154 Broadway, (210) 640-7260, nowherebookshop.com.
Worth Repeating at the Twig Book Shop
The Twig welcomes Worth Repeating contributors Sheila Black, Cary Clack, Lorenzo Gomez III and Kirsten Thompson for an evening of live storytelling. Free, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, The Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 106, (210) 826-6411, thetwig.com.
Worth Repeating at Maverick Book Club
Trinity University professors and alumni Norma Elia Cantú, Kelly Gray Carlisle, Jennie Badger, David W. Lesch and Rey Lopez share their Worth Repeating stories at this free reception with drinks and light bites. Free, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, Dicke Hall, Trinity University, 1 Trinity Place, (210) 999-7011, trinity.edu.
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