A memory commemorates the journey

When all is said and done, residual memories [stories] will be all that we are left with. Stories are more powerful than objects and more important than the people who originated them. Stories are ideas, they are credible, they are cultural, they are colourful and they are lasting... fron one telling to another.
http://www.highfidelitystorytelling.com/

Here is a story I shared with my kids recently when we walked through the busy streets of Rome in the height of the July tourist season.

When I was seventeen, I backpacked by myself through Europe. My parents allowed me the trip because I was so determined to go and because I had the safety net of my Aunt and Uncle's house in Geneva, Switzerland. I would stay there for serious sleeps, laundry and companionship before I ventured off once more to wherever the train timetable beckoned. I learned more lessons on this trip than I care to remember in detail...lessons about staying alert, physically protecting myself against unwanted advances and real danger, how to overcome loneliness, how to eat well and, in general, how to preserve my health and well being.

On one particular occasion, I found myself in Milan. I had checked my backpack into the locker area at the train station and I had a full three hours until my train for Brindisi departed. I felt light as a feather without my backpack and I did not miss the squeak, squeak, squeaking from the pins which attached the straps to the aluminum frame. I wanted to venture as far as I could for 45 minutes, find something to eat and then double back to the train station. I must not get lost because if I missed the train I would also miss a five-hour sleep in the train's coach – which I was counting on. Asking for directions was simply not an option since I spoke NO Italian and I didn’t have a map of Milan. I carefully noted the appearance of the streets and stores as I walked along until I found a restaurant that had pictures and prices posted on the outside. I pointed to what I wanted and sat down to wait. Having a meal in a restaurant was a treat I allowed myself once a day. Although I had to keep within a budget, I also thought that I should make a special purchase, a once-in-a-life-time-purchase to commemorate this trip, this journey. I thought about everything that I had seen that I could have afforded, but was outside my realm of expertise...I felt that perhaps a big city like Milan would provide the answer.

The food came and I ate much too quickly - paid the bill, used the sacred bathroom (toilet paper provided!) and then headed back the way I had come to the train station. I was immediately struck by the fact that nothing looked familiar. In the intervening time all the stores had opened their security gates and the showcase windows fundamentally changed the streetscape. I made my way according to my recollection of right and left hand turns until I was, thankfully, in view of the train station. Calm descended and since I still had 45 minutes before I boarded my train, I looked around for points of interest. I saw a shop across the street that had leather gloves of every colour displayed in the window. I knew that I had found my special purchase.

I entered the store with the bell over the door announcing me. Three sales ladies turned to me with what felt like a look of disdain. One came to me and taking my right hand, made a measure of my palm and the length of my longest finger. Then she gestured for me to choose the length of the glove followed by the colour. I picked one of wrist length (on the basis of budget alone, since the gloves that went to my elbow were really lovely!). Then the woman moved a ladder and climbed to the very top shelf where she extracted a single pair of gloves. She opened the package, and inserted what looked like the arms from a very large wooden protractor into the fingers of the gloves. Taking up one glove at a time, she tapped in some talc powder and gingerly handed the gloves to me. I had already realized that there was no way I could leave this store without purchasing the gloves given the effort and the procedure so far - I was trapped regardless of what the gloves would cost. I put them on and the soft kid leather was truly luxurious. I nodded my approval and the woman removed the gloves by pulling gently on the end of each of my fingers until the gloves were back in their original bag and wrapped in brown paper. After several attempts to explain the price - it was written down and passed across the counter, I reluctantly gave over just about every lire I had in my pouch. I unwrapped the gloves as soon as I was safely out of sight and fondled the lovely deep blue leather and while doing so, I knew that this special purchase, in combination with the experience, was indeed a keepsake from this journey, from the year I was seventeen and had stepped out into the world. I still have the gloves!

On our recent trip to Rome, each time my daughter and I saw a glove store similar to the one I had been in, I would ask if she wanted some gloves to remember her trip by. My story is now her story. Perhaps one day she will tell the story to her daughter, her kids, and hopefully she will add her own chapter about her own experience.

Now I'm telling you this story because I want you to think about story telling. Bring the concept of story telling home to your beliefs and stories: to the first time you came to work, the first time you understood why people buy, join, believe in what your company does/sells/makes, the first customer experience. The first moment you felt proud. Is there a story you can share with your fellow employees and beyond? Bringing stories to life in the hearts and minds of your different audiences is what High Fidelity Story Telling is all about http://www.highfidelitystorytelling.com/. Establishing residual memories that become deeply held beliefs. Story telling is one of the most powerful conveying/sharing/telling methods that there is, and yet, most marketing communications efforts don't employ it.

Speak to DUO.CA about how you can positively affect every facet of your organization by using High Fidelity Story Telling http://www.highfidelitystorytelling.com/. Ideal for fundraising, rebranding, launching a new product or service or simply to raise awareness of your offering in the marketplace. Email info@duo.ca for how to begin.
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