Didn’t See That Coming – Part 1

Tell Us Something

This episode of the Tell Us Something podcast was recorded live in person, in front of a sold-out crowd on June 27, 2022, in Bonner Park, in Missoula, MT. Four storytellers share their true personal stories live without notes on the theme “Didn’t See That Coming”.

Our first story comes to us from Rae Scott Rae takes us on a hike up Waterworks Hill in Missoula, MT, where they finally find the mother they’ve always wanted. Rae calls their story “Good Mom Hunting”.

Rae Scott is a theatre nerd through and through. They enjoy animals, and music, and is pretty sure that gingers will ruin their life. With an incredibly large family who puts the “fun” in “dysfunctional”, Rae has a lot of love to give. Rae looks life, directly in the eye — and observes, before responding, with ferocious truth. Rae is an old soul, ready to share their truth on the stage, and in a variety of other to-be-discovered art forms.

Our next story comes to us from Ann Peacock. Ann is loaded into a cargo plane for a life flight to Seattle, to get a new liver. Ann calls her story “An Unexpected Plane Ride”.

Ann Peacock escaped the enticement of Madame LaVoux in New Orleans and honored her calling of embodying truth via the alleged fiction of theatre. Ann has been a resident of Missoula since the late 80’s ( which she swears, was just three weeks ago) She now calls Polson, MT her home, and is gradually adjusting to life outside of the big city of Missoula.

Our next storyteller is Ablamvi Agboyibo. Ablamvi sees a cute girl across campus and is persistent in his pursuit of her. Ablamvi calls his story “Love Concretes Everything. Never Give Up”.

Ablamvi Agboyibo is an English Teacher at Blitta High School in Blitta, Togo, which is in Western Africa. Ablamvi is one of the participants of the Study of the U.S. Institutes for Global Scholars, or SUSI, which, is a United States Department of State sponsored program for mid-career foreign scholars and educators, designed to improve the teaching, about the United States in academic institutions abroad. SUSI is a program of the Mansfield Center, part of The University of Montana.

Our final story in this episode comes to us from Cathy Scholtens. Cathy goes on a hike with her best friend, to Hope Lake, in Montana. They work out their complicated feelings for each other overnight, and are now celebrating 25 years married! Cathy calls her story “Friendship, Hope and Wisdom”.