Porch Stories

BULL SWAMP SC (CR News) — We tell stories. And living in the country with good neighbors and friends, it’s only natural that we use the big porch on the front of our cabin to tell a few tall tales.

OUR STORY ...

Our stories are intentional. First, they integrate a rich tradition of country storytelling with a bold, new approach of literature called “flash fiction.” Flash fiction is the art of telling really short stories — usually with a message or purpose. It is bare-bones storytelling.

And second, they always have a message that is biblically-based and supports the rich tradition of Church teaching. And, oh yeah, did we say that Jesus was a storyteller too? He was! Just look at all those wonderful parables He told.

HOW IT WORKS ...

Our storyteller is a little, orange mouse named Herman Nootks. His name is a play on an old, Greek word hermeneutics (her·me·neu·tics/ˌhərməˈn(y)o͞odiks/). It means the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. (Source: Oxford language dictionaries in online dictionary).

Herman is an unlikely superhero of the faith who also serves as the Cathedral Mouse. The fictional stories (we won’t admit that again) take place in the Diocese of Charleston, located deep in the heart of the Bible Belt.

While none of the characters in the stories are real, most are based on real people. For example, “Bob,” as Herman calls his bishop and best friend, is based on Bishop Robert in the Diocese of Charleston. Our cartoon character however, is definitely not Bishop Robert. Nor are any of the circumstances in the stories we tell intended, in any way, to be satirical about His Excellency.

The nuns in our stories are based on the media nuns (Daughters of St. Paul), but the characters are also fictional and only loosely based on real nuns that we know. They have a bookstore in old, historic Charleston, just a few blocks from the Cathedral.

Hopefully, this point has been well-made. We share fictional stories and characters, loosely based on real people in a real place, all with the intent of creating some humor as we teach Biblically-based lessons and glorify God together ... whew (that was a lot of explaining).

OUR INVITATION TO YOU ...

We want you to have some fun with us on this journey.

Our stories are especially written for our Catholic brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Charleston (South Carolina), but they should be fun for the faithful everywhere. Get to know the characters with us, and share these stories with your family and friends so they get “a little Jesus” in them everyday too!