Megan Sukys told her mom not to bother coming to her college graduation twenty years ago. Thanks to the sisters at a convent and a couple burly baggage handlers, her parents broke a streak of bad luck and managed to attend it anyway.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
A few years back, Tad Monroe got a mysterious call from a man who claimed to be his brother. When they finally met, Tad discovered that reaching out to someone else was a way to reach into his own past.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
Struggling to feed himself after moving to Seattle, Colin McArthur searched for any job he could get. He finally found a job as a janitor at a mental institution, and earned far more than his nine-dollars-an-hour salary.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
Diane Lachel had great pride in her job at a major cable company, but then a buyout left her with an almost impossible work load. The promise of a stay-to-the-end bonus kept her going, until she faced a final showdown for her integrity.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
Ingrid Nixon only had a handful of years until retirement, but she had other dreams with an even shorter shelf life. When she bowed out of a plum career, she looked to the Universe for a sign that she made the right decision.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
After our main-stage “That’s All Folks!” storytellers, four audience members took the stage with their own five-minute tales of farewells.
All of the Slam participants faced said ‘so long’ to the fear of stepping in front of roomful of strangers and sharing their lives, right off the top of their heads. We applaud them for taking part in our final farewell.
ALL PHOTOS: Scott Haydon Photography
Parting is such Sweet Sorrow – and yet Endings make such Great Stories.
On Saturday, June 13, 2015, Drunken Telegraph says Farewell with these Five Stories for “That’s All Folks”.
After all these Goodbye Stories, and a Story Slam of So Longs, Drunken Telegraph will take its final bow. And, in the immortal words of Snagglepuss, we Exit, Stage Left.
After “blowing up his life”, leaving his marriage and his career, Tad Monroe decided to try a recommended three-week solitary retreat. He tried everything imaginable to deal with the loneliness – even climbing and then chopping down trees – before he discovered the truth about being alone.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
Justin Wadland wrote his first book while working full-time, finishing his MFA, and becoming a father for the first time. He followed a brutal schedule to get it written, and then a full-body case of psoriasis showed him the price of joining the author’s club.
Also! Check out Justin’s Book:
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon
Nora Leider found the love of her life, and a passion for volunteer service, at Tacoma’s Guadalupe House. What she didn’t find was a way to tell her straight-laced, mainstream parents that she chose the urban missionary lifestyle of a Catholic Worker.
PHOTOS: Scott Haydon