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Papa
Joe ~ Biographical
Stories
To: Storytell <Storytell@VENUS.TWU.EDU>
Subject: A Name, Part 2
Date: Sunday, April 20, 1997 10:47 AM
Folks,
I've been promising this post for over a year. Now, while I wait
for the Very Welcome Sun to dry up our three days of rain so I
can go back into the forest, I'll tell you the tale of how I got
the name, Papa Joe.
Part 1 can be found at story1.htm
or let me know and I'll email it to you.
A Name, Part 2
I live in a neighborhood at the edge of the woods. It is a great
place to raise children, very safe, lots of room to run and play,
lots of children of all ages. I've lived here since I was a child
and I raised my children here.
I've always been a bit particular about names. Maybe it's because
my name is so common that everyone tends to want to give me a
nickname. I didn't like many of the nicknames and learned to
manipulate the circumstances to ensure a descent one.
Anyway, when I became a father, I didn't want to be called
Daddy. I preferred the term Papa. My kids didn't care. So Papa I
became. As it was in my youth, the children of the neighborhood
gathered to play folk games on the gravel roads. My children
joined when they were old enough, but within a few weeks I heard
an argument start.
The neighborhood children had heard me referred to as
"Papa" and thought it was my name. My boys told them
that they had their own fathers. It was a bit of a giggle for us
parents and we left the children to work it out themselves. The
result was a compromise that surprised us all. My two boys were
the only ones allowed to call me "Papa". The others
could use "Papa Joe" so there would be no confusion
over who I belonged to.
A few years later, I was working to develop a communication
program for children. I was very lucky to find a school that
worked with children ages infant through 12. The first time I
walked into the school, I was spotted by one of my little
neighborhood friends. He screamed, "THAT'S PAPA JOE!" I
was called nothing else the three months I worked there.
The work I was doing involved meeting with the ten age groups -
once a week for an hour each - over three months. I was testing
the theories of most of the developmental and educational giants.
The idea was that most problems adults have are basically
communication related. If we could improve the skills of our
children, then we could dramatically reduce the numbers of
dysfunctional adults. My goal was to find out what tools worked
for all types of children and how to best teach the tools to the
children. Storytelling had always being a part of my life and was
noted by most of
the experts as effective, so it played a large part in the
project.
Before the second month was over, I was getting calls at home.
"Are you the Storyteller, Papa Joe?"
I'd answer, "Well, I tell stories and the kids call me Papa
Joe."
They would say, "Will you come tell stories at..."
The word spread from the children to the parents to teachers,
librarians, and group leaders. I received over 400 such calls in
1988. And even though I always used "Joseph Gaudet",
Everyone called me "Papa Joe". By the end of the second
year, I had giving up on my old name. We should accept the gifts
we are given and I was clearly given a new name and a new life. I
became, even to myself, the Storyteller, Papa Joe.
I'm still doing the original program. It is embedded in every
story I tell. Now I call it, Step into a Story. A more playful
title than Creative Communication Skills. I found it works for
everyone, adults included. And as I met and became friends with
other tellers, I learned that the most successful tellers were
using the same tools, albeit for different reasons.
I notice many of you also have interesting storytelling handles.
Will you share the stories that go with them?
Pax & Amicitia,
Papa Joe
Oak & Ivy Cottage, Fremont, NH, USA
Papa
Joe ~ Biographical
Stories
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