This episode features Amy Gwin, a student in Campfire’s Intro to Storytelling class. You can learn more about Amy Gwin on the Campfire website, https://cmpfr.com/events/summer-2019-intro-to-storytelling/.
These episodes of The Campfire Storytelling Podcast showcase students who went through our Intro to Storytelling class. These students take a six-week class to prepare to tell a story about life and how they live it. Season 27 students told stories about “labels.”.
This episode was originally performed in August 2019, produced by Jeff Allen, and recorded live at The Stage at KDHX.
This episode features Amy Gwin, a student in Campfire’s Intro to Storytelling class. You can learn more about Amy Gwin on the Campfire website, https://cmpfr.com/events/summer-2019-intro-to-storytelling/.
These episodes of The Campfire Storytelling Podcast showcase students who went through our Intro to Storytelling class. These students take a six-week class to prepare to tell a story about life and how they live it. Season 27 students told stories about “labels.”.
This episode was originally performed in August 2019, produced by Jeff Allen, and recorded live at The Stage at KDHX.
[ Intro music]
Speaker 3:Hello again, Internet. I'm Steven Harowitz, and I will be your host for this episode of Campfire at Home recorded here in St. Louis, Missouri. Almost every month, we gather at the Campfire to hear stories about life and how we live it from the everyday voices that live around us. Campfire at Home is how we bring that live storytelling experience to you wherever you are. In this episode, I have something special for you because we have stories to share from the Capstone event of our Season 9 Intro to Storytelling class. These stories come from students who signed up for a class through Campfire to learn about public speaking and storytelling, and in that first class, the students come in nervous, excited and looking around, not quite knowing who each other are yet, but then they slowly get to know one another as they collectively reflect on their lives through story. They started to see the output of their training and the power and liberation of owning and sharing their narrative. And even when it got scary or their nerves crept up, they kept choosing to take on the challenge. And then there they were on stage in the lights, delivering some truly delightful and some truly heavy stories and their natural voices. This series of podcasts includes the five Intro to Storytelling students, Amy, Paige, Jenna, Lizzie, and Melinda telling a story on the topic of labels. And when the event ended, beyond the hugs and smiles each storyteller got from those that had come to support them, Molly, who was their instructor this Season and myself got to say a heartfelt congratulations to five people with newfound skills in storytelling, confidence in their voice when speaking publicly, and an understanding of the power of story. Let's head to the Campfire to listen to Amy's story.
Speaker 5:I'm going to out outdoors. Everybody else, I was nothing. Um, I grew up in Alaska.
Speaker 4:That always
Speaker 5:seems to intrigue people clearly and I, I wonder, having grown up there, I don't really know. I always wonder what it is that people imagine when I say that. I think they probably imagine like these wild-eyed people like wrapped in animal skins that get, get in their fishing boats and go out on the open seas to like kill something for dinner. And um, actually if you like factor in a little bit of Duck Dynasty and Deliverance, then yeah, that's, that's pretty much my childhood.
Speaker 4:[ laughter]
Speaker 5:But Alaska is a seriously strange and amazing place. Like even just the beauty, the like mountains that just start from sea level and go up. You don't see that and amazing blue, huge blue glaciers that you can just walk right up to, or at least we used to have those. And uh, the, the Aurora Borealis, if you've ever seen that where the sky is just like lit up like fire, like this, the place is ridiculous. It really, really is. And the wildlife, like it's not just in the movies. I remember as a kid we would, if you went hiking, you always put bells on your backpack or your clothes because you, you would never want to surprise a bear. So if you come over a hill, you want the bears to know you were coming because otherwise they'll pounce out and eat you. And it doesn't, it doesn't get dark there in the summer. Like that's a real thing. It's like you don't even have a clue when it is day or night, which is really cool. And because of this 24 hour growing season, like the vegetables there are huge. You, you think I'm exaggerating, but like pumpkins the size of cars, look it up. Like that's a thing that really is, it really is. The truth is there is almost never a reason to exaggerate about anything in Alaska cause it's that kind of place. But the strangest thing I think about Alaska is it's people, me not included, but, um, people tend to go to Alaska to get away from something. So they're either, um, running from their past or maybe just running from the mundane to find adventure. Well, my mom kind of, uh, fell into both of those camps. So when, um, when, uh, my dad left my mom with two little kids in Southern California, she said, we're going to Alaska. Um, now there's a saying for women in Alaska and it is the, um, the, the, the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
Speaker 4:That is true. But that did
