A Cold Black Bench

The youngest storyteller this season tells us what it felt like to be told they were too small to ride at the Lane County Fair. 

You can read more about the project, about Wordcrafters in Eugene, about our sponsors and community partners, and send in your own Lane County, Oregon stories at StoryHelix.Wordcrafters.Org.

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Leah Velez: You're listening to Story Helix intertwining stories past, present, and not yet imagined in Lane County, Oregon. What's up, earthlings? I'm Leah Valez and I'll be your host. The story we're about to hear was recorded by a young interviewer at a Eugene Alternative High School. They chose someone in their community to ask questions and sent in their recordings as part of a class project.

[00:00:36] Some of them are folks that worked in the school, some are community members they know, some are siblings, and some are friends. Let's open up our ear nuggets and give it a listen.

[00:00:52] Anonymous: I believe if my town, Eugene, Oregon was a piece of clothing, I think it would be a scarf. So many people love to accessorize them in many different ways. Others think they're completely useless. 

[00:01:06] If my town was a musical instrument, I believe it would be a penny whistle, small and good. But Eugene, Oregon is also small and good. 

[00:01:20] Eugene, Oregon does feel like home. I love it so much with my entire heart. When I'm here, I just feel spontaneous. It's glorious. My favorite place is my friend's house. When I'm there, I feel stress-free. I feel like it's a fun place to be and I feel safe. I mainly am allowed to go to my favorite place on the weekend because every time I'm there, I usually want to spend the night.

[00:01:49] My strongest memory that occurred in Lane County, Oregon would be when I went to the Lane County Fair with my two sisters and my sister's mom. We went there and they saw this big, big, big attraction, and it was looked like scissors, the Kosmakaze [sic]. And then we went there, but then I was too short, so the ride person said, "Uhuh, you can't get on."

[00:02:11] So then I was on the bench sitting on the cold bench, on the cold black bench. Well, they went on the scissor ride. I remember seeing kids with big cotton candy sticks and a whole bunch of popcorn and elephant ears and good things, and I heard a whole bunch of kids screaming and having a glorious time while I was sitting on the bench.

[00:02:36] And I smelled a whole bunch of popcorn, butter, candy, cinnamon, other stuff. Drinks and my sorrow. 

[00:02:49] This memory means a whole lot to me now, because instead of compromising, they wanted to do that. So maybe we should all think about compromising in the future.

[00:03:01] It was pretty sad that I haven't been there in a long time because the last time I went was like when I was seven and I've been with my dad for the past like three summers.

[00:03:13] I hope I can go this year though.

[00:03:19] Leah Velez: Thanks for listening. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you've got your own Lane County story to tell, we'd love to hear it at storyhelix.wordcrafters.org.