As Much As Words Can Tell, (Paperback)

These twenty-six stories are presented from my point of view, the truth as I have observed it, in others as well as myself. They are written as creative non-fiction, which tries to tell a riveting story using the techniques of fiction, but sticking with the truth. So when I change the name of a character, like "Honest Murph" the trader in My $75,000 Banjo, I say, "So, a few days later, we rode out to see a man I'll call "Honest Murph, the Banjo Trader."Many times I must rely solely on memory. The graduate-level grilling I took, in Oral Examination, has been stored there since 1970, more an embarrassment than in the diction of the committee. So, after I introduced Dr. Grabow, Dr. Los Angeles, and Mr. Minnesota, I warned the reader, "Here's part of the re-created discussion." Even in stories based on interviews or diary notes, memory is not totally reliable because selective perception interferes when the memory is stored, and selective retention interferes when the memory is recalled. So, like the shoe salesman who only sees feet and stores their owners as the 6A, the 12D, and so on, I can only claim provisional truth for my recollections, even with the story The Man with No Umbrella, which I wrote down almost immediately after an amazing conversation at the bank.Three of the stories did not come from my memory. Joseph's Dilemma originated in the Bible. A Tattered Coat came from a man in Burnsville, NC, who heard it firsthand as a youngster. That Willy Privette Sure Did Fly comes from the Sheriff's Deputy who was a friend of the man involved. As Much As Words Can Tell is set in the towns where I have lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, with homefolks who lived or shared stories. Words are never enough, but they are the best tool we have for sharing what we hold in our hearts.Here are the stories, grouped by theme: -The Man Who Wrote Teddy Bear, The Tattered Coat, The Woman With Two Voices, Rolling Your Own, The Dream I Can't Forget, What Jerry Saw, and How the Truth Found Me deal with a reality unperceived by the naked eye. -Promises Kept, Harmless as Doves, Silencing a Scammer, and Your Sin Will Find You Out show characters in various stages of self-deceit. -Joseph's Dilemma, The Man Who Took a Life, and The Man With No Umbrella feature good men making the best life-wrenching circumstances.-Oral Examination, Old Winter's Grace, Where the Camera Led, and My $75,000 Banjo remind me "experience is a dear teacher."-From a House to a Home and That Willy Privette Sure Did Fly show the glory of hope restored.-Two Bozos and the Truth and Uncle Lon's Last Car deal with late-learned and happy truths about members of my own family. -Carrying the News, and Sunday Work present portraits of my Daddy, L.C. Smith; The School for Liars and Promises Kept, those of my Mama, Virginia Smith. -Bugs in My Ear deals with the pros and cons of DIY medication.When I was ready to hear them, almost all of these stories flowed into my mind so fast I could barely type fast enough to get them down. I was the receiver-not the conceiver of them. I believe that writing is a spiritual activity, that every writer has a Muse, who should be thanked. I deal with Him in the dedication. I truly hope you will be able to catch the spark of the Muse, His joy, glory, power, and unconditional positive regard, which the stories bore when He gave them to me. If so, my hopes for this little book will be fulfilled. Peace, Leon Smith