Speaker 5:not deter my mother. And so she got her master's degree in library science and, uh, she moved us to Alaska to be a librarian and I was seven and we made our way. We had a really nice life there. Things were good and it wasn't all just mutant produce and the constant threat of being mauled to death. I actually, um, I actually went to high school in a pretty normal little town called Wasilla. Has anyone ever heard of Wasilla? Yeah. Um, yeah. So like any smart small town girl, when high school ended, I just wanted to get as far away from that place as I possibly could and never look back. So that's what I did. But my strange home state sort of followed me in ways that I couldn't have imagined. I remember the day here in St. Louis when things got really weird. It was 2008 and I worked at an advertising agency in town called Rodgers Townsend. Um, and everybody I worked with knew that I grew up in Alaska, sort of my freak badge, it sort of still is. And, um, and I went into a meeting one day and my boss Tim Rogers said,"Hey, uh, did you hear your pal Sarah Palin was chosen by John McCain as his running mate?" And I remember just being like completely shocked and I like, I laughed really loud in the way that you do at something super funny and also super scary. It was like that. So um, Sarah Palin was not exactly my pal, so let's go back to Wasilla, and I'll fill you in. Sarah was a year older than me in high school and we were pretty different. Um, Sarah, um, so I was, I was Homecoming Queen in my class, which is an honor that they'll give to any girl with all of her front teeth in Wasilla. Sara, on the other hand, was a superstar athlete. Like her whole family was just muscles and strength and a jock, monumental jock. Her whole family was. Her dad was a track coach and everyone knew them. Um, and we ran in different circles. I was never on the track and I was never on the basketball court and Sarah was never out drinking beer with all the cute boys. And, um, so true or not true, um, I sort of saw Sarah Heath was her name. Then I saw her as someone who I could more readily imagine her, like skinning a moose by herself, then I could see her behind a desk, let alone a podium and so that kind of helps you understand my surprise about the whole thing. And um, the one time that Sarah and I were in the same place was when we competed in the Miss Wasilla pageant. So I know, right. It's funny. And I thought so too for a while. Um, I was 17, so she was 18. Um, I read a poem and Sarah played a flute. Uh, we both paraded across the stage in skimpy bathing suits and fancy gowns and, uh, um, Sarah was kind of emerging as more girly at that point. And, uh, I did this pageant completely on a lark, like I'm going thousands of miles away from here. No one's ever gonna remember this. I can do any embarrassing thing and no one's gonna know. But I was wrong about that. Um, so, um, flash forward to St. Louis 2008 and the night of the McCain Palin ticket announcement. I was like on the phone with my mom just cracking up about how funny this was. And um, I got off the phone with my mom and hung up and my phone rang and a woman, I picked it up and a woman introduced herself as Deb Peterson from the Post Dispatch. And Deb Peterson was a gossip columnist for the paper, which is, I, I can't recall whether she let me in on that detail. Um, but, um, remember this was a night that a good part of the news media machine of the entire country was looking for something, anything about this mysterious Alaskan Sarah Palin who'd been chosen by McCain and Deb Peterson found out from a friend of hers, who was a friend of mine, who I think might be here tonight, that
Speaker 4:um,
Speaker 5:a classmate of Sarah's was right here in town. What a deal. And uh, so you'll, as you'll hear this call with me and Deb Peterson was a mess, at least for me. It was a, a regrettable mess for me, but a bit of a bonanza for her. Years later, by the way, I saw Deb Peterson at a party and we'd never met in person. I knew who she was. And there was a big swimming pool at this party, and I harbored a little anger and, um, which you'll understand. But, um, and I stood by her at this party and she didn't know who I was and I had it all planned out, like I pictured how it would go when she went flying backwards and her drink was in the air and her hair was going and she was like pleading with me desperately as she like flew back and splashed and everyone laughed.
Speaker 4:Right?
Speaker 5:I didn't actually push her in, and I still really, really wish I had. Because Deb taught me what a good gossip columnists does. Right? She did her job really wonderfully. And I unwittingly, even though I'd been in the news media and should have known better, like I just was a gossip starter's dream. So, um, the night that she called me, she said,"Hey, could you just answer a few questions about Sarah in your hometown?" I'm like,"Okay, I'll try." So the conversation went like this. Deb:"So how, how well did you know Sarah?""Oh, not well. I mean we weren't even in the same grade. We weren't friends. I didn't really know her.""So what did you think of Sarah?""Oh, everyone knew that her family. Like they were well known. But, you know, I really only knew them by reputation. I didn't know them." So the conversation, the questions went along those lines. And then, and then this was where it kind of went off the rails. Um, Deb said,"So, Amy, do you think that you will vote for Sarah Palin because she from your hometown?" And I said,"You know, I really don't think I would. I wouldn't vote for her even if I knew her well, which I don't, um, because I just don't agree with her politics." And Deb said,"So, um, do you think Sarah will take away the women vote from Hillary Clinton because she's a woman?" You know, I said"I, I'd be surprised because if you look at, you know, the resume and experience of Hillary Clinton, I think Sarah's experience, it's pretty shallow." So the conversation wrapped up, and I apologized for having nothing much of value to offer, and that was it. And, um, the next morning a friend called me and said, you should maybe look at the Post Dispatch.
