Tonight -- storytelling WITHOUT A NET

You can't possibly come up with a better deal than this... tonight from 7 to 9, at Central Coffee (corner of 10th and Louise), I'll be joining several other folks for a storytelling event called The Cankerworm.

Did I mention it's free?

And did I mention you get a free coffee or tea just for showing up?

That's a winner before you ever hear a story, and I'm guessing there will be some good stories. The theme for the night is Trust, and each person who comes to the mike will be telling a 5-minute story based on that theme. This is not a reading -- we're going up there with no notes. Which, frankly, scares the crap out of me.

My story will touch on Ric Flair, TV antennas, the Fu Manchu mustache, family dynamics and maybe one or two other things. That's assuming I don't just go blank onstage and collapse in a puddle of flop sweat.

The Cankerworm name is a nod to The Moth, the storytelling series that started in New York and has spread around the country. Here's a Moth performance from Philly to give you a little idea of what it's like.

A storytelling event, and a new class at Queens

Some news about a couple of cool things coming up in the next few weeks:

-- I've signed up to be part of a storytelling night called The Cankerworm, Feb. 22 at Central Coffee at the corner of Central and Louise. (Click the link for details, including how to sign up if you'd like to tell a story.) Why is it The Cankerworm? It's a tribute to The Moth, the great storytelling series that started in New York and has spread across the country.

We'll be telling stories of no longer than five minutes, centered on the theme of trust. This is not a reading -- no notes, we have to go up there and wing it. I think I want to tell a story about me, my dad and professional wrestling. But you'll have to come see to find out.

-- I'm also teaching another class at Queens University on March 5 and 12. (That's one class, spread over two sessions.) It's called "A Writer's Life: Building a Career as a Professional Writer." You can sign up here. There's also a handy page Queens was nice enough to build for all my workshops.

Here's a short clip from an earlier class, "Writing in 3-D":



The reviews are in: "brilliant," "groundbreaking," "the best depiction of Mob life since the Godfather movies." Wait... these appear to be reviews of "The Sopranos." Not sure how they got in there. But these classes have been a lot of fun, definitely for me and I think for everybody else, too. Come join in.

One Good Thing, and some other things

Good morning. If you were out having a life and missed the news this weekend, there's a bit of a change around these parts. So let's get caught up.

I've gotten a bunch of responses to my first interactive project, called One Good Thing... but y'all aren't really in the spirit of it yet. Here's a fairly typical example:

“I believe that the Republican Tea Partiers are right in their belief that something is wrong even though they are completely wrong about what is wrong.”

I appreciate the effort, but that pretty much defines the phrase "backhanded compliment."

My idea -- and my hope -- is that you can find one unadulterated nice thing to say about a group that you don't like. For example... I don't enjoy seeing the Jehovah's Witnesses who make regular visits to our neighborhood. But I admire the courage of their faith.

Of course I have an agenda here. I've always thought, at our core, we are more alike than different. But when we look at other people, we often define them by the ways they're different than us -- and then, over time, we can't see anything but the differences. I suspect that's not good for humanity in the long run.

So... let's keep trying. One good thing. Sincere and pure. And brief! There are lots of ways to contribute:

-- Email ttomlinson@charlotteobserver.com. (You can also send photos that way.)

-- Send me a message on Twitter (@tommytomlinson), or post a tweet with the hashtag #onegoodthing.

-- Send me a Facebook message.

-- Leave a voicemail at 704-358-5227.

-- Upload a video to YouTube and send me a link.

Whatever format you use, put "One Good Thing" in the subject line or label it some other way. If you want, let me know who you are and how to get in touch. I wasn't clear on this last time, but it's OK with me if you're anonymous... you just have to be sincere and anonymous.

Before I go, I want to share a few inspirations for what I'm trying to do here. I'll be putting these and some others in a blogroll shortly.

I've been fascinated with PostSecret for years... I could scroll through the cards for hours. We all have secrets we want to tell, if the circumstances are right.

The Moth is an amazing little storytelling event that started in New York. Go here and listen to some great stories, in front of an audience, no notes.

And StoryCorps, which came through Charlotte not long ago, has unearthed some brilliant stories from ordinary people. I'll leave you this morning with the true story of Danny and Annie. Keep tissues nearby. And when you get a chance... tell me a story.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.