The story behind this site:     

       Both sides of my family crossed the Sierra Nevada's into California by covered wagon during the Gold Rush era.  Reciting poetry was a family tradition that could never be avoided.  It was featured at every single family gathering--including weddings and funerals--that I can remember.  Everyone always tried to "out-do" everyone else in their delivery.  I still chuckle at all the antics and accents that accompanied countless renditions of "Casey at the Bat", (p.15) everyone's all-time favorite!  It became as easy to recite as "riding a bicycle".  There were few inhibitions!
        It's hard to believe that more than  fifty years have passed since I began what was to become my personal life-long passion for narrative expression.  The occasion was my cousin's grade school graduation and I was asked to be part of the entertainment. I think my mother probably "made" me do it!  It was my first "public" recitation of "Mother's Hot Mince Pie" (p.32).  I was only five at the time.   My love for capturing the emotion of poetry has never diminished.  Since then, I have recited at schools, civic organizations, churches, poetry gatherings, and countless social events.  My greatest thrill was to be invited to entertain a national Merchant Marine convention in San Diego a couple of years ago.  Watching their expressions as I read "Freedom is Not Free" (p.11)  and "Paul Revere's Ride" (p. 14) made all my efforts at memorizing worthwhile!
       "Expression" is an acquired habit!  Believe me!  Natural talent always helps, but I have seen too many life-changing improvements in communications skills by "ordinary" people after just a few weeks of committed effort. 
        My personal "Bag of Tools" (p.22) includes almost seventy pages of truly great narrations that fit almost any occasion.  I have honed and re-memorized them for years, always seeking new and subtle variations in volume and nuance.   But, for many of us, if we don't "hear" them immediately due to unguided mis-reading we might miss the magic of the moment.  In this age of expediency, I decided to accompany the written word with my interpretation of the author's meaning.  You may disagree with my tempo, inflection and approach.  I even change a few words at times!  (I blame it on a "mnemonic drift"!)  But I guarantee that if you "read along" and try to think "Be Believable!" as you read aloud you will open a new and exciting chapter in your life sooner than you think! 
         I hope you have as much fun with this site as I did putting it together for you.