Speaker 4:So, um,
Speaker 5:I looked at the column and it said, it quoted me a, um, a classmate of Sarah Palin's. Quote:"I wouldn't vote for Sarah Palin if she was my best friend because I don't like her politics. And she's very shallow."
:It gets worse. So
Speaker 5:during, during our friendly chat did, Peterson had asked me about the Wasilla pageant and I, you know, I didn't remember it well, but I remembered that Sarah had won. Uh, Deb asked me if I placed and I remembered I'd had my picture in the paper. So I said, you know, I, um, I think I might've won Miss Congeniality or something. I don't know. But what sneaky Deb didn't tell me is that that Sarah Palin's Wikipedia page clearly said that she had won Miss Congeniality in that pageant. And after quick check of the facts, I cleared up that she had in fact won that. And as well as the Miss Wasilla crown, but Deb made a point in her article to say there is a conflict over who actually won.
Speaker 4:This is illustrious Miss Congeniality. So, um,
Speaker 5:even though I, I asked, I complained and Deb Peterson ran a correction that no one saw like a week later. Even still this really spicy controversy really started a firestorm over who exactly was the most congenial
Speaker 4:in this little town in Alaska
Speaker 5:in 1984. Like my quotes, often tweaked for dramatic effect, were picked up by blogs all over the country. You can still find them. Um, some of those blogs were read by hundreds of thousands of people and, uh, most of the posts were followed by comments, dozens and dozens of them, people talking about what a despicable, horrible liar Sarah Palin was. Um, and I remember this was 10 years ago, so this was before Donald Trump. This was before kind of pseudo realities being created in every direction. It was my introduction to just how hungry people were for just whatever little scrap of thing they could find to use against their, their opponents, whether true or not true. Now, this seems kind of a normal now, sadly, but at the time it was really, really, uh, unsettling and disorienting for me. Um, it took months for this to die down. I got called by Fact-Checker.Com and the LA Times when Sarah was here at WashU for the debates. I got called by a producer at CNN. U m, and I, of course, never spoke to anyone in the media again. I know that this s tory i s funny now, and it's funny to me now kind of, but honestly, at the time it was really, really painful for me. It was something I could barely talk about. I got pulled into a kind of high school mean girls scenario that I never would have asked for. I, once I was in it, there was no getting out of it. U m, I'm, no, I'm no Monica Lewinsky, but I know what it feels like to have your name just pulled into an ugly story that you can't control, to be, y ou k now, misquoted and mischaracterized. It feels, it feels really, really dirty a nd it's hard to get through. Um, so I wanna just kind of ask something of all of you. Um, sadly today with all of our ability to make content and comments, every single one of us has the power to be a gossip columnist or to embolden someone else who is being a gossip columnist. I ask you not to, uh, just buy into every salacious or sensational little nugget that supports the narrative that you want to be true. Um, because it is nothing but gossip. Um, I uh, and I also suggest that you don't do anything in your life that you just believe people will conveniently forget cause it's probably that thing that will make you famous and um, but if you ever find yourself more famous than you would like, I hear there still some really great places to hide in Alaska.
Speaker 4:[ Applause]
Speaker 3:And that is a wrap. You can make sure to hear the other episodes from our Season 9 Intro to Storytelling graduates by subscribing to Campfire at Home wherever you get your podcasts. And if you liked what you heard, please leave a review on your podcast listening platform of choice. You probably hear it all the time, but it really does help others find our podcast and it supports our students. If you're in the St. Louis area, we'd love to have you come out to an event or take a class. You can visit cmpfr.com, that's C M P F r.com for all of the details. And for those of you don't live in St. Louis who just want to know more about the work we do here at Campfire, you can also visit our website at cmpfr.com, that's C M P F r.com. As always, a big thank you to the Campfire team, Mariah, Ethan, Gabriela, Molly and Jess, our photographer, Sarah Wilson, our videographer and podcast producer, Jeff Allen and home for our classes, TechArtista. Tonight's stories were recorded live at the Focal Point in Maplewood, Missouri. Thanks for listening to Campfire at Home. I've been your host, Steven Harowitz. Until next